Appointments
Our trained reception team will always ask you what your medical issue is so that they can make sure you are seeing the right person and being given the appropriate advice.
If your medical issue is non-urgent, you will be offered the first prebook-able appointment or you may be signposted to a more appropriate service.
Our reception team are here to help you, please be kind.
Home Visits
If you feel you need a home visit please contact the surgery on 01912986060. Our trained reception team will take your details and arrange for a home visit. A clinician may call you before visiting you so keep your phone next to you. Visiting times are usually between 12:00pm – 2:00pm. If you call for a home visit after 1pm, a clinician will visit you after their afternoon surgery, usually between 4pm-6pm.
You can also be visited by a community nurse if you are referred by a clinician. You may also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently given birth or if you are newly registered with a GP surgery and have a child under five years.
If you are unable to keep your appointment, please make every effort to cancel it well in advance so that it may be offered to someone else.
Non-attendance and cancellations at short notice without a valid reason deprives other patients of essential medical services.
We would like to draw your attention to the number of DNAs (Missed appointments) we are getting on a weekly basis at the surgery.
While we understand that sometimes life gets in the way, we do ask that if you have an appointment that you are unable to attend, that you call the surgery to cancel your appointment so that it can be offered to someone else.
We are going to be auditing our DNAs more strictly going forward and have created a new policy to that affect. The new policy for CONTINUOUS DNAs OVER A 12 MONTH PERIOD is as stated:
1st DNA = Informal letter and SMS message 2nd DNA = Formal letter and SMS 3rd DNA = Final warning letter 4th DNA = You may be removed from our surgery (unless there is a valid reason for your DNA)
We are going to be publishing our weekly DNAs on our Facebook page, website and via messages going forward.
Thank you for your continued cooperation in helping to reduce the number of missed appointments at Elswick Family Practice.