Appointments

 

We request patients use our online service Rapid Health for GP appointments and other minor illness, minor injury appointments, using the link on our home page or by scrolling down to Section 2 below. If you telephone the surgery, you will be required to complete the same set of questions with the receptionist, however this will take much longer.

Due to a variation to our contract in April 2023, which imposed by the government without negotiation, we cannot ask patients to call back on another day. This means that when all available appointments have been filled, patients will be directed to other services, this is likely to be 111 or Accident and Emergency but could include local pharmacies and other agencies. No-one at Lavant Road welcomes these changes; we find they result in decreased continuity of care and continue a government backed process to undermine your GP surgeries in favour of an anonymous salaried doctor service. There is nothing wrong with the surgery- based, family doctor model we run, it just needs better investment and resource.

If you feel strongly about these changes then please lobby your MP, please do not complain to the management at Lavant Road Surgery.

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Pharmacy & Self-Care

Your pharmacy can advise you on minor illness without the need of an appointment. Please speak to a pharmacist first.

Self-Care

Help and support available from many National and Local Organisations

VISIT OUR SELF HELP ZONE

Pharmacy Logo

Pharmacy & Self-Care

Pharmacists are qualified healthcare professionals who can offer clinical advice, over the counter medicines and their use, to effectively and safely manage a range of minor health concerns. They can also help you to decide whether you'll need to see a doctor. You don't need an appointment and you won't even be asked to make a purchase. Every pharmacy also has a private consultation area for you to talk about your symptoms in private if you prefer.

LOCATE YOUR LOCAL PHARMACY

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Appointment Requests

Please use Rapid Health for all appointment requests other than routine nurse appointments such as Asthma or Diabetes Reviews, Blood Tests, Wound Care, Blood Test etc.  For these appointments please call 01243 527264

Why?

With the ever-growing demand within the NHS, we are continuously looking at ways we can improve the booking process and increase capacity. In particular, we want to reduce the waiting time for routine GP appointments and have listened to patient feedback about increasing your ability to book online. To achieve this, and ensure patients are receiving the best possible care, we have opted to use the Rapid Health triage tool which will allow us to maximise availability, and ensure patients are seeing the right clinician in the appropriate time frame.

What is Rapid Health?

Rapid health is a triage tool approved as a medical device by the NHS. It allows the patient to either make an administrative request, book an appointment, or receive self-help information. The new 10 year plan for the NHS contains a very clear message of “Digital First”.

When you click on the Rapid Health button on our website, it will offer the following options:

  • Medical Request
  • Admin Request
  • Self-help information

Clicking on the Medical Request button will take you to a detailed questionnaire to complete. This is then triaged, following which a suitable appointment will be offered for you to book directly.

When can I use Rapid Health?

The Rapid Health system will be available from midnight to 8.00am to 5.30pm each working day (Monday to Friday except on bank holidays).

What if I do not have access to the internet?

We understand however, that not everyone can manage to do this online. If this is the case, please ring Reception and one of our team will take you through the questionnaire and submit it on your behalf. You will then be offered an appointment in exactly the same way as anyone filling it out online.

Please be aware if you choose the option for a receptionist to fill the template in for you it will take longer than you doing it online yourself and your queue time on the phone may be longer. We wouldn’t recommend completing the form with a receptionist in person at the surgery as some of the questions can be sensitive and we don’t have the facility to offer a private space to complete this.

Reception can also send you a text message with the web link.

Why do I need to complete an online questionnaire?

All patients will be asked to answer questions using the online form or via the Reception Team when booking their appointment. Your answers help the system find the right appointment for you. This also means the clinician will have the relevant information prior to your appointment, enabling them to have more time to provide quality care to you.

My problem is personal and I only want to tell a GP

Most Rapid Health requests are automatically processed and so will only be seen by the GP.  There are some cases when they will need to be processed by a member of our team to ensure you see the right person at the right time.  Every employee at Lavant Surgery adheres to our confidentiality policy.

What do I do if I want to see a specific GP?

When booking an appointment, the GPs with available appointments will be shown.

I have come to the Front Desk in person to book a GP appointment - why will Reception not just give me an appointment like they used too?

Due to confidentiality, you will be asked to complete the Rapid Health form online or use a tablet in the waiting room. Reception will assist any patients who are unsure what to do.

Who will book follow up appointments?

We will send you a link which will allow you to book a follow up appointment if required.

What about under 16 year olds?

Parents will be able to submit their request on the child behalf, please use your own email address. We will manually triage the request and send you a link to book an appropriate appointment.

How are other types of appointments booked?

We will not be using the Rapid Health System for the following appointments which can still be booked by contacting Reception.

  • Practice Nurse appointments (e.g cervical screening, vaccinations and injections)
  • Annual reviews with a Nurse (e.g. Diabetes, Respiratory)
  • Medication reviews with a Clinical Pharmacist
  • 6-week new baby checks
  • NHS Health Checks
  • Home visits
  • Extended access appointments offered on a Saturday

Will I always be offered an appointment?

Once you have completed the triage questionnaire, the system will either offer you an appointment within a suitable timeframe or refer your request back to our team for review. This could be for a number of reasons e.g. no suitable appointments are showing as available within the system, you need to attend another service etc. Where a clinical assessment is required, this will be done by our duty doctor and a member of our team will be in contact with you within 48 hours.

I require an interpreter/assistance for my appointment, what should I do?

If you need any additional support for your appointment, such as an interpreter, please do not use Rapid Health. Contact us directly and we will make the necessary arrangements.

Do I need to do anything now?

