New hayesbank surgery

CHANGES TO OUR URGENT APPOINTMENT SYSTEM FROM

Cemetary Lane

Bybrook

Kennington

Ashford, Kent

TN24 9JZ

If you want advice about a health problem, you can now have a telephone triage appointment and speak directly to a doctor.

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  You can still call us on the main surgery line 01233 624642 and ask to make an appointment with your doctor.
  
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  As usual, you may book an appointment with a GP of your choice up to 2 weeks in advance.
  
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  If it is urgent for that day, the receptionist will ask for your name and a contact telephone number and add you to our triage list for a call back from one of the clinicians. This will normally be the duty doctor on shift that day.
  
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  It is important that this number is available for the doctor/nurse to call. They will try 2 times after which you will need to ring the surgery to arrange a further call.
  
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  The receptionist will ask you generally what your health problem is that day. You do not have to divulge your problem; however it will assist the duty doctor to prioritise the call based on clinical need.
  
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  The doctor/nurse will generally call you back within the next 2hrs.
  
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  In some cases you can be consulted via the telephone and the clinician can send a prescription to your preferred pharmacy.
  
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  If the doctor/nurse thinks you need to come to the surgery to be seen, or if you would still like to be seen, he/she will make an appointment with the appropriate clinician for your needs.
  

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  We are altering our system to better manage our appointments.
  
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  The continuity of care in patient management (seeing your own GP) is very important and these changes aim to increase access and reduce the number of inappropriate appointments.
  
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  The receptionists may be able to offer you an appointment with one of our Specialist Primary Care Nurses where appropriate. All of our SPCN’s can offer advice, prescribe medication and have access to the duty doctor if needed.
  
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  We have increased the number of telephone slots with clinicians and there are also some phone slots that are pre-bookable to discuss routine results for instance.
  

If the problem is an urgent matter, one of our receptionists will ask for a brief description of the problem. They can then take your name and a contact telephone number to add you to our triage list. A clinician will call you back and assess the problem.

Please keep calls to reception brief and to the point remembering, other patients are trying to get through too. Help us to help you by being available to take calls from the doctor/nurse. The doctor will attempt to ring the patient twice so they need to keep their phone with them.

You can still use Vision Online and the automated telephone system to make and cancel appointments. Repeat prescriptions may also be ordered through Vision Online or by emailing ACCG.prescriptionsnhb@nhs.net

What do I do if I have a medical emergency? If you have, or think you have a life-threatening emergency (e.g. heart attack or stroke) dial 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Can I still book routine appointments in advance? You can and should still book appointments in advance, via the automated telephone system or via Vision Online.

Which doctor/nurse will I speak to? The duty/on-call doctors and nurses are changed daily on a rota system. If there is a specific clinician you would like to speak to or see then please make this known to the receptionist and we will endeavour to fulfil your request for those patients that may suffer from long-term conditions.

If you need to be seen in person, for continuity of care, we aim to ensure this falls to your own GP. However, this is not always possible due to rotas and annual leave.

Please bear with us when the new system starts. We will all be getting used to this new way of working. With your help and support, this will hopefully provide a better patient experience for everyone.