Emergencies

Patients suffering chest pain which could be related to their hearts should dial 999 if the pain is not settling or responding to their normal medication.

Booking Appointments

All consultations are by appointment. These can be made at the reception desk or by telephone. We would ask you to try and see your usual doctor whenever possible as this improves continuity of care. You may book appointments in advance and we always keep some appointments for urgent problems.

Please try to prioritise which of your problems you want the doctor to deal with during the consultation. Each appointment is scheduled to last 10 minutes. It may be that your doctor will ask you to make another appointment if you have several problems to ensure there is adequate time.

Improvements to our appointments system - Extended hours and appointments within 48 hours.

In an attempt to make it easier for you to make appointments we are extending our hours of availability from 1st July 2008. In addition we are restructuring our appointments and aim to have one available within 48 hours (2 working days) to offer you.

Our additional time will be between 7:30 and 8:00am on Mondays and from 6:30-8:0pm on Mondays to Thursdays inclusive. These are primarily intended for people who can’t get to the surgery during normal opening hours due to work commitments. We will not be able to offer nurse appointments at these times.

You will still be able to book an appointment in the future with your own doctor but in order to provide the extended hours appointments and appointments within 48 hours you might be offered an appointment with a different doctor from this practice. You will of course be free to book any follow-up appointments with your own doctor.

Telephone Consultations for same-day appointment requests

Patients who phone requesting to be seen that day are telephoned by a doctor who will discuss their problem with them. The doctor and patient can then agree the most appropriate course of action. It may be that the patient’s problem can be sorted out with telephone advice, they may need a blood test or investigations before they are seen or they may need help from a district nurse. The doctor who phones will be able to offer these different solutions. Anyone who needs to be seen that day for an examination at the surgery will be offered an appointment. Children under 5 years old will be automatically offered an appointment unless their parents would prefer telephone advice.

This system has been used for sometime in other surgeries throughout the country and has been shown to be very popular and lead to more efficient use of both patient’s and doctor’s time. We have seen similar results in Honiton. Patients are saved unnecessary journeys and long waits in crowded waiting rooms. Doctors will have more time to spend with their patients who have on-going and more chronic problems. We would be delighted to have any feedback either positive or negative from patients using this new service so that it can be adapted to best suit everyone’s needs. Suggestions can be sent to our practice manager at the surgery or to our patient representatives.

When we are closed

When the surgery is closed an out of hours service is provided by The Devon Primary Care Trust, for emergencies please ring
01392 824 600
Alternatively you may contact NHS Direct for advice www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
0845 4647

How to contact your Doctor

The surgery is open from 8.30am - 6.00pms on Monday to Friday, Appointments may be made in person at reception or by
01404 540074

Cancellation of Appointments

If you cannot keep your appointment please let us know as early as possible so that someone else may be given your appointment time
01404 540074

Telephone Consultations

If a receptionist is unable to help you and you need advice or need to discuss the problem with your doctor, the receptionist will take your details and a doctor will return your call if they are unavailable at the time. The doctors are usually available between 11am and 11.30am. If your call is outside these times please be prepared to give details of when you will be available to be called back. Telephone interruptions during surgery are upsetting for both doctors and patients and for this reason the receptionists have been asked not to disturb consultations with non-urgent telephone calls. The doctor will return the call when they are available. Return calls to mobile phones will be brief so please leave an alternative “land line” number if possible.

Home Visits

Home visits are for patients who are too ill to come to the surgery. Wherever possible patients are expected to attend surgery. If you cannot attend the surgery by any means and you require a home visit please ring
01404 540070
as soon as possible after 8.30am.

Please remember to tell the receptionist if the problem is urgent. If your house is awkward to find, please let us have detailed directions. In an emergency, or if in doubt, the duty doctor may be able to give telephone advice.

T.R.I.P. Community Transport Association

The Devon PCT has contracted with TRIP to take bookings for the local patient transport service. The service is only available to patients who satisfy eligibility criteria and are too frail or disabled to use other pubic transport including taxi services to attend appointments at Wonford or other hospitals in the area. A fee is usually payable to the driver. This is subsidised by the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital and is also available for wheelchair bound patients.

There is also a voluntary car service organised locally. For a small fee, based on mileage, anyone having difficult with transport to any medical appointment at the surgery, local hospital or dentist can obtain transport. Please contract the TRIP coordinator for further information.