General Surgery Information

Opening hours
Telephone
Registering with the practice
Out of Hours
Dental
Prescriptions
Test results
Medical Certificates
GP Training
Complaints and suggestions
Our practice charter

Opening hours
The surgery is open from 8.00am to 6.30pm Monday to Fridays.

Telephone
The surgery telephone number is 01252 878992. The telephone lines are open from 8.00am-1pm and 2pm to 6.30pm from Monday to Friday. From 1pm to 2pm emergency phone calls only. The busiest time is from 8.00am to 10.30am, if you are calling for blood test results or about a routine matter please try and avoid this time.

Registering with the practice
To register with the practice you will need to check that you are within the catchment area . You will then need to complete the official NHS Family Doctor Registration form which can be collected from the surgery or downloaded from the site.

Out of Hours
From 18.30 to 08.00 during the week and throughout the weekend, the doctors of this practice have joined together with local GP’s to provide an emergency service through Frimley Primary Care Service (www.frimleypcs.org.uk) which is based at Frimley Park Hospital. This has been set up to enable you to have contact with a GP at any time, when required. A call handler will ask you some brief details and then one of the doctors or nurses on-call will return your call. They are available to give advice, and if required you can be seen at the Frimley Primary Care Centre, based at Frimley Park Hospital, and in certain circumstances a home visit can also be arranged if medically necessary.
The telephone number is 0118 936 5649 which is also given on the answer phone when our surgery is closed.
Please note that all calls are recorded for patient safety. The telephones in the Primary Care Centre are all withheld numbers and if your telephone does not accept such calls, we may have difficulties in contacting you. Please be prepared to offer an alternative number if this is the case.

If you require health information and advice, you can also phone NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or visit their website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk where they have a very comprehensive minor illness section which leads you through with Yes / No answers to a suggested course of action.

You can also ask your local pharmacist for help and advice on common ailments and problems.

Dental problems
Doctors are not trained in dental conditions and we are advised not to start antibiotics unless there are exceptional circumstances. Your dentist should be able to provide an emergency service. There is an emergency dental service at Frimley Park Hospital (01276 604604). You can also call the 24-hour NHS Direct helpline on 0845 4647 to find an emergency dentist in the area.

Prescriptions
Repeat prescriptions are computerised and, as well as the prescriptions, a list of the medicines you are taking will be printed. If you need a repeat of any of these tick the ones you need and put the form in the box provided in the inner lobby of the surgery. Prescription requests brought in before 11.00am will be ready for collection from the surgery after 4pm the following day. If they are urgent please speak with the receptionists. We prefer to give out repeat prescriptions in answer to written requests presented to the surgery. Telephone requests are normally refused as they could potentially lead to mistakes. We prefer patients to collect their prescriptions personally to avoid medication falling into the wrong hands. The computer will authorise a certain number of repeat prescriptions, after which it automatically generates a message asking you to see a GP for review of your medication. Alliance chemist at Monteagle Park will, if requested, collect your prescription directly from our surgery and make it up so you can collect it from the chemist itself, although you should allow a little extra time for this service. They also now offer a delivery service which can be set up by liaising with the chemist directly. If you are unable to get to the surgery we can send your prescription in a stamped addressed envelope, which you should include with your request.

Test results
Please ring after 11.00 am for test results to avoid telephone congestion. As a general rule the following apply in terms of how long it takes for us to receive the results from the hospital:
Standard blood tests – 3-5 working days
Specialised blood tests – up to 3-4 weeks
Urine Samples and swabs – 4-5 working days
X Rays – 2-3 weeks
Smears – 8 – 10 weeks

Medical Certificates
You are not required to see the Doctor for a certificate for periods of illness lasting less than seven working days or one week. For periods between four and seven days, the form required is Form SC2 which can be collected from Reception. NHS certificates will not be given out for illness periods under one week. If your employer insists on documentation, there is a standard letter that you can collect from Reception. The Doctor is able to issue a Private Certificate. There is currently a fee for Private Certificates.

GP Training
We are now an approved Training Practice. At times there may be a Foundation Doctor or a Registrar working with us, and in addition to this we may also have GP Registrars from the Army. They are fully qualified Doctors who are obtaining further training in the speciality of general practice. We also occasionally take work experience students (6th Form Students keen on pursuing a career in Medicine). We, of course, will always respect your wishes if you do not want to see them. We feel this is an important new development for the practice and hope that it will provide a good base for Doctors in the future.

Below are some useful links for the use of GP Trainees.
Frimley Green Medical Centre
Wellclose Surgery
Department of Health
National Institute for Clinical Excellence
KSS Deanery
Royal College of General Practitioners
National Office for Summative Assessment
Frimley Park Hospital
BMJ
Lancet
Free Medical Journals
GP Notebook
Bandolier
Cochrane Collaboration Database

Complaints and suggestions
If you have a complaint please contact our practice manager to discuss the problem. We operate a practice-based complaints procedure to investigate and reply to complaints promptly. Our Practice manager Rita Crowch, and the doctors would welcome any suggestions concerning the practice.

Our practice charter
We aim to provide you with a professional, caring, and efficient service. We aim to provide access for you to both routine advance bookings and emergency bookings when necessary. We maintain confidentiality at all times, and you can expect to be treated with respect and courtesy. All of us here would expect the same respect and courtesy in return. You are entitled to access to your medical records as laid out in the Data Protection Act. We are constantly seeking to improve the service we offer and welcome any suggestions.