We hope you can find the information you need on this website; we have also put together the Frequently Asked Questions section to assist visitors to our site.
How do I claim for leave from work due to illness?
Employers can ask employees to fill in a form when they return to work to confirm they’ve been off sick for up to 7 days. This is called ‘self-certification’. Employers usually provide their own version of this form, but forms are available at the Surgery or can be downloaded from the www.gov.uk website.
You will need to give your employer a doctor’s ‘fit note’ (previously called a ‘sick note’) if you are off sick for more than 7 days in a row (including non-working days). You will need to ring the surgery to make an appointment to see the Doctor for this.
If I’m early for my appointment why can’t the doctor see me now?
If a doctor is not consulting face to face with a patient they are either consulting patients on the phone, on a home visit, filing test results or doing paper work and other necessary admin.
What is a medical exemption certificate?
Patients with certain medical conditions can get free NHS prescriptions if they hold a valid medical exemption certificate. Details of these conditions can be found at www.nhs.uk
To claim for medical exemption please ask at your pharmacy for an application form.
Follow this link for NHS Choices – help with prescriptions costs
What is Electronic Prescribing?
The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) gives you the chance to change how your GP sends your prescription to the pharmacy you choose to get your medicines from.
You will not have to visit the surgery to pick up your paper prescription; instead, it will be sent electronically to the pharmacy you choose.
You will be able to choose any pharmacy close to where you live or work, reducing waiting times for your repeat prescription.
Please ask your pharmacist or collect an application form from the surgery.
Why can I not access some of my hospital letters online?
If you have an online services account with SystmOnline, the NHS App or other provider, with access to your medical record, you may find some hospital letters are unavailable.
This is because some documents are sent to us in certain file formats that can only be viewed in our clinical system; these are predominately NHS111 reports and some UHL letters.
If you would like copies of these documents you can request hard copies at reception, though you may be asked to show ID.
Why can’t I book an appointment online to see a nurse?
We are currently looking into this and it may be available soon; you can currently book blood test appointments with a Health Care Assistant.
Why don’t you have a water cooler in the waiting room?
The microbiological quality of standing water can pose a health risk to patients, particularly those whose immune systems are compromised. When we updated our Infection Control Policy it was decided not to have a water cooler on the premises for this reason.
Why don’t you have childrens toys in the waiting room?
To comply with strict regulations on infection control we would have to routinely clean plastic toys daily and wooden toys would have to be removed entirely. In a review of our infection control and cleaning policies it was decided to remove the toys to avoid possible cross infection.
You don’t look busy, why do I have to wait so long at the Dispensary hatch?
Staff will endevour to attend the hatch as soon as possible however sometimes they can be extremly busy dispensing or talking to patients on the phone.
Please have patience.