Do you need an Appointment?
Not every problem needs you to see a doctor or nurse. Advice and information on medical problems is available from the following sources to help you decide:
  |
In a major emergency such as suspected heart attack or major stroke, fitting, severe breathing trouble, significant trauma, deep wounds or bleeding that will not stop, calling an ambulance (dial 999) is more appropriate than ‘phoning the surgery.
If an injury is not severe enough for an ambulance but a fracture is suspected, then the Accident & Emergency at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) hospital, Margate, or the minor injuries unit at Kent & Canterbury hospital will be able to assess and X ray you.
Most coughs, colds, sore throats and earaches will get better taking painkillers alone for a short time. Your pharmacist may be able to help you choose suitable products to help with symptoms.
Sickness Certificates
A doctor’s sickness certificate is not required for any illness lasting six days or less. You should complete a self-certificate form (SC2 obtainable from your employer) when you return to work. For any illness lasting longer than seven days you will need to see the doctor for him to issue a sickness certificate (Med3). However the Med5 sick note can be issued without seeing a doctor if we have a letter from the hospital within the last month about the reason you are off work (for example if you have a fracture), or if you have seen a doctor at the surgery for the same problem within the past month.
What cannot be dealt with in a Doctor’s Appointment
Requests for repeat prescriptions should be handed to Reception. If you wish to discuss your medication please make an appointment with your Doctor. The doctor may also ask you to come in from time to time to discuss your medication. While medication requests should be done in good time (at least two full working days), if you have run out of medication for exceptional reasons then we will try our best to help you, so you do not need to see the doctor just for this.
Requests for letters to Housing Department etc., and completion of Insurance forms etc: these can be dropped into the surgery but generally take several days to be processed. Please ‘phone and speak to the doctor’s secretary if you have any queries about these. There may be a charge for this service – see our separate leaflet entitled “Non-NHS Charges”, available at Reception
Multiple problems: an appointment is only ten minutes long, so the doctor will only be able to discuss one major problem or perhaps two quicker ones. If you have a particular need for longer time, then explain this to reception and they will try to help.
Which Health Care Professional should I see?
As well as doctors we have a team of specialist nurses who are able to advise on the management of many medical conditions such as diabetes and asthma. Our nurses also deal with dressings and wound care in routine treatment room clinics. While our receptionists are not medically trained, if you are able to tell them briefly what your problem is, they will be able to make the appointment with the right doctor or nurse.
How to make an appointment
We offer a range of pre-bookable and book on the day appointments. You can book an appointment up to four weeks in advance. If your problem has previously been dealt with by one particular doctor then please ask to see the same person again if possible. You can book online, in person or by phone. To register for the online service please click on the Patient Access link above. Our phone lines are very busy between 08.00 a.m. & 09.45 a.m. so it is best to phone later if you are not requesting a same day appointment. Please note Mondays, Fridays and the days after Bank Holidays are our busiest.
If you are not able to get through and the problem is serious, but is not an emergency which needs an ambulance, please come straight down to the surgery and inform the receptionist.
Some problems can be dealt with over the phone and you should call in the normal way from 8.00 a.m. and ask for a “Telephone Appointment” with the doctor. This may be useful for people who work away as we are happy to phone you back on any suitable number, and will give you an indication of when you will be called. Reviewing test results or medication are examples of things for which a Telephone Appointment may be more convenient. Do remember that some things we cannot do on the phone – for example checking a rash or abdominal pain is very difficult – so make sure the problem is something that does not need you to be there in person! If you are not sure please give brief details to reception and they will advise you.
Sometimes the demand for appointments is higher than the number available. On these days we offer a ‘triage’ service, where a doctor will call you back at the end of surgery. If your problem cannot be dealt with over the phone the doctor will arrange an appointment on the same day or later in the week as appropriate.
Even when all our appointments are taken we will see genuinely urgent problems on the same day you call, so please explain to reception if this is the case.
Early Morning/Evening appointments
Park Surgery is open until 8pm Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and between 7:30 and 8am Monday – Friday, for GP appointments, nurse and healthcare assistant clinics and for physiotherapy. These appointments are all available to book in advance. Please ask at reception if you would like to book one of these appointments.
Weekend Appointments
Appointments are available at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital from 10am -8pm on a Saturday & Sunday. These appointments are pre-bookable via reception. These appointments are only available for patients registered with a Herne Bay GP.
Online Appointments
You can now book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and view your medication, immunisation and allergy details online. To register for this service please ask reception to provide you with an access code and click on the Patient Access link above. (In order to receive your access code you will need to provide two forms of identification to reception, one of which must be photographic)
Cancelling an Appointment
If you need to cancel an appointment please advise us as soon as possible before your appointment time, tel. 01227 742568 or 01227 749678. If you do not tell us and the appointment is wasted we shall make a record of it. If you continue to waste appointments we shall write to you and may request that you leave our practice. We will try our best to see you if you are late for an appointment but this may not always be possible, or you may have to wait until the end of surgery. The doctor only has ten minutes for each appointment with no gaps in between, so one person coming late means everyone else after them will have to wait too.
Home Visits
These should only be for patients who are genuinely housebound or too ill to come to surgery and it is for the doctor to decide who needs a visit. The doctor may phone you first to discuss the problem before deciding whether a visit is appropriate. Lack of transport is not an acceptable reason under the NHS General Practice Guidelines. Visits should be requested before 11.00 a.m.
Our home visiting team is made up of GP’s, paramedic practitioners and nurse practitioners therefore you could be visited by any of the aforementioned professionals. The home visit list is triaged by a GP and an appropriate person will be sent out to visit you based on your clinical need.
Follow-up Appointment
Sometimes the doctor will ask you to come back again for follow-up. The doctor may make the follow-up appointment with you straight away or ask you to go to reception. Please be sure to book in advance as it may be difficult to fit you in with the same doctor at short notice.
Temporary Residents
You can attend the surgery by appointment if you are staying in the area for a short time.
Change of Personal Details
Please inform the receptionist of any change of details or address and complete the form.
