Appointments

(Tel: 01204 462929)

Doctors are available for consultation during the surgery hours. Please note that your doctor may not always be available on the same day and time each week.

We realise that problems sometimes arise unexpectedly; therefore we have several appointments each session which are reserved for the day. If your problem is URGENT, please explain to the receptionists who will arrange for a message to be sent to the doctor.

If you have a new injury you should go to Accident and Emergency at the hospital for treatment. The Surgery does not have the equipment to treat acute injuries.

Telephone Advice

(Tel: 01204 462930)

If you simply wish to speak to a doctor or a nurse for advice, please telephone to book a telephone consultation appointment and the doctor or nurse will call you back. It will help if you leave some details of your enquiry for the doctor or nurse beforehand.

Cancellations

(Tel: 01204 462929)

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.

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 before 10:00am on 01204 462930. Only Urgent problems telephoned in after 10:00 will be seen on the same day.

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 a community nurse 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.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

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

Changes to our Enhanced Access Service

From 1 October, there will be some small changes to the appointments that we make available for our patients during the evenings and weekends. These changes are being made to ensure we meet the requirements set by NHS England. We have worked closely with Bolton GP Federation (who provide these appointments on our behalf) to make sure they meet your needs too.

What’s the same:

We will still provide evening and weekend appointments for you during the following times:

Monday to Friday, 6:30pm to 9:30pm

Saturdays 9am to 5pm

The Enhanced Access Team is made up of lots of different specialists, that have been specially selected to meet patients’ needs, and appointments will be booked for with the most appropriate clinician, which could include a GP, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Nurse, Health Care Assistant, Mental Health Practitioner or Physiotherapist.

Patients will be offered the choice of both face-to-face and telephone appointments.

What’s different:

Our patients will be able to access face-to-face appointments closer to home at Halliwell Surgery.

Bank holiday appointments will no longer be provided by this service. However, should you need support from a GP on a Bank Holiday, you can still contact the out of hours service on 0161 763 8940 or the 111 service.

Practice receptionists will ensure that patients needing this service can access the available appointments. To book an appointment, patients should contact their GP practice.