Appointments

To book a GP appointment at Padgate Medical Centre and Woolston Surgery

Our appointments can be requested by completing and online form via PATCHs.  If you are unable to complete an online request our Patient Advisers will be happy to assist.

PATCHs online requests are triaged on the morning which they are received until capacity is reached.  Once PATCHS has reached the maximum capacity for the day, it will automatically be switched off until 08.00am next working day.

Once all appointments have been triaged you will be contact via text/phone to advise when your appointment has been booked.

Our Reception Team as Care Navigators

You will notice our reception team/care navigators ask for a brief outline of your problem when you ring to book an appointment over the telephone if you are unable to submit a PATCH’s request or in person at our reception desk.

Care Navigation means they have trained to help patients by identifying the most appropriate service or member of staff for your particular health problem or need.

They will never offer clinical advice.  It is about offering you the choice to see the most appropriate professional in the practice team or elsewhere to help you get the best care for your problem.  It will often be quicker and means you may not need to see a GP at all.

Such professional or services they sign post you to may be a Community Pharmacist, Social Services, Warrington Health & Wellbeing Service or other services locally.  Here are a list of the some the services they may suggest:

www.nhs.uk                    www.mylifewarrington.co.uk

www.patient.info             www.warrington.gov.uk

By working this way, it helps to free up time for our GP’s to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions that can only be managed by a GP.  More importantly though, it means people are seen first by the clinician best able to manage their clinical problem.

The choice is always yours though and you will never be refused a GP appointment but we hope the next time you contact the surgery and speak to our reception team/care navigator you will see the value of seeing another health professional if they are able to help.  If you would like someone to explain this to you in person, a member of our practice team would be happy to help.

Medication enquiries

If you have a enquiry with regards to medications please contact the surgery after 2.00pm

Cancel Your Appointment

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your face to face appointment. This will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient.

It is also important we have your correct telephone contact numbers so we can ring you about your health, inform you about test results and call you back for telephone consultations.

If you have consented to us to be able to send you text messages and get our appointment reminder text messages for face to face appointments, you can cancel the appointment by replying to the text message.

If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

Telephone appointments

Please could you ensure you are able to take a call on the day of your appointment.  If you do not answer you will have to request another appointment.  The GP will make 2 attempts to contact you. Please add onto the Patchs form any times you are unable to take a call.

Face to Face appointments

When you are booked for a face to face appointment please could we ask that you use the check in screen at Padgate Medical Centre on arrival.

Booking your Annual Reviews with our Practice Nurse ie: Diabetes, COPD, Asthma etc

When your annual review is due you will be contacted to arrange your appointment.  This invitation will be sent closer to your birthday to make this easier to remember.  Your letter will state if a blood test is required and your blood form can be collected from the surgery.  To contact the surgery for your annual review please could we ask that you contact the surgery after 2.00pm to arrange an appointment with the Practice Nurse.

Training Practice

We would like to make our patients aware that Padgate Medical Centre is a training practice and at times there may be a trainee present during your consultation.  If you do not wish to have a        trainee present during your consultation please inform our reception team.

Did you know…?

• The NHS belongs to all of us – help us to keep it working smoothly by turning up for appointments
• Every time you see a GP it costs the NHS £43, on average, for a 12-minute consultation
• A visit to Accident and Emergency costs £112

Do remember that an appointment is for one patient only. If you cannot keep your appointment, please let the reception staff know – we are a busy practice and someone else will always want to take advantage of your cancellation.

If you have a lot to discuss with the doctor, please advise the reception staff who can give you a longer appointment, thus avoiding delays for other patients.

Although you register with one of the doctors by name, you can, by choice, consult any of the doctors provided that there is an appointment available. All consultations are by appointment. Normally, the receptionist will offer you the next available appointment but please let her know if you feel the problem is urgent.

Please let us know when you arrive at the surgery for your appointment. A self check-in machine has now been installed for your convenience. It is extremely easy to use – just follow the instructions on the screen.

If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for your appointment you may be asked to rebook.

When you arrive for your appointment the practice uses an automatic booking-in system that reduces the waiting time to book in. Please endeavour to use this simple system but in any case of difficulty there is always a receptionist available at the counter.

An appointment is for the patient for whom it was made and for that person alone. It is not appropriate to request an impromptu consultation for others who may have accompanied you to your appointment.

Punctuality is of the utmost importance. Please make every effort to attend at