APPOINTMENTS

The demand for appointments is currently extremely high and continuing to grow. We have ensured that there are always appointments for urgent medical problems that need to be seen on the same day but you must be prepared to see any doctor.

We have noticed an increase in patients failing to attend their booked appointments. Failure to keep your appointment not only causes inconvenience, but also denies others the opportunity to see a doctor, nurse or HCA. If you cannot attend your appointment for any reason, please inform us as soon as possible so that your appointment can be offered to someone else. 

MISSED APPOINTMENTS DATA - JULY 2022

If you have a mobile phone, please ensure that we have your this number recorded on your medical records as you will then receive an appointment reminder text before your appointment with the option to cancel if you are unable to attend.

BOOKING APPOINTMENTS IN ADVANCE

During the Covid-19 Pandemic we were unable to book advance appointments at the patient’s request as the Clinician needed to ‘Triage’ to ensure that the patient did not pose any Covid-19 risk to either clinicians, staff or other patients, prior to attendance at surgery. This system was National Guidance that we had been advised to follow during the pandemic.    

We are now in a position that we are able to reintroduce pre-bookable appointments. Due to the current high demand for appointments we are continuously monitoring the appointment system to try to ensure maximum capacity and efficiency and to ensure that we have sufficient appointments for on-the-day urgent care. We are offering a small amount of pre-bookable Face-to-Face appointments with the doctors. These appointments are available to be booked no more than two weeks in advance.

BOOKING APPOINTMENTS ON THE DAY

If you wish to make an appointment with a doctor, please telephone 01952 620138, choosing option "2" on our automated telephone service. We are currently operating a system of dealing with calls ‘on the day’ so if you telephone for an advice call and the clinician feels you need to be seen in person then the appointment will be on that same day. If you are not available to attend if necessary, you may not be offered the advice call and you will be asked to call back on a day when you are available to attend. You are free to consult any available doctor within the practice bearing in mind the information above. If you are asked to attend surgery for a face to face consultation, appointments are usually for 10 minutes and are for one problem only. Although we endeavour to keep to time, sometimes complicated problems or medical emergencies arise, which means that appointments may become delayed. We apologise for this.

When you telephone the surgery, the Receptionist will take your details and the doctor or triage nurse will contact you as soon as possible. You will be asked for a few details by the doctor or nurse in order to assess your needs and offered the most appropriate treatment. You may be offered advice, or be invited to attend the surgery to see either a doctor or a nurse.

Our practice nurses are trained to offer advice on the management of a wide range of common illnesses and minor injuries. If you are suffering from illnesses such as earache, sore throat, coughs and colds, conjunctivitis, urinary tract infections, or diarrhoea and vomiting, one of our nurses will be able to offer you quick and efficient advice on your particular problem.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY ON ABUSE TOWARDS ALL OF OUR STAFF.

We aim to offer a sympathetic but fair treatment to all of our patients and in return expect patients to behave in a polite and considerate way towards all of our staff, doctors, nurses and receptionists. Any person(s) considered to be abusive either verbally or physically, over the telephone or in person may be asked to register elsewhere.

VIDEO CONSULTATIONS

Please click here for our guide and further information to arrange a video consultation.

HOME VISITS

The Partners at Charlton Medical Centre have agreed to follow the General Practitioner Visiting Guidelines as set by South Staffordshire Local Medical Committee. Further information can be found HERE

Requests for home visits must be made before 10.30am. Home visits are very time consuming for the doctors, and we limit them to patients who are housebound, or too ill to come to surgery. Please try to attend the surgery whenever possible, as the facilities for examining you are much better, and any tests that are needed can be easily arranged.

To book a home visit please telephone 01952 620138. The receptionist will ask you for details of your problem so that the doctor can assess how urgent the visit is.

In an emergency dial 999

Did you know Charlton is using the new CPCS (Community Pharmacy Consultation Service)

To improve access for patients to a same-day consultation with a healthcare professional, Charlton has joined other local practices in signing up to the new CPCS. The aim is to direct patients to the most appropriate person to help them, which may be a GP or a community pharmacist.

From 23^rd May 2022 if your symptoms can be resolved by a booked consultation with the community pharmacist instead of the GP, you will be offered a same-day referral to a pharmacy of your choice. Your consultation may take place on the phone or in person at the pharmacy.

We think this is a positive step in improving patient access to same day appointments for minor ailments, but it will still be down to individual patient choice if you wish to accept the offer.  We are working closely with your local pharmacist who is a highly trained and skilled clinician, experienced in treating minor illnesses. Once you see how great they are at helping with minor ailments we don’t think you’ll look back.

