How Do I...
Make An Appointment?

Doctors' Appointment System

Tel: (01929) 475104

Swanage Medical Practice offers a service called 'Advanced Access'. We would like all requests for an appointment with your doctor in the first instance, to be dealt with as a telephone consultation with your GP, either on the same day or at another day and time agreed with you.

When you call we will ask how we can help you and ask you to give our trained receptionists brief details of your condition so that they can record them for the attention of your doctor. If you feel you are unable to disclose your condition you can of course state your call is 'Personal'.

(For your peace of mind the practice receptionists are covered by the NHS and Practice codes of confidentiality, just the same as all the health care professionals at the surgery.)

The receptionist will take your name and telephone number and the doctor will call you to discuss the problem and agree a course of action. This may be an appointment with your doctor, an appointment with a specialist nurse, direct referral to a hospital specialist or more likely a diagnostic test ie, blood test, urine test, x-ray, ultrasound etc or self-care advise.

For some conditions it may be more appropriate for our receptionists to arrange an appointment with a practice nurse, nurse specialist, health visitor, district nurse, etc and they will help you choose.

This system has speeded up the process of treating your illness and made face-to-face consultation with your doctor far more productive, if diagnostic tests are completed beforehand. If, however, you consider that a telephone consultation will be of no benefit, you may elect to wait for a routine appointment with the doctor.

Please let us know in advance if you are unable to keep any appointment made, so that we may offer it to someone else. If you are late for your appointment, you may be asked to wait until the end of surgery or be asked to make another appointment.

How Do I...
Obtain A Home Visit?

If you need a home visit, please telephone between 8.30 and 10.00am where possible, as this helps the doctors to plan their rounds. Brief details of the problem should be given to the receptionist to help the doctor assess the urgency of your request. Please do not ask the doctor to call unless the patient is genuinely too ill to come to the surgery. Most children can quite safely be brought to the surgery by car, taxi or pushchair.

Home visits are time consuming for the doctor - it takes, on average, about three times as long to see a patient at home as in the surgery. If it is simply not possible for you to attend the surgery but you need to see a doctor we will endeavour to arrange this. Please accept that this, unless urgent, may not be on the day of your choice nor with the doctor of your choice.

Home visits telephone number is: (01929) 422231.

How Do I...
Obtain Test Results?

There is no need to contact the surgery, unless otherwise directed, as your doctor will contact you if any further action is required arising from your test.