Telephone Policy

Telephone:

The Telephone lines are open 8.00 am - 6.30 pm : Monday - Friday.

From 6.30 pm - 8.00 am, Monday to Friday, and 6.30 pm Friday to 8 am Monday, an emergency only service is provided by Harmoni. This service can only provide advice and treatment for problems arising outside normal surgery hours. The service can provide telephone advice, or may visit at home or you may be invited to attend an out-of-hours clinic at a Harmoni base. Your call may be recorded. Harmoni's number is 0300 130 1313

NHS Direct may be able to help on 0845 4647.

Nurse:

Telephone consultation requests, enter name and telephone number and brief description of query on the nurse's telephone list. If Travel vaccinations query enter country of travel for the nurse.

Doctors:

Telephone consultation requests received before 12pm, to own doctor.

After 12 pm, if urgent or own doctor on holidays, to duty doctor.

Non urgent telephone requests to own doctor next day if received after 12 pm.

For non-urgent telephone calls, the doctor will call after morning surgery. If no reply after trying three times, "failed encounter" will be logged on patient's computer notes. No message will be left on an answer phone.

For urgent telephone requests (depending on nature of the call) will be put straight through to GP during surgery, or request entered on telephone list and a slot inserted after current patient alerting GP to urgent phone call request.