Appointments

IF YOU HAVE CHEST PAIN PLEASE CONSIDER CONTACTING 999 IMMEDIATELY.

Booking in Advance - we offer the option to ‘pre-book’ an appointment up to 10 working days in advance where possible.

Same Day Appointment  - we retain a percentage of routine appointments to make sure we have some availability for patients who contact us daily.  If you are a shift worker or work away routinely, please let us know when you telephone for an appointment, our receptionist will seek authority to release a ‘book on the day’ appointment in advance if this will help you.

Choice of doctor – You have a right to access a doctor of your choice.  We will do our best to meet patient requests.  Please consider if your doctor of choice is on annual/sick leave or has other surgery commitment; you may need to book in advance.

Length of Appointments

Routine appointments are allocated in slots of 10 minutes.  If you require more time, please advise the receptionist so that provision can be made. 

To ensure you are given the most suitable appointment, we have asked our staff to check name, DOB, address and telephone details. Also to  take a brief outline of your consultation needs, this is important so that we can make any necessary preparations prior to your appointment, and ensure you receive an appropriate length of appointment (10, 20 or 30 minute slot with either the doctor or nurse or other health professional).  If you do not wish to give a brief outline or reason for your consultation please advise the Receptionist and THEY will mark the appointment - personal. 

Hearing/communication - Patients who have hearing or communication difficulties are advised to bring a friend or relative to the consultation

Language Barrier – if a translator is required during a consultation, please note a longer appointment will be required and will depend upon the availability of the translating service. Patients can elect to bring a friend or relative to the consultation to help with translation, but a longer appointment may still be required.

Chaperones

We practice the policy of having a ‘chaperone’ present during all intimate consultations. The doctors are committed to putting patients at ease whenever possible. If you wish a chaperone to be present during your examination please do not hesitate to ask the doctor.  We will do our best to provide this service with minimum delay. Trust is important in the relationship between doctor and patient.

SMS text message service (appointment reminders)

We now use the facility of SMS text messages for appointment confirmation / reminder / non-attendance.  We will send you an appointment confirmation once you book an appointment direct to your mobile telephone.  We will also send a text message reminder the day before your appointment.  Please let us know if you change your mobile number or do not wish us to send you text reminders. 

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

You can cancel your appointment online by accessing the appointments section of the website.

Routine Surgery Appointments

Dr S B M Dahanayake

Monday – Friday various times from 8:30am to 5.30pm (excluding Monday afternoons)

Dr S Thullimalli

Monday - Friday - various times between 08:30 and 17:30 (excluding Friday afternoons)

Dr A Oakford

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 08.30-17.30 & Friday 08.30-12.00

Please ring the Practice from 8am daily to book an appointment on the day.

Ellie Haywood

We have a nurse practitioner Ellie Haywood who works Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays both mornings and afternoons.

Practice Nurses

We have three practice nurses, Fiona Moscardini, Diane Taylor and Sandra Liddle who provide a range of different clinics

Fiona works Monday to Friday, Diane works Monday and Tuesday and Sandra works Thursday and Friday.

Diane deals with diabetic patients.

Sandra deals with Chronic Disease and COPD.

Fiona deals with Asthma clinics, baby vaccination clinic on a Thursday afternoon and Liquid Nitrogen clinic on a Friday afternoon from 4.30pm

Ann Gullett - HCA

Ann does a blood clinic every morning until 12.10pm Monday - Friday.

Ann also does a spirometry clinic on a Monday afternoon.

If no blood appointments are available at the practice patients can collect a form from reception and take it to Doncaster Royal Infirmary between the hours of 8am and 5.30pm

Gowardhan Kotra - Practice Pharmacist

We have a practice pharmacist who works on a Thursday and a Friday, he is able to sign prescriptions, review medications and give general advice on prescriptions.

Simone Babtan

A Practice pharmacist who works on a Monday and Simone sees patients face to face for medication reviews, she also reauthorises medications.

Emergencies During Surgery Hours

All requests from patients or relatives are assessed by the duty doctor.

• Reception staff will take details and pass the information directly to the duty doctor.
• Duty doctor will assess the information and contact the patient/relatives to do an initial assessment/consultation.

The doctor will carry out one, or a combination, of the following:

• A home visit (this may be done by a member of the community team)
• A telephone consultation and issue medication that day or within 48 hours depending on the degree of emergency.
• A consultation at the surgery that day, or in the future,
• Referral to the hospital.

Doctor Reserves Right to Provide Treatment

Patients who wish advice/treatment for termination of pregnancy should note that Dr Dahanayake and Dr Thullimalli reserve their moral right not to provide this service.  You are advised to seek consultation with another doctor at the practice who will advise and refer if appropriate.

Doctor Called to Emergency During Surgery Hours

Occasionally our duty doctor may be called out to an emergency during morning or afternoon surgery.  We will inform our patients if this situation occurs.  Patients may be offered the opportunity to wait for the doctor’s return or re-schedule their appointment.

Waiting / Delays During Consultations

We appreciate how frustrating it can be when delayed for a scheduled appointment.  We know there are several unavoidable situations which have an impact. For example:

• A diagnosis made during the consultation may need explanation.
• An emergency situation may be identified when examining a patient.
• When 1 appointment is booked and 2 patients go in to see the doctor – please book separate appointments.
• If single appointment booked - patient attends with a list of items to discuss.  The doctor may ask the patient to book further appointments.

  Please note:  One Appointment – One Problem

We will do our best to minimise delays please help us.

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception between 08:00 - 10:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by an emergency care practitioner if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)

DNA - appointments not attended in July 2019

101 patients failed to attend their appointments in July up , please cancel an appointment by contacting the surgery by telephone or using your online account.

DNA - Appointments not attended in April 2019

90 patients failed to attend their appointments in April up from 78 in March, please cancel an appointment by contacting the surgery by telephone or using your online account.

DNAs in March 2019

78 PATIENTS DID NOT ATTEND THEIR APPOINTMENT

Appointments booked, but not attended

In March 2019 78 patients failed to attend their appointments at the practice, with appointments being scarce, particularly with GP's we ask that you cancel any appointment you do not need by telephoning the surgery or using your online account.

It is quick and easy to cancel an appointment using your online account,  please use this facility where you can,  if you do not have an online account please speak to the reception desk next time you visit the practice who can issue you with a username and password.