Booking an appointment

In order for the receptionist to signpost you to the correct clinician, she may need to ask you some questions regarding your condition.  Please co-operate to ensure you are booked with the best equipped clinician to deal with your condition.  See sing-posting below for more information

Advanced Nurse Practitioners

Coughs, colds, sore throats, ear-aches, insect bites, conjunctivitis,  minor injuries, urinary tract infections, diarrhoea and sickness, hayfever, minor rashes, eczema, heartburn, blocked ears

Nurse

Contraception, Travel Advice and Baby Immunisations, wound dressings and suture removal, cervical screening, asthma, COPD, flu vaccinations

Clinical Pharmacist

Medication reviews, hospital medication changes, prescribing for long term conditions, minor ailments

Healthcare Assistant

Blood pressure checks, diabetic foot checks, ECGs, dressings, smoking cessation, new patient health checks, phlebotomy

Emergency Care Practitioners

Coughs, colds, urinary tract infections, diarrhoea and sickness, minor skin rashes,

Physiotherapist

Musculoskeletal health issues such as back, muscle and joint pains, arthritis,  

Link Workers

Patients visit their GPs for a range of different reasons and sometimes these issues can be caused by non-medical matters such as loneliness, anxiety, unemployment, illness or debt. Link Workers also known as a Social Prescribers work in partnership with GP surgeries and can help people to access appropriate support in the community to help them make positive changes to your personal wellbeing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appointments

Important - Please note that at all times during the working day, emergencies always take priority over fixed appointments.  

Generally 10 minutes is allocated at each appointment period.  For the mutual benefit of patients and doctors every effort is made to run to the appointed times.  However, should you require a longer appointment please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.  Sometimes, and for reasons beyond our control, we cannot absolutely guarantee punctuality.  We apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused. 

Please note that an allocated appointment is for one patient only.  Do not be offended if your request to address another person’s problems is refused.  Further to this, if you find you are unable to keep an appointment please let reception know in good time to allow best use of the clinician’s time and availability to other patients. 

Whilst mindful of your wishes to see a particular clinician, this may not always be possible at a time convenient both to patient and the clinician, and unless you are prepared to accept an alternative arrangement some delay may occur.  

If you have problems with our appointment system please contact the Practice Manager.  Again we wish to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.

Follow Up Appointments

Patients who suffer from chronic or a longer term illness are encouraged to attend the surgery on a regular basis. We recommend intervals of at least 6 or 12 months depending on your illness and its severity. The Health Professional in charge of your case will advise you by specifying intervals for you. If problems arise between specific visits please contact the surgery as soon as possible.

Missed Appointments

If you are unable to keep a pre-booked appointment please ensure that you phone the Practice well in advance to cancel your appointment. The Practice is experiencing a rise in the number of patients who do not attend for their pre-booked appointments. In these circumstances those patients who do not contact the surgery to cancel an appointment and do not attend for their appointments, three times in any year, may be removed from the Practice list. It is with regret that this action needs to be taken but it is in the interests of all patients who require appointments.  You are now able to cancel appointments by texting our Cancellation Hotline number on 07936843797, stating your name, date of birth and date of appointment which you wish to cancel.

Appointment Cancellation Hotline - 07936843797

Each month many appointments are wasted by patients not attending and not cancelling their appointments.  If you no longer need your appointment or cannot attend please help us by texting our new Cancellation Hotline number on 07936843797.  Please text your name, date of birth and the date of the appointment which you wish to cancel.

This telephone number is for the cancellation of appointments only and may not be used to book an alternative time

Consultation Ethics

During consultations we aim to ensure the following; that

1. Your privacy, dignity and confidentiality are respected at all times.
2. You can discuss health related matters with a professional of the same sex wherever possible.
3. You are offered a chaperone if undergoing an intimate examination.
4. You will be offered an explanation of your problem, and treatment planning will be discussed with you.
5. We will take appropriate action to organise a second opinion if your symptoms warrant a specialist referral.  

Telephone Appointments

Doctors and Nurses are available from 8.00am – 6.30pm for telephone appointments.  

On receiving the request from a patient to speak to a GP or a nurse the message is taken by the receptionist for the named clinician, and the message is then conveyed for appropriate action by the clinician. 

The clinician will then telephone the patient.  Receptionists cannot put calls directly through to clinicians during clinics unless the situation requires emergency attention.  
 

Home Visits 

Home visits should be seen as a privilege and not an entitlement.  Except for emergencies, requests for visits should be considered carefully before contacting the surgery. 

Those patients confined to the home due to illness os disability should contact the surgery before 11.30am to arrange a home visit.  Home visits will be triaged by a clinician and the clinician involved may contact you by telephone to discuss the nature of your problem before arranging the visit and ultimately it will be the clinican who decides whether a home visit is appropriate.  We are unable to provide a specific time for the home visit as this will be determined by the number of home visits requested.  Please note that lack of transport cannot be accepted as a reason for a home visit, nor does the Practice provide transport services. 

GPHA Castle Point Weekend Service

Extended Access Here for you for longer

Extended Access Leaflet

Weekend and Bank Holiday GP Service

Patients can now book a weekend/bank holiday appointment with a GP or Practice Nurse. The service will be open on Saturdays and Sundays between 9.00am to 3.00pm. During Bank Holidays please call for details.

Advance appointments can be booked via Oaklands Surgery by ringing 01268 209339 and for on the day appointments telephone one of the surgeries listed below during times shown. This service is available to patients who are registered at participating surgeries only. Please note that this is not a walk-in service but by appointment only.

The service is available at the following GP Surgeries:

The Surgery, 1a Hawkesbury Road, Canvey Island SS8 0EX, 01268 682303 or Audley Mills Surgery, 57 Eastwood Road, Rayleigh SS6 7JF 01268 740501.

Evening Appointments

Evening GP appointments For patients registered at a participating surgery in Rochford, Rayleigh, Benfleet & Canvey. Monday – Friday 6:30pm-8pm This is not a walk in service – contact your own surgery to book an appointment. Sites will vary across Castle Point & Rochford

For blood test results please telephone the surgery after 2.00pm

Have you got the NHS App? 

At home or on the move, with the new NHS App you can book appointments at your, order repeat prescriptions, set organ donation preferences, and check symptoms. 

The app has been developed by the NHS and has been designed to help millions of people get more information about their health and care - and more control of how they use NHS services. New functions and services will also be added in the coming months. Why not download it and try it out?  

What does the NHS App do? 

The NHS App allows you to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.  

You can use it wherever you are, at any time. It puts valuable information about your health and treatments at your fingertips. 

You can: 

• book and cancel appointments at your GP surgery
• order repeat prescriptions
• view your GP medical record
• register for organ donation and change your donation preferences
• use the symptoms checker, including an A to Z of conditions and treatment advice from the NHS website
• access 111 Online, for advice on self-care and whether urgent help is needed

Is my information safe? 

Just like a banking app, we will carefully check your identity during the simple registration process. The app has been designed, built and tested so that your personal information is always safe and secure. 

How to register through the NHS App 

Download the app from your mobile device’s app store and follow the easy step-by-step registration instructions. It will help if you know your NHS number, and have a form of ID (passport or driving license) to hand.