Appointments 

Routine Appointments

Consultations with the doctors and nurses are by appointment and can be made by telephoning 01244 671991 or by calling in to the surgery. Appointments can be booked up to two weeks in advance. The receptionists will have daily knowledge of what appointments are available. They may need to ask about your problem in order to give you an appropriate appointment time. If we cannot give you a convenient appointment with the doctor of your choice our receptionist will suggest an alternative time, or another doctor who is available. You can also register to book your appointments online. If you are interested in this facility please ask a receptionist for more details.

Please remember that one appointment is for one problem and one patient only. If other members of a family wish to be seen, additional appointments must be booked. The standard appointment time is 10 minutes.

We also operate an Emergency Duty Team for emergencies, whereby the receptionist will ask you for some brief details and the nurse will call you back to arrange a suitable appointment where possible (other options may be suggested).

Urgent/Same Day Appointments

If you have a problem that you feel needs to be seen that day and an appointment is not available, you will be asked to speak to a member of our Emergency Duty Team who will assess your problem and make you an appointment as appropriate. Please phone between 08:00 – 10:00 and 14:00 – 14:30.

Telephone Advice

Sometimes you may want advice on a health problem or medication and simply wish to talk to a doctor. If the doctor is seeing patients or is not immediately available, the receptionist will allocate you a time for a telephone consultation. It is helpful to let the receptionist know who or what is concerning you so we can have the relevant records available. We recognise that children may become ill very quickly. If your child becomes ill please telephone for advice.

Extended Hours (Enhanced Access) - Routine Appointments 

If you are registered at Lache health Centre. the Enhanced Access service is available so you can book a routine appointment with a GP or Practice Nurse outside our opening hours.

An appointment with this service will be just like an appointment with a clinician at your own GP Practice. 

The appointment may not necessarily be with a GP or Nurse from the Lache Health Centre, but with a clinician working in Enhanced Access service. This service should be useful for patients who find it difficult to attend appointments during our opening hours due to work and other commitments. 

Patients are able to book these routine appointments 48 hours and up to two weeks in advance, by contacting the practice either in person or by telephone on the usual telephone number. 

The following link provides further information about the Enhanced Access Service.

Cancelling Extended Hours (Enhanced Access) Appointments 

If you can't attend your appointment for Enhanced Access Service, please call the Surgery or call the Enhanced Access cancellation line on 0151 319 7784

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late you may be asked to re-book.

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)

Training Practice

Lache Health Centre is an approved training practice. There will often be a GP Registrar working in the practice. He or she is a qualified doctor who is here to gain experience in general practice.

The GP Registrar will hold surgeries in the usual way and may sometimes sit in on the surgeries of one of the other doctors.

Video recording is sometimes used as a training aid but you will be asked for your permission beforehand if this is to be utilised. The video content is confidential and required solely for the training and assessment of the GP Registrar.