This will also help us to free up GP appointments for people with more complex health needs and ensure that everyone gets treated at the right time, by the right healthcare professional.

You can help us

We are keen to hear what you think and will be listening to your comments and feedback about your experience of using this new community pharmacist service.

ONLINE SERVICES

We are pleased to be able to introduce our new Appointments & Prescriptions Online Service

Appointments and Prescriptions online can be found at the link below:

Appointments & Prescriptions Online Website

This service allows you to:

• Book and cancel SINGLE ROUTINE appointments (see practice Guidance below for types of appointments not available for on-line booking).

• Request repeat medication - for medication that you currently have available for repeat issue. Please do not ask for medication that is not on your current repeat list, and please allow two working days in order to process your request.

• Send secure messages to practice staff. Please remember to include your telephone number so that we can get back to you if needed.

In order to use Appointments and Prescriptions Online, you will need to Register for the service.  You can register online, or on request at reception, where the receptionist can generate your "Opt in" details. 

OUR PRACTICE GUIDANCE FOR ONLINE SERVICES

Doctors Appointments

Please ensure that you book your appointment appropriately. If you are unsure as to whether it is appropriate for you to see a doctor or nurse, please contact us by telephone. It is currently only possible for you to book a SINGLE ROUTINE appointment with either the doctor, or the nurse. Clinic appointments, such as antenatal/postnatal, diabetic, asthma, smears, vaccinations, blood tests etc., still need to be booked via the surgery. We hope to expand on the appointment types available online in the future.

Reason for Appointment

We would ask that you enter a reason for your appointment in the box provided when booking an appointment. This gives us the opportunity to ensure that it is appropriate for you to see the doctor, rather than the nurse. Please be assured that the practice has a strict confidentiality policy.

Appointments for Family Members

Unfortunately the system is not flexible enough to allow you to book appointments or request repeat prescriptions for family members. Each patient requires their own unique Username and Password.

Inappropriate Use

We will be closely monitoring the use of this service. Patients who are abusing the service, will have their access revoked.

We would consider inappropriate use as:

• booking appointments and not using them
• booking appointments for other family members using your name
• consistently booking inappropriate appointments with the doctor or nurse
• sending inappropriate or abusive messages.

We hope that you find this new facility useful. We hope there will not be any difficulties with the new services, but as with all new systems there is always the possibility of teething problems. Please bear with us, and let us know what you think!

DO YOU HAVE A SMART PHONE?

Did you know that you can order your repeat medication and book appointments via your smart phone. 

Download the EMIS Access App from http://www.patient.info

Please note that you will need to sign up to use our online services before you can access this facility.

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).

Your employer can ask you to confirm that you've been ill.You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work. This is called self-certification.

If you're sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer will probably ask for proof of your illness. Most employers ask for a fit note from your GP.

However, this will also depend on your employer's company policy on sick leave (or sickness absence). This policy should tell you how many days you can be off sick before you need to provide proof of illness or a fit note.

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.

How to request a Medical Certificate (Sick Note) from your GP at Charlton :

Option 1 - Request via Online Consultations 

Option 2 - Telephone the surgery and select option 2 at 8.30am or 2.00pm for an on the day telephone consultation with a 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)

How to request a Fit Note from your GP at Charlton :

Option 1 - Request via Online Consultations 

Option 2 - Telephone the surgery and select option 2 at 8.30am or 2.00pm for an on the day telephone consultation with a GP

MY PLANNED CARE DIGITAL PLATFORM - SECONDARY CARE APPOINTMENT TRACKER

There is currently a backlog in Secondary Care due to the Covid-19 pandemic and there are increased waiting times for appointments. We are not best placed to tell you where you are on the waiting list but we can point you in the right direction to find out more.

• NHS England and NHS Improvement have recently launched the first phase of the My Planned Care Patient Digital Platform. This site provides people waiting for a hospital appointment, operation or treatment (excluding cancer) direct access to the latest wait-time information and support for all acute trusts across England. The platform is easy to access and navigate and is designed for patients who are on an NHS waiting list. We encourage you to look at this site where you may find the information you need before contacting the surgery for an update about any elective procedures you are waiting for.

• If you have not received an appointment following a referral that the doctor has made for you please telephone TRAQs on 01952 580441 

• To chase a hospital follow up appointment at The Princess Royal or Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals please telephone the booking office on 01952 282810

• If you have been referred for an x-ray or a scan and have not heard about your appointment please telephone the radiology department on 01952 641222 Ext 4666.