Please make sure that we have your up to date email address as this is required to use the new system. You can do this by:

  • Updating your contact details in the NHS App
  • Replying to a text message we may send you
  • Asking any member of our Patient Services Team to check and update your record
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Request a Sickness Certificate

Taken sick leave for more than 7 days in a row? Request your sick/fit note here.

If you are off work for 7 days or less, you do not need to give your employer a fit note or other proof of sickness from a medical professional.

Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or you can download it from the HMRC website.

You must give your employer a doctor’s ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) if you’ve been ill for more than 7 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.

GET STARTED

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Request a Home Visit

Home visits are reserved for housebound patients and in exceptional circumstances for those too unwell to come to the surgery.

If a home visit is required we encourage patients to phone as early as possible in the day giving the receptionist some idea of the problem so that the doctor can assess the urgency.

Please remember that home visits are very time consuming and that facilities are better in the surgery than at home.

Children can usually be safely wrapped up and brought to the surgery. Patients with rashes can be put in a separate room. We request you therefore attend the surgery whenever it is possible.

At all times please ring the Practice on: 01243 527264

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Chaperone Policy

You are very welcome to be accompanied by a trusted friend or relative at your consultation if you wish

This is all the more important if English is not your first language, or if you feel you might not be able to express what you need clearly to the doctor or nurse.  

In additon, for intimate examinations, you will be offered the choice of having another professional clinician present at the examination. This is called chaperoning.

If we cant allocate a chaperone when you wish one to be there, then we can reschedule your examination to another time.

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How to Cancel an Appointment

Please let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to make your appointment.

If you are cancelling an appointment that is within the next 24 hours please contact reception on 01243 527264

Or you can use our online services.

Please remember that there may be a shortage of appointments and when you fail to attend you have prevented someone else from being seen in your place. On average about 150 appointments are missed each month.

Cancellations notified less than 30 minutes before the appointment time will be recorded as failure to attend (DNA).

Repeated failure to attend booked appointments is a significant waste of NHS resources.

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Life Threatening - Go to A&E

If you or someone you know has a life-threatening condition, such as loss of consciousness, chest pain, breathing difficulties etc, you should call 999

In an EMERGENCY call 999.
Emergencies are situations that cannot be managed at home and may be life threatening

Please note the following test/checks require either a 20 or 30 minute appointment slots:

  • Smear Test
  • Asthma Check
  • Diabetes Check
  • Doppler Test
  • Immunisations
  • ECG Test
  • IUD Check
  • Travel Health

Appointments FAQs

Why does the receptionist ask me what the problem is?

One of the important roles that receptionists play is to navigate patients to the most appropriate service within our Practice.

Some patients may need to see a Doctor, a Practice Nurse or Healthcare Assistants who would be able to provide the appropriate care.

I need to cancel my appointment, what should I do?

We request that patients contact the Practice with at least 2 hours' notice if they wish to cancel their appointment.

Please call 01243 527264 or follow the link in our Appointment Reminder Text

Why have I received a letter because I did not attend my appointment (DNA)?

If patients miss their appointment on 3 separate occasions and did not inform the Practice in advance that they could not attend, patients will receive a letter from the Practice.

If a patient doesn't attend their 4th appointment they will be removed from the Practice register and will be required to register with another provider.

We have approximately 150 missed appointments every month. This is the equivalent of 2 weeks of appointments for a full-time Doctor and is a terrible waste of valuable NHS funds.

I would like to see a Doctor of my choice, am I allowed to request this?

Of course; patients are entitled to request to see a Doctor of their choice.

However, on occasions they may have to wait a bit longer because the availability of appointments has been narrowed to one Clinician. You still have the option to book with another Doctor or request telephone advice, if you wish.

Why can't I see my GP of choice today?

At times we are unable to offer patients an appointment with their preferred GP because the majority of our GPs work part-time.

We can't guarantee their appointment slots will coordinate with patient availability. To request your preferred GP please book an appointment in advance; we offer up to 3 weeks' of appointments in advance.

My mother doesn't speak very good English; can she have an interpreter please?

For patients who require assistance with language translation during a consultation, we can organise for you a professional advocacy service.

This is provided by The Big Word so that a Health Advocate may assist with translation during appointment(s).

This service is only available for pre-booked appointments. The advocacy service must be organised 5 working days in advance of your pre-booked appointment; please contact our reception staff who will organise this on your behalf.

I am calling on behalf of my brother, could I speak with the Doctor about his problems please?

We are bound by strict rules of confidentiality and therefore cannot discuss any confidential information with a relative, friend or concerned member of the public.

However, we are happy to note any concerns that you have regarding the third party.

Registering for Online Services

You can now choose to sign up for SystmOnline to use the internet to book GP appointments, request prescriptions for regular medications and look at your medical record online. This may help you to manage your medical conditions and you can even access it abroad should you require medical treatment on holiday.

Anyone over the age of 16 can apply and proxy applications can be made by relatives looking after patients who do not have mental capacity.

You will be given login details and you will need to think of a password which is unique to you. This will ensure that only you are able to access your record – unless you choose to share your details with a family member or carer.

If you would like to sign up for Online Patient Services, you will be able to:

  • Make an appointment
  • Order your repeat prescriptions
  • Cancel an appointment
  • Change your contact details
  • Review your medications and known allergies

We will need to check your photo ID and proof of address as part of the application process as you will be able to see detailed confidential information from your medical record. The practice must ensure that access is only being granted to yourself or your authorised proxy.

Application for Online Services

When applying for online services please ensure photo ID and proof of address is presented at the practice within 2 weeks of application.