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Appointments

Registered patients can book an appointment with a GP or a nurse generally up to three months in advance. We have some appointments reserved for booking 48 hours in advance, and for more urgent problems we reserve some appointments for booking on the day. If you are asking for an appointment on the day, the receptionist may ask you the nature of the problem to make sure that these urgent appointments are appropriately filled. Our receptionists are part of the team looking after you, and they are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the clinical staff, and can be trusted with confidential medical information.

Our surgery hours are 08:00 to 20:00 & appointments are available to book from 08:10 to 19:30.

We use an SMS text service to remind patients of the date of their appointment, which helps to cut down on the number of patients who fail to turn up. Please make sure the reception staff have your up to date mobile number and address details so that we can contact you when we need to.

GP Sessions

For continuity of care, you are encouraged to consult with the same GP although you are registered with the practice rather than with one particular GP. You have the choice of consulting with whichever GP, but if you specify a GP then you may have to wait longer for your appointment.

We have seven regular and permanent GPs as listed below. Their regular consulting times are as follows, although these can occasionally change to accommodate training and other absences:

• Dr Becky Cameron: Maternity Leave
• Dr Katrina Darker: one weekend per month
• Dr Marlett Smit: Mondays and Tuesdays, two weekends per month

We have occasional locums to cover annual and study leave, but the permanent GPs above are responsible for the registered patient’s long-term care.

Chaperones

You may wish to have someone present with you during your consultation or treatment. This person is known as a chaperone. A chaperone may be a member of staff or a   person of your choosing and must be over the age of 18. Please inform us when making an appointment if you would like a chaperone to be present at your consultation.

Cancellations

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

Unregistered?

We offer a limited number of appointments for patients not registered with us. Depending on availability, you will be offered a nurse or GP appointment within 24 hours of request and more advanced booking is not available in most cases.

We offer treatment for unregistered patients except where treatment is more appropriately provided by your own GP.  Some examples of things that you should see your own GP for would be repeat prescriptions, dressings (unless at the weekend and arranged through your own practice), ear irrigation or long-term care for chronic conditions. If you are registered with another Banbury practice, we expect that you have phoned your own surgery before requesting an appointment with us.

If a GP is not available, you may be offered a nurse appointment.

Unregistered patients can generally book no more than 24 hours in advance, but in certain circumstances, for example booking a weekend dressing or injection, unregistered patients can book up to a week ahead.

The Health Centre is not a "Walk In Centre"  We do however see unregistered patients who will be given the next available appointment time within 24 hours with either a GP or an advanced nurse practitioner. It is always best to phone in advance to book an appointment to be sure that your journey is not wasted or you do not have to wait in town until later.

Home Visits

A request for a home visit should be made before 10:00 so that the duty GP has time to schedule a home visit during the day. If a home visit request is made after 14:00 it will be very difficult for the GP’s to re-arrange their clinics to accommodate the request. All requests will be assessed by a GP, and it will be the decision of the GP whether the home visit will be undertaken. In general, patients must be housebound because of illness or disability to receive a home visit; all other patients will be expected to visit the surgery in person.

Please note that the reception staff are not trained to approve home visit requests, so please do not expect a home visit if you have only spoken to a receptionist.

It may also be appropriate to send a either a doctor or nurse to visit you or the doctor may arrange a hospital attendance for you.

Visiting patients at home may not be as effective as being seen at the surgery where essential equipment is to hand, so please try and attend the surgery whenever possible.

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.

Evidence that you are sick

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’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

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.

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

Specialist and Hospital Care

If a GP or another member of our healthcare team believes you need treatment or specialist care elsewhere, they will ask you where and when you would like to be referred to. You will often have a choice of hospitals, and each one often will have a specified waiting time for your procedure or appointment. You can decide which is more important to you between going somewhere closer to home or having a shorter waiting time if you travel a bit further to your appointment. You will be given a letter with the details of at least three possible choices for your specialist care and the instructions on how to book an appointment at the hospital of your choice.

If you are having difficulty booking your appointment our Practice Medical Secretary will be able to help you. Some appointments may even be booked on-line electronically using the NHS Choose & Book Service.