Brough and South Cave Medical Practice

HOW DO I...
Make An Appointment?

Personal Consultations - By Appointment

Please contact the surgery if you would like to see or speak to a doctor. A routine appointment with the doctor normally should not exceed 10 minutes. If you feel you need longer with the doctor, please ask the receptionist for a double appointment. Always allow one appointment for each person to be seen.

Sometimes the doctor might not be the best choice for your needs and you may be referred to another member of the health care team. Nurse practitioners are highly trained and experienced nurses with a number of advanced nursing qualifications in health care. They are also able to prescribe.

Delays in the surgery may occur if the doctor/nurse has to deal with an urgent or particularly complex problem.

If you cannot attend a booked appointment, please notify the surgery as soon as possible. This saves the doctors time and may allow other patients to be seen.

Please do not insist on an urgent appointment unless you are in genuine need as you could be preventing a person with a serious condition from seeing the doctor at that time.

If you attend without an appointment you may be asked to book an appointment in the normal way, unless you feel your condition justifies immediate medical attention.

If you feel your consultation could take place over the telephone (ie the doctor would not have to examine you), please ask the receptionist for a telephone consultation. This will save you having to visit the surgery and is particularly useful if you simply wish to update your doctor on an existing condition or wish to discuss results of any recent tests or hospital visits.

We also offer the facility to book online. Please ask at reception for a registration form then click here.

Doctors’ Appointments

You can make an appointment either by attending the surgery in person, telephoning our dedicated appointment number or online via emis access. The receptionist will ask whether your problem can be dealt with over the phone (telephone consultation) or whether you need to see a GP (ie the doctor will need to examine you).

If you need to see the doctor, and your condition is not urgent, you will be asked to see your usual doctor and an appointment will be made for you to see him/her when his/her next routine appointment is available.

If however you need to see a doctor sooner than your usual doctor's next routine appointment you may be asked to see whichever doctor has the soonest free appointment.

If you need urgent medical attention the same day, and there are no free appointments, the receptionists will take your name and a contact number and will ask a doctor to telephone you during their surgery. The doctor can then make arrangements for you to come to the surgery at a mutually convenient time or may be able to give you advice or arrange a prescription for medication over the phone. This procedure is called 'triage'.

HOW DO I...
Obtain A Home Visit?

Whenever possible, please come to the surgery as more facilities are available. If a home visit is necessary because you are too ill or infirm to get to the surgery, please request it before 10.30am.

HOW DO I...
Obtain Test Results And Hospital Letters?

Please telephone after 3.00pm for the results of any tests. Results normally take at least a week to arrive at the surgery. If you need to see the doctor regarding the result of a test, please check that we have received it before making an appointment. To protect patient confidentiality we can only give test results to you personally. If you have a mobile telephone number and are happy for us to contact you on this, please let us have the number. If you would like someone else to be given your test results on your behalf please ask the receptionist for a third party consent form.

It can sometimes take several weeks to receive a letter from a hospital consultant. If you need to see your doctor following a hospital attendance, please check that we have received the relevant letter before making your appointment.

HOW DO I...
Obtain Repeat Prescriptions?

If you are a new patient to the practice and take regular medication please let the receptionist know as soon as possible. She will either make you an appointment with your doctor or ask you to bring details of your medication to our dispensary where details can be added to your computerised medical record. Once details of your medication have been added, you can order future repeat prescriptions as follows:

* Please remember to include full details including your name, address and the
medication required.

Please allow 48 hours before collecting your prescription or medication from the surgery or 72 hours if collecting your medication from the local pharmacy. This will give the doctor time to complete the necessary review of your medication before signing the prescription. We are pleased to be able to offer a free delivery service, of repeat prescriptions, to all our dispensing patients. If you would like your medication delivered, please ask one of our despensers for a registration form and details of delivery days.

Emergency supply of medication on a Saturday morning

Staff at the local chemist are receiving an increasing number of requests from patients for an emergency supply of medication to last them over the weekend, as they have run out.

Patients are duly reminded that they should order their repeat medication at least two days in advance of them running out. Three days' notice should be given if medication is to be collected from the chemist. Patients who regularly forget to order their medication in advance may be charged for an emergency supply in future.

Dispensing

If you live more than a mile from the local pharmacy or are visiting our practice area temporarily, you can choose to collect your medication from one of our in-house dispensaries.

HOW DO I...
Register With The Practice?

In order to register with this practice you will need to complete a registration forma and it is useful to bring your NHS medical card along with you. In order for our reception staff to give you their full attention, please try and visit the surgery to register between 11.00am - 4.00pm (our quieter times). You will also be asked to fill in a new patient Do-It-Yourself MOT card giving details of any past medical conditions or allergies you may have. We will invite you to visit the Healthy Living area where you will be able to measure your height, weight and BP. This will help the GP when seeing you for the first time, as it can take a number of weeks to receive your original medical notes from your last practice. A sample bottle will also be provided for you to bring a sample of urine, for testing. The results will then be passed to your new GP and will again help them give you the best possible care.

New patients joining the practice may express a preference as to which doctor they wish to see. We will accommodate this if possible. Similarly, should you prefer to see a particular doctor/nurse in relation to any specific condition, we will try to accommodate that as well. Please try and see the same practitioner if you need a second or further consultation in relation to the same condition.