Speaking to your doctor or nurse

Doctors and nurses cannot be interrupted during surgeries and spend time each day out of the building on home visits. Telephone calls are not a substitute for a consultation.

Often the Service Advisor will be able to help you. Otherwise she will ask you to call back for an answer or at a time when a doctor or nurse will able to speak to you.

During open hours please ring the surgery for your urgent care needs – our Service Advisers will talk to you about your needs and agree the best course of action.  Using A & E at any NHS hospital as an alternative to GP care is not a good use of the specialist services.  A & E deal with ACCIDENTS & EMERGENCIES not ANYTHING & EVERYTHING!  It is sometimes difficult to decide where to go, but ringing us or NHS 111 first could help. 

When to go to A&E

Sometimes minor illnesses can be treated quite safely and effectively at home, with the help of over the counter medicines and treatments from your local pharmacy.  Often no actual treatment is needed and you can follow simple advice to make you feel better and treat the symptoms that might be causing you to feel unwell.

These conditions are often self limiting – that is they appear, run their course and go away!  They do not need medical advice, examination or prescription medicines.  If you learn to manage such conditions at home for you and your family, it leaves our doctor appointments available for more serious medical conditions that do need medical intervention.

We think it is important for patients to learn how to manage these conditions and we have put together a new advice booklet ‘How to manage common illnesses at home’ which we hope will give you the confidence to do this.  The advice is the same as the doctors and nurses give to patients, it is safe and practical.  Remember there are no miracle cures for common ailments and these ailments are normal in our daily lives – our doctors and all our staff suffer in the same way!

Click on Self Care at the bottom of the page.

Of course, if the condition lasts longer or you are seriously unwell, or it is your young child, or elderly family member please ring for further advice.

For children there is a really useful booklet called ‘When should I worry?’ which you can view by following the link www.whenshouldiworry.com

Click on the link to read how to manage minor illnesses at home.

Self Care