Services

New patients

If you live within our practice area and would like to register with us, please complete one of our registration forms and a health questionnaire, which are available from reception or you can download copies from our website to complete at home. Once completed, you must register in person at the surgery as we need to confirm your identity.

All new patients are required to show proof of identity (passport, photo driving licence or birth certificate) and proof of permanent address (council tax or utility bill in your name which is less than 3 months old).

All new patients are offered a health check with the nurse as soon as possible after registering with the practice. The receptionists will give you a urine sample bottle, which you should bring with you to this appointment.

If you are transferring from a local practice, without a change of address, we may wish to discuss your transfer with your previous practice, before accepting you on to the practice list.

To check if we cover where your area, please use our postcode checker.

Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions take two working days to be processed and are available to be collected after 2.00pm on the second day, e.g., prescriptions brought in on Tuesday will be ready to collect after 2.00pm on Thursday, prescriptions brought in on Friday will be available to collect after 2.00pm on Tuesday.

Repeat Prescription Collection Service

The practice takes part in a repeat prescription collection service. All the local chemists are involved. You can choose which chemist you would like to collect your prescription. So instead of you coming to the surgery to collect your signed prescription, you can drop off your prescription request at your chosen chemist, they will deliver the prescription request to the surgery, collect the issued repeat prescription from the surgery, prepare your medication and have it ready for you to pick up straight from the chemist. Please enquire at reception if you want more details or wish to take part in the scheme. If, however, you wish to drop off or collect your prescription from the surgery please continue to do so. There is a prescription drop-off box in the porch or if you wish to have your repeat prescription posted back to you, please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope with your repeat request.

Review Date

The review date near the bottom of your repeat slip indicates when you should make a routine appointment to see the doctor who will then review your medication. If your medication is solely for one of the conditions that can be dealt with by our nurses, for example, asthma, then please make an appointment with them. This is an essential and very important requirement, if you are to continue to take your medications safely and effectively.

For items that are not on repeat prescription, you are advised to make a routine appointment with the doctor, as our receptionists are not permitted to issue prescription items not on repeat.

Online Prescriptions

We do not take repeat prescription requests over the telephone, however, you may register with us to order repeat prescriptions online. Please follow the procedure outlined below:

• Please come into the surgery and ask about online prescriptions (this is necessary as we need to confirm your identity before giving you confidential login information)
• We will give you the paperwork necessary to register
• Go to the EMIS Access signup page (link opens in a new window) and set up an account with them using the personalised login details we have given you
• Once registered with EMIS Access, you can then login to the EMIS Access main page (link opens in a new window) and order your prescriptions online
• That's it!

Home visits

If a patient can come to surgery then it is strongly recommended that they do so. The surgery has the facilities and access to appropriate equipment, which cannot be brought to patients’ homes. Home visits should be reserved for the housebound and those too ill to come to surgery. It is practice policy not to visit children at home as they can usually be seen sooner at the surgery than if they have to wait for a home visit.

Lack of transport is not an acceptable reason for a visit request, as relatives, neighbours, friends and taxi firms are generally available. A child (or adult) with a fever will not come to any harm by being brought to the surgery.

Please make home visit requests before 10.30am if possible, as this enables the doctors to plan their working day and visiting schedule. The doctor may ring you back to clarify the problem or give advice before deciding if a home visit is necessary. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a particular doctor to visit you on any particular day.

Out of hours

In an emergency, when the surgery is closed, please ring the usual number 01773 514130. When you ring you will be directly connected to Derbyshire Health United (link opens in a new window) who provides out of hours medical services on behalf of Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust (link opens in a new window).

There are alternatives to seeing the doctor. You may be able to use self-help for common conditions. You can also find out what to do in more serious or emergency situations.

Test results

These generally take two weeks to be reported and viewed by the clinical staff (X-rays may take three weeks or more). Please therefore telephone at least two weeks after your tests for the results. You may be put through to a nurse. Sometimes the doctor may request to see you regarding the result. This does not always mean there is something seriously wrong and may just be to clarify further details of your problem or request further tests.

Results are available after 2.00pm. Please note reception team cannot deal with calls for test results before this time.

Telephone advice

If a patient needs to speak to a doctor, it would be helpful to give the receptionist some indication as to the purpose of the call. This will enable the doctors to deal with your request more effectively. Should you wish not to divulge any information, please indicate this to the receptionist taking your call.

It is practice policy not to leave detailed messages on answering machines. Doctors do try to deal promptly with your request to call back, however, we cannot guarantee a phone call the same day or at any particular time of day.

Private work

NHS care is free at the point of contact, and involves things like seeing the doctor for a normal consultation, home visits and some types of minor surgery. You will not be charged for NHS work.

However, the doctors are entitled to charge for some items of work which are outside the NHS. These fees are payable by the patient and include: private sick notes, passport applications, holiday cancellation forms, insurance claim forms, HGV medicals, pre-employment medicals and other medical examinations. For an additional fee, we offer a same day service on urgently required certificates, passport applications and claim forms. Please ask at reception. A list of current BMA approved fees can be found on the notice board in reception or is available from reception.

Private referrals

For a private referral to see a consultant, please make an appointment to discuss this with your doctor. If appropriate, a letter will be given, usually with the consultant's private room's telephone number on the envelope. It is the patient's responsibility to make the appointment with the consultants themselves at a mutually convenient time and to take the letter with them.

Fit notes (doctor's club notes)

For sickness lasting less than seven days, employees should complete a 'self certificate' form, which is obtainable from their workplace. If your employer requests a private doctor's certificate for this period (and only if this is a requirement of your employment contract), you will need to make a routine appointment to see the doctor, and a fee will be payable for this certificate. For sickness lasting longer than seven days, a Fit Note (MED3) will be required from the doctor. This is free.

If you need a further Fit Note, please try to see the same doctor who has been dealing with your problem. Even if your doctor is temporarily unavailable, for example on holiday, this non-urgent problem can wait until their return. Notes can be issued to cover previous absences from work as long as they are continuous. There is no longer a requirement for you to be 'signed back to work'.

Patient UK has useful information on sickness certification in general practice (links open in a new window).