Appointments     

We operate a computerised appointment system with just over half of the doctors’ appointments bookable on the day. The remainder can be booked in advance. 

On the Day

Same day appointments are booked through the receptionist.  Once all the appointments have been booked the Duty Doctor will assess your symptoms and if necessary allocate an appointment for our urgent/emergency 5 minutes consultation appointments. 

Please note: Contacting the surgery before 08:00 will direct you to a 'holding queue' for the out-of-hours message, you will then be disconnected.   

In this respect please do not phone before 08:00 unless you are actually ringing for the out-of-hours information.

You are welcome to come to the surgery by 08:00 on the day you would like your appointment, we will do our best to guarantee a same day appointment, which are offered on a first come first serve basis.  With this system, we are unable to offer a choice of GP or time of appointment (you will be given the first available appointment)

Afternoon appointments are bookable after 11 am.  

Why do we do this? 

We found that a number of patients would call at 8 am requiring an afternoon appointment.  All appointments for the whole day would be taken.  Some patients feeling better during this time did not cancel their appointment and we were unable to offer to other patients.  

IF YOU DON'T NEED YOUR APPOINTMENT PLEASE CANCEL IT. 

Pre-bookable

Pre-bookable appointments are available for non-urgent matters and some can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance. Please contact reception in the usual way from 10:00 to 17:00 (Monday to Friday) to book.

Online appointments

A number of online appointments are available to book with a variety of GPs.  We ask for a reason why you wish to see the GP as some procedures are undertaken by Nurses and not Doctors. 

Blood test, Blood Pressure and Flu appointments with Nurses and Health Care Assistants are now available to book online.

Please make sure you have signed up to online services.

Extended Hours

Our Wednesday late evening and Thursday early morning slots may be of benefit to working people who have difficulty making appointments during the day.

We cannot always guarantee an appointment with a doctor of your choice however if you are being treated by a doctor for a particular condition we recommend that you complete the treatment with the same doctor, wherever possible.

Appointments are for one person at ten minute intervals and for medical condition only. If you think you'll need a longer consultation please book a double appointment with one of our reception staff.  Double appointments cannot be booked online. 

Physicians Associate

We have a Physicians Associate at our practice who can help with with a number of minor ailments.  Physician Associates support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients.  They are trained to perform a number of roles including taking medical histories, performing examinations analysing test results, and diagnosing illnesses under the direct supervision of a doctor. 

Practice Nurses

We have 5 Practice Nurses, 3 Nurses are able to prescribe medication and offer appointments for minor illnesses. - this means that you do not have to see a Doctor for any of the minor illnesses listed under clinics & services, as a prescription can easily be issued.
 

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. A text reminder will be sent to mobile phones and you have the option to cancel you appointment by return texting 'cancel'  this will remove you appointment from our clinical system to save you calling the surgery.

Weekend Service 

Our surgery provides additional GP and Nurse appointments on weekday evenings - 18.30 to 20.00 and weekends - 9.00 to 15.00 

Please contact the surgery reception to book an appointment or call 01702 742102 after 18.30 weekdays and over the weekend. 

Appointments are offered from:- 

North Shoebury Surgery, Frobisher Way, Shoeburyness, Essex SS3 8UT

Queensway Surgery, 75 Queensway, Southend on Sea Essex SS1 2AB. 

To book an appointment please contact the surgery or call 01702 742102 after 18.30 or over the weekend. 

Home Visits

We encourage all patients to come to the surgery, where we are better equipped and facilities available, however, we do appreciate that some of our patients are housebound or very sick.

We are unable to visit patients out of our catchment area. 

If you feel you need a Doctor or District Nurse to visit then please try to call before 10am. The Doctor may want to phone you back, as it may be possible to deal with the problem over the phone.

We will always visit:

• The terminally Ill
• The bed bound patients.

A Visiting Doctor will assess your symptoms and contact you before your visit. 

 Local guidelines state that a visit is unlikely to be required in the following cases:

• Adults with common problems of cough, sore throat, "flu-like" symptoms, chronic back pain, dental problems, lost prescriptions/tablets.
• Common symptoms of childhood: fevers, coughs, colds, earache, headache, diarrhoea/vomiting and most cases of abdominal pain.

These patients are almost always well enough to travel by car. It may well be that these children are indeed not fit to travel by bus or to walk, but car transport is a sensible option and often available from friends, relatives, neighbours or taxi firms.

 Please note that your Doctor has both the right and the responsibility to make a final decision on whether a home visit will be made and how urgently a visit is needed. 

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)

Telephone Consultations

The practice also offers daily doctors appointments on the telephone. It may mean that you will be told that you do not need to come and see a doctor, and will be given advice over the phone on how to treat your illness. You may be offered medication, which means the doctor will prepare a prescription for you, which will be available to collect from your nominated pharmacy. Alternatively, the doctor may decide that you will need to be seen in person. If this is the case, the doctor will book you a further appointment.

If you want to take advantage of this service, please ask for a telephone appointment from the receptionist. We must have an up-to-date telephone number for you, and in particular, the phone number or mobile number that you are calling from. If you need a call within a certain time period, the doctor will try and call during this time, however, please bear in mind that he/she will also be seeing patients in the surgery and at home during this working day.

Telephone consultations offer additional booking choice to our patients, may be more convenient for people who work, parents with young children or those who are carers to get to the surgery as well as increasing the number of medical queries that we can deal with during the working day.

The following may be suitable for telephone consultations:

- Minor ailments and seasonal illness.

- Blood test and X-ray results.

- Sick notes- Medication queries.

- Follow up after face to face consultation.

- Assessing your symptoms if you are not sure if you need to be seen.

- Advice on the correct specialist doctor within the surgery for your problem.

- Discussion/advice concerning referral to hospital or another doctor.

We appreciate that you may not be sure what this service means for you, so if you are unsure if you are suitable for a telephone consultation, please speak to our experienced reception staff who will be able to advise you.

You will still be able to see a doctor if you wish.

Evening and Weekend Service 

Our surgery provides additional GP and Nurse appointments on weekday evenings 18.30 to 20.00 and weekends - 9.00 to 15.00 

Please contact the surgery reception to book an appointment or call 01702 742102 after 18.30 weekdays and over the weekend. 

Appointments are offered from 

North Shoebury Surgery, Frobisher Way, Shoeburyness, Essex SS3 8UT 

Queesway Surgery, 75 Queensway, Southend on Sea, Essex SS1 2AB 

To book an appointment please contact the surgery or call 01702 742102 after 18.30 or over the weekend. 

When GP services are not available please call 111 if you require urgent medical assistance which cannot wait until the surgery re-opens. 

Calls to the NHS 111 service are free from both landlines and mobiles. 

Out of hours services are generally busy so please think carefully before asking to see a doctor and only do so if you genuinely cannot wait until the surgery re-opens. 

IN A GENUINE EMERGENCY YOU SHOULD CALL 999.  CHEST PAIN AND OR SHORTNESS OF BREATH CONSTITUTES AS AN EMERGENCY.