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APPOINTMENTS
Non-Urgent Appointments
Non-urgent appointments may be made by telephone or personal visit. The times of surgeries are given above. Patients are usually allocated ten minutes for their appointment. However, some consultations such as cervical smears, coil fittings and minor operations need longer, so please let the receptionist know if this is the case. It is better for patients to see one particular doctor for most problems, but unfortunately this may not always be possible. We are able to offer a limited number of early morning appointments between 08.10 and 08:30.
We now have the facility to book on-line using either of the following links: patient.co.uk or access.e-mis.co.uk but you must register your details at the Practice before you can start using this service. Ask at reception for a registration form which provides all the information you need to use the EMIS Access internet facility. You will need to bring some form of ID with you (photographic if possible) before you can be issued with a password and PIN number.
Urgent Appointments
We try to reserve several appointments for urgent cases throughout each weekday. If you need an urgent consultation, please telephone or come to the surgery. If during the consultation the doctor feels that your request for an urgent appointment is unreasonable, you may be asked to book a routine appointment for another time.
Non-Urgent Home Visits
If your medical condition prevents a visit to the surgery, please try to request a home visit before 10.00am. As you will see from the map at the back of this booklet, the practice covers a very wide area and early requests help us to get to you as efficiently as possible.
Please remember that home visits take about four times as long as normal appointments and it is much better for all of our patients if everyone who is able comes into the surgery.
Cancelling Appointments
As many as 50 appointments are wasted every week when patients fail to turn up. Please make sure you contact the receptionist if the appointment is no longer required. This can be done by telephoning 653600 or by e-mailing caxton.surgery@nhs.net. Unless the receptionist is advised beforehand the time cannot be allocated to somebody else.
Urgent Visits and Emergencies
For patients requiring urgent home visits or in the case of an emergency, telephone 654646. If an immediate response is required, the emergency ambulance service can be contacted by dialling 999.
Out of Hours
For urgent medical assistance outside the normal office hours (when the surgery is closed) patients telephoning the emergency number 654646 will receive a recorded message. This message advises patients to contact the doctors' answering service on 08450 20 21 31. All calls will be answered by Shropdoc. You may be given one of the following options:
* advised that a doctor will call you back
* given advice over the telephone
* asked to meet the doctor in a convenient place
* visited at home if necessary
Although all medical advice is given by qualified doctors, the doctor who deals with your problem may not be from this surgery. Please have paper and pen to hand, and if you are phoning from a public telephone, try to have at least 2 coins ready. In a serious emergency dial 999.
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