Patient Information – please read all of these key points about how our practice works and make sure you agree to it before you register with us. Thank you.
CONTINUITY OF CARE
We believe in the importance of continuity—seeing the same GP whenever possible. This allows us to build a better understanding of your health and provide more personalized care which is scientifically proven to give you better outcomes. We strongly encourage patients to book routine appointments with their usual GP whenever available and be guided by reception as to who the best person is to see.
USING APPOINTMENTS APPROPRIATELY
Same-day appointments are reserved for medically urgent issues that cannot wait for a routine slot. Please only use them for this purpose.
All urgent matters are seen face-to-face unless there is a clinical reason not to.
Less urgent issues and follow-ups should be booked in to routine appointments. Usually the wait is not very long and it means we can get you to see your usual GP or the person seeing you about the particular problem.
Home visits are only offered to patients who are housebound for medical reasons such as those with severe frailty, illness and disabilities making them physically unable to leave the house. If you think you need a home visit please call as early as you can.
Please help reception to guide you to the best appointment by answering their questions as clearly as you can.
Please be mindful of the short time given to each appointment. We realise that some problems can be complicated or that you might need to discuss more than one problem in your appointment; if that’s the case please talk your GP for advice on whether or not it will be possible to deal with all your issues thoroughly in just one appointment.
Repeated non-attendance to booked appointments can result in removal from our registered practice list.
Although you can contact us on-line, we have worked hard to make our telephone lines easy to use and accessible without long waits, so we recommend telephoning in the first instance so our reception team can guide your query or problem to the best possible place.
MEDICATION POLICY: To ensure safe prescribing and reduce the risk of harm, we follow national guidance and apply the following policies:
Benzodiazepines (e.g. Diazepam, Lorazepam)
We do not prescribe benzodiazepines for long-term use or for conditions such as anxiety or sleep disorders.
If a consultant psychiatrist recommends a benzodiazepine, we require written confirmation of the plan and indication before considering a short-term prescription.
Opiates and Addictive Medications
We have tight restrictions on prescribing opiate painkillers and other potentially addictive drugs, such as:
Pregabalin Gabapentin Zopiclone/Z-Drugs Codeine/Tramadol/Morphine
ADHD AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL CONDITIONS
We support the right of patients to choose their referral pathway, whether through NHS or private neurobehavioural services, for conditions such as Autism and ADHD.
However:
We do not enter into shared care agreements with private providers and so do not prescribe on their behalf.
We will not prescribe medications such as stimulants for ADHD unless there is a formal shared care arrangement with an NHS specialist (this means one
of the NHS services not a private provider through the right to choose system), and we have received the necessary documentation and treatment plan.
For full details, please review our prescribing policy for ADHD medications available on request.
Weight Loss Medications
We do not participate in any schemes locally or nationally that prescribe medications such as GLP1 receptor agonists for weight loss. Additionally we won’t prescribe them for our patients under most circumstances, except when specialist diabetes teams have initiated them. So any medications of this kind would need to be prescribed and monitored by private clinics.
GETTING THE BEST HEALTH OUTCOMES
People often come to see their GP with ideas and thoughts about what they feel they need. We think it’s really important for us to understand this so please do communicate this to us. We will often agree with sensible suggestions and it helps us frame your consultation. However please remember that your GP is a highly trained professional, so requests for treatment, tests or referrals might not be deemed appropriate and we’d ask you to respect that. We welcome discussion, debate and disagreement and if that hasn’t solved it for you then we can offer you a second opinion with another GP, but we cannot accept demands.
RESPECT AND SAFETY
We aim to provide a respectful, inclusive, and safe environment for all our patients and staff. Please treat our team with the same courtesy you would expect in return.
Breaches of conduct can result in removal from registered practice list.
We will always protect your privacy and confidentiality.
We thank you for your cooperation and look forward to supporting your healthcare
