HOW THE PRACTICE OPERATES

Registration
Patients wishing to register should enquire at reception.

The Practice Telephone System 01978 352055

The Practice has 11 incoming telephone lines which when dialled access the Auto-Attendant messaging service. You will receive a welcome message followed by a choice of options which when chosen will direct you to the correct department within the practice. You will be entered into a queuing system and answered as soon as a receptionist becomes available. Please be patient as our receptionists can only answer one call at a time.

Appointment System
Although a group practice, where possible we will endeavour to ensure that patients see the Doctor of their choice. We run a fully computerised Appointments System. Please Telephone 352055 between 8:00am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Patients with internet access may also view, book and cancel appointments online. Further details can be found by visiting the Appointments page of this website. Please note that any patient found to be abusing the online booking system may have their access denied. Appointments are generally booked at 10 minute intervals except in some of the clinics.

In the event of being unable to keep your appointment please advise reception accordingly at the earliest opportunity.This may allow the appointment to be offered to another patient.

CANCEL YOUR APPOINTMENT BY TEXT MESSAGE
We have introduced a new dedicated TEXT Message line to allow patients to cancel appointments without having to make a telephone call to the surgery. Patients who wish to cancel an appointment should Text 07812466110 with a brief message including the following details

• Patient name
• Day and time of appointment.
  i.e. �John Smith 12 10 09 at 10 20�

This is a dedicated Text line only and voice calls will not be answered

Routine Appointments
If the Doctor of your choice with is booked too far ahead, will be happy to try and arrange an appointment sooner with another Doctor. Routine appointments should where possible be booked well in advance, this will often guarantee that you would get to see the doctor of your choice.

Emergency Appointments
Patients requesting same day appointments whose condition is not thought to be medically urgent may be offered a consultation with our Nurse Practitioner. A brief explanation of your problem may enable the receptionist to offer the most suitable appointment. For urgent appointments you should telephone as soon as possible after 8:00am and you will be given a time to come to see our �Duty Doctor� or nurse practitioner, where you may have to wait. For urgent cases we will always see you on the same day but it is not possible to guarantee who you will see.

Registered patients aged 16 - 74 who have not been seen for three years are invited to see the Practice Nurse for a routine health check. We also offer routine health checks to patients aged over 75 years who have not been seen in the previous 12 months.

Home Visits
Is a service we offer only to patients who are housebound or immobile.If you are incapacitated or too ill to come to the surgery you can request a home visit. You should telephone before 11am so that your request can be triaged in order to assess the necessity for a home visit.

Out Of Hours Arrangements
If you need a Doctor in an Emergency between 6.30pm and 8am or at weekends please contact NEWDOC telephone 01244 834999. As endorsed by Wrexham LHB. For more information on NEWDOC please click here.

Alternatively if you only require advice you may telephone the NHS Direct Wales Helpline.

www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk
A 24 hour confidential helpline providing advice and information on:-

• What to do if you are feeling ill
• Health concerns for you and your family
• Local Health Services
• Self help and support organisations

Emergencies
If you are confronted by a serious problem such as severe chest pain; severe bleeding, collapse or unconsciousness dial 999 and ask for an ambulance.

For less pressing emergencies we offer an alternative telephone line for URGENT CALLS ONLY during normal surgery hours, this number is 01978 350791.

Telephone Advice and Information
General advice and information can be found on the NHS Direct Wales website, which can be accessed via the link above or in the left hand column of each page of this website, or by contacting the NHS Direct Wales helpline TEL: 0845 46 47.
A selection of self help leaflets together with a directory of UK health, disease, illness and related medical websites that provide patient information can be found at www.patient.co.uk
Patients wishing to speak with a GP or Practice Nurse can telephone between 8.00am and 6.30pm. The receptionist will take caller's number and pass it to the relevant clinician who will endeavour to ring them back at their earliest opportunity usally at the end of their surgery session. We are unable to interrupt consultations except in an emergency.

If you have any queries or concerns relating to primary medical services in the area, you can obtain further information by contacting

Test Results
Please ring between 12 & 3pm for test results, we do not have access to results until this time. The normal timescale for availability of results is as follows:-
X-ray/Ultrasound/MRI/CT/Scans 14 working days
Blood tests 5 working days
Minor Operations Specimens 14 working days.

Please note that the Practice has given permission for NEWDOC to access patients' blood test results out of hours.

Specimens
You should only bring blood, urine samples etc to reception in the correct containers, which are available from reception, before 1pm Monday - Friday in order for the Hospital to collect them and deliver them to the Laboratory. Please ensure that the sample is labelled correctly. Alternatively you can deliver the sample direct to the Path Lab yourself.

Repeat Prescriptions
We do not take repeat prescription requests over the telephone, as this congests the system. If you are on repeat medication you will be issued with a tear off section with your next repeat prescription. Simply tick the items you require at least 3-4 days before the items are due, and hand them in or post them to the Prescription Department at the surgery. Patients who are registered to use the Emis Access service may also order repeat prescriptions using the prescriptions tab on the main menu on this website. Requests by email are not acceptable as they may not contain the required information to allow the issue of a prescription. Please allow at least 48 hours before collecting your prescription or alternatively select from the tear-off section the chemist that you would like the prescription to go to, and we will pass it on to them.

Emergency Prescriptions
The Doctors will no longer issue emergency prescriptions for antibiotics without seeing you. Minor illnesses such as coughs, diarrhoea, vaginal thrush, headlice and sore throats can be treated by over the counter medication from the pharmacy. By telephoning the surgery during working hours the Receptionist will be able to advise whether you need to see the Doctor.

General Administration
In order to keep your medical records up to date, we need to know if you change your name, address or any of your personal details, so that we can update your records. Failure to notify any changes may result in your removal from our list due to undelivered mail being returned. Patients wishing to view their medical records should apply in writing to the Practice Manager.