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.

Our trained receptionists are here to help you and they will ask you for brief details of your condition when you telephone so they can record them for the attention of your doctor. this is to ensure that we can assit you as speedily and professionally as possible and allow the doctors to decide, in urgent cases, who to call first . If you feel you are unable and do not wishto give your reason for seeing a doctor; simply ask the receptionist to tell the doctor you have 'personal issues'

(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 advice.

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 illnedd and made face-to-face consultation with your doctor far more productive. It also helps us to help if for instance you require any diagnostic tests 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. Patients who need to be seen the same day will recieve a telephone consultation and, as appropriate, an appointment in our daily urgent surgery. however, this will not necessarily be with your own GP.

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.