This section provides answers to questions we frequently get asked:

To find out if you live within our practice area, and can therefore register with us, take a look at our practice boundary map.

We currently have an open list and welcome requests for registration with the practice from patients living in or moving to the practice area.

Full details on how to Register.

Registering as a Temporary Residents.

The procedure for making an appointment is given on our appointments page. You can also find out about opening hours etc there.

Doctor availability by day can be found on our Doctor Consulting times page.

It is very important to inform us if you cannot attend an appointment. You can cancel your appointment via this web site. Instructions for canceling appointments.

On arrival at the practice for your appointment, please use one of the automatic ‘check-in’ screens located in the reception areas. If the screen is not working or you have difficulty using it please ask a receptionist.

After booking in please ensure you are on the correct floor:-

Ground Floor: For general nursing, nurse practitioners, minor illness clinic, minor operations, lung disease clinics & the on call doctor.

First Floor: Doctors with pre booked appointments, diabetes & cardiovascular disease clinics, councellor, midwife & health visitor.

If you are unsure of where to go please ask a receptionist.

After ensuring you are on the correct floor please take a seat in the waiting room & wait for your name to appear on the television screens with the details of which room to go to.

If you don’t book in, or you are on the incorrect floor, we will not know you have arrived for your appointment or the doctor / nurse you are due to see will not be able to call you to be seen.

Advice on how you can get the most out of your consultation with the doctor can be found here.

There are many options available for sending us your repeat prescriptions. Instructions for ordering your Repeat Prescriptions.

Please telephone the practice after 1.00 – 5.00pm for results of tests and x-rays if you have not been asked to make a review appointment by your GP to review the results. Please leave at least a week after having your test before phoning. Our reception staff are instructed to only pass results onto the patient themselves.  Please do not be offended if they ask for information to confirm that they are speaking to the correct person.

You can use forms available on this web site, call us or write to us. Full details on how to inform us of a change of address/tel no.

If you need a medical please phone the practice and speak to one of our receptionists. They will confirm a date and time with you. Please note that medicals cannot be performed during a standard 10 minute appointment.

Please note that there will be a charge for medicals as they is not part of NHS work.

If you just need a form filling in, such as a blue badge application or an insurance report, then please leave it at reception and it will be passed on to a doctor. If you make an appointment to have a form completed the doctor will not complete it during the consultation.

PLEASE NOTE: forms such as passport applications & discretionary travel form for public transport can be signed by other professionals and do not normally need to be signed by a doctor. 

For most forms that are filled in by a doctor there will be a charge as it is not part of NHS work.

For the first seven days you are off work you do not need a doctors sick note, you can fill in a self certifying note which you can collect from your employer or download from here.  If your employer requests a fit note for an illness lasting less than seven days from a doctor the only option is a doctors private sick note for which there is a charge.

After the first seven days of absence from work you will need a fit note signed by a doctor. After the Fit note runs out you are assumed to be fit for work unless you get another fit note. You do not need a 'fit to go back to work' note. 

If you have been a hospital inpatient the hospital should have given you a sick note for the time you were in hospital & for any time they think you need to take off after leaving hospital until you should be fit to work.

Fit notes can state that you are not fit for work or may be fit for work with certain modifications for your job for a set period of time.

Fit notes can be issued if you see a gp or if you have been seen by another health professional eg a hospital doctor, practice nurse recently & there are notes on your medical records of their findings which indicate you are unfit for work. A gp can then sign a fit note without seeing you if you phone them requesting one. 

Gp letters are rarely of help unless they have been specifially asked for by an organisation eg Swindon council, employers. If they are needed organisation will normally contact us directly with your consent & so you do not have to see a doctor. A charge is made for all letters requested by non medical organisations as they are not part of standard nhs care. 

Particular common examples of when patients ask for letter include -

For housing - these are of little use in helping you get or change social housing provision unless the housing department or association contacts the practice directly 

For medicine to be administered for children at school - letters are not needed. Prescription medicines should be taken by children if they are old enough or administered by a member of the school staff after receiving appropriate training which can be arranged by the school. Non prescription medicines eg paracetamol can be administered with the written consent of a parent when there is a valid health reason to do so.

 

These numbers are present on your prescription form if you get repeat medication from the practice. If not you can phone NHS direct on 0845 4647 or use www.nhs.uk, go to 'Find services', then 'Primary care trusts', enter your postcode & you will be given details of who to contact to get the number.

Each year people are harmed or killed by accidentally poisoning themselves with medicines. Don't be a statistic ... [more]

Blood groups are not recorded by the practice except for ladies who have had a previous pregnancy as blood grouping is a standard pregnancy blood test. For everyone else, if you have had an hospital operation or blood transfusion in the past the hospital where this was performed will have your blood group on record. You should contact the hospital directly for this. If you are a blood donor your blood group will be checked. If none of the above applies to you but you still want to know your blood group you will have to pay for a private blood test which can be performed at the practice and you will have to pay the hospital a standard fee.

You can use the main menu to look through the items available, or if you are looking for something in particular use the search tool in the top right of every page - Just enter your keywords and press the 'Search' button. This will search the site and provide a list of any pages, news articles or 'Your Health Resources' which include your keywords.