HOW DO I...?
OBTAIN TELEPHONE ADVICE?

If you wish to speak to a doctor, please ring 414311 before 11.00am. You will be asked for your details and a brief outline of the nature of your call. This information will be given to a doctor who will respond to your call at their earliest opportunity.
Telephone calls to the nurse practitioner or practice nurses for advice can be taken at any time during the day.

HOW DO I...?
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

Patients are asked to book appointments by telephone whenever possible on 01543 416655.

Consists of the availability of:
Routine appointments which can be booked 24 hours in advance. Please be aware that this may not be with the Doctor of your choice.
Appointments which can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance
Same day appointments – patient contact details obtained, Duty Doctor conducts a telephone triage and allocates an appointment if required
From Monday 9th June 2008 there will no longer be a walk-in service to see the Nurse Practitioner from 8.30am. If patients walk into the surgery wishing to be seen they will be offered an appointment after 1.30pm.
It is preferable to book an appointment in advance if you wish to see a particular doctor, or wish to discuss an on-going health problem with the same doctor. Whilst the practice strives to ensure that you see the doctor of your choice, this may not always be possible.

If you wish to cancel your appointment, please ring the appointments line, or the main health centre number. Alternatively, appointment cancellations can be submitted by e-mail to cloisters.practice@nhs.net. Please note: e-mail cancellations can only be accepted with 24 hours' notice.
Please be aware that we constantly review our appointments system. Any alterations to our system will be published on our website www.thecloistersmedicalpractice.co.uk and on the surgery notice boards.

HOW DO I...?
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?

If you are too ill to attend surgery and require a home visit, please telephone 414311 before 10.30am in order to help the doctors organise their rounds. It would help if you could give the receptionist some indication of the nature of your problem and its urgency.

Non-urgent home visits are strictly for housebound patients only.

HOW DO I...?
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?

We receive the results of pathology tests, x-rays and other correspondence from hospital departments late in the morning. These then have to be checked by a doctor. As different tests take differing times to process, your doctor will give you an indication of when you can check that your results are available. If you are asked to telephone the surgery for details, please do after 2.30pm on 01543 414311. You should always check your results - we will not necesary contact you about abnormal results.