At the Limes the appointment system was implemented to improve:
- Appropriate appointment booking
- Patient safety
- Access to the surgery on the telephones
- Advance bookings
All our consultations are by appointment at the surgery. For a new or flare-up of an existing condition, you will need to speak with one of our receptionists between the surgery opening hours. In order to ensure that you are seen by the appropriate member of the team the receptionist will ask you for information that is essential for the booking system to work efficiently and successfully. The receptionist will ask you:
- "How can I help?"
- "Can you give me a rough idea of the problem?"
- They will then know whether this is a new or on-going problem.
- They may also ask "what's happened?"
The receptionist will NOT be making any clinical assessment - this information is to direct you to an appropriate appointment or call from our duty team. It is essential that you co-operate with the receptionists and understand that it may be more appropriate for a nurse, healthcare assistant or a nurse practitioner to see/speak with you. It is NOT always essential to be seen by a doctor. The receptionists are all bound by strict rules of confidentiality.
We understand that sometimes you may not be able to make an appointment that you booked or you may need to re-schedule. If you cannot keep your appointment please try to inform us as soon as possible so it may be offered to another patient. Please press "option 2" for use of our automated system where you can cancel an appointment any time, night or day. Please note, the cancellation line is an automated voicemail service. Appointment requests will not be accepted on this line. Please contact the surgery on 01992 573 838 to book an appointment.
Our telephone system offers a call back option between 08:30-12:00 and 14:00-16:00. Once you are in the queue, you have the option to press 8 and this will reserve your place in the queue so that you do not have to wait on the line. The reception team will then call you back once your call has reached the front of the queue.
If you miss the call, we will try again and leave a voicemail message if we are unsuccessful.
Please note that your call may be monitored for training and safety purposes.
You must inform the surgery if you change your contact telephone numbers - your home and mobile.
Definition of Advanced Nurse Practitioner
An experienced qualified nurse who has studied at a degree/masters level who can assess, diagnose and treat a wide variety of medical problems. She can also refer directly to secondary care as required. Advanced Nurse Practitioners are also prescribers.
Weekday Evening And Weekend Appointments Available
Patients can see a GP or another healthcare professional on weekday evenings and weekends. The services below offer additional, pre-booked appointments at convenient times to suit your needs.
To book an evening or weekend appointment, contact us in the usual way. We will book an appointment at a local treatment centre - through our booking system - and ask permission to access your medical records.
We will provide you with a date, time and location for your appointment.
Extended Access (HUC)
To find out more about this service including the treatment centres, please visit the HUC website.
If you have booked an evening or weekend appointment in West Essex via the surgery and need to cancel or change it, please ring NHS111 and select option 3.
Extended Hours (Primary Care Networks - Stellar Healthcare)
To find out more about this service including the treatment centres, please visit the Stellar Healthcare website.
If you have booked an evening or weekend appointment in West Essex via the surgery and need to cancel or change it, please ring 0300 3037300.
First Contact Practitioner Clinic
We have a First Contact Practitioner Clinic at the surgery. This clinic is run by a Extended Scope Physiotherapist who can triage, assess and refer or request investigations for patients with a selective range of musculoskeletal conditions. This clinic runs weekly on a Friday morning.
For more information or to book an appointment in this clinic, please liaise with a member of reception.