Atherley House Surgery - How to make an appointment to see your doctor or nurse at the surgery

Appointments

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GP APPOINTMENTS

GP appointments are available to book each morning from 08:30, this will include a mixture of urgent and routine appointments.

Our reception team use a triage protocol created by our GPs, they will ask you for a brief description of your symptoms. This helps us signpost you to the right clinician/service and helps us to reduce waiting times for appointments.

Urgent appointments - If you feel you require an urgent appointment you must contact reception by telephone 02380 221964.

Routine appointments - We recommend phoning the practice to enable our team to signpost you to the most appropriate service but you can also ask for advice using econsult or by booking a video consultation via Push Doctor

It is not appropriate to book a GP appointment to have forms completed/signed, these should be left at reception and collected by arrangement whereupon a fee may be payable (see list of non-NHS charges displayed in reception).

For advice you can also use the eConsult service, an online consultation service where you will receive advice on your enquiry within 2 working days. Click here to start an eConsult.

Video consultations - We are working in partnership with Push Doctor who provide the opportunity for video consultations with a GP on weekday evenings from 18:30-20:00 and on a Saturday 09:00-17:00. Click here to get started; please note you must be 18 or over to use this service and it is not suitable for urgent care needs. For urgent care please call the practice or out of hours call 111. In the event of an emergency dial 999.

NURSE APPOINTMENTS

Our nursing team provide a variety of treatment room functions which include blood tests, blood pressure checks, ECG's, cervical screening, long term condition reviews, immunisations and injections, contraception reviews etc.

You can also attend Southampton General Hospital for a blood test if this is more convenient. You can book a blood test at the hospital here or by calling 023 81204877 Mon-Fri between 08:00-18:00.

OTHER PRACTICE SERVICES

Mental Health Practitioner - You can access mental health support direct from the practice. In order to see the Mental Health Practitioner you will require to have an initial appointment with the GP. If you are currently under the care of Steps to Wellbeing or the Community Mental Health team you may not be eligible for this service.

Social Prescribers - If you require support with a problem that is not of a medical nature such as, housing, bereavement, financial and loneliness to name a few, our social prescribers can support you and connect you with other services. You can self-refer to the social prescriber by clicking here.

Health & Wellbeing Coach - Our coaches can provide support if you are wanting to make diet and lifestyle changes or support with losing weight. If you would like to be referred you can speak with a member of our reception team, submit an e-Consult or discuss with the GP.

First Contact Physio - Are you experiencing muscular or joint pain? Did you know that you can see our first contact physio who will be able to provide management advice and support as well as onward refer to the community physiotherapy service if further intervention is required. Our physio is also able to provide a sick note where appropriate.

Clinical Pharmacist - Our clinical pharmacist can support you with advice regarding your medications, carry out medication reviews and support certain health conditions such as hypertension, asthma and COPD.

ENHANCED ACCESS

We also offer a selection of GP and Nurse appointments outside of our normal operating hours. Monday evenings 18:30-19:00 and 1 Saturday per month 08:30-11:00 as well as the video consultation service offered by Push Doctor.

Home Visits

Doctor's bag 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 10:30.

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. We will not provide a sick note for any illness lasting less than 7 days.

Evidence that you are sick

Sickness Certificates 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’ from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

If you have seen your dentist or you have recently been an inpatient in hospital and they have recommended that you are not fit for work they will need to provide you with a sick note in the first instance.

How do I obtain a sick note? For the first sick note regarding your medical condition you will be required to have a consultation. For sick note extensions you can complete a request via eConsult.

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. You do not require a note from the GP to state you are fit to return to work.

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

When We Are Closed

For urgent health needs from 18:30 until 08:00 Monday to Friday, weekends and bank holidays, please call 111 or visit 111 online.

Out-of-hours services are generally busy so please think carefully before asking to see a doctor and only do so if you genuinely cannot wait until the surgery re-opens.

In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.

Medical Students

gp_and_book We take an active part in the teaching of future doctors. Students taking part in our surgeries will have completed at least 2 years of training.

You will be told if a student will be with the doctor when you make an appointment. Please tell the receptionist if you do not want the student to be present, or request an appointment on another day. We consider our role in training to be very important and are grateful to those patients who feel able to help.

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

To cancel your appointment you can call reception on 02380 221964 or if you have access to the NHS App or SystmOnline you will be able to do this here.

SystmOnline Login (tpp-uk.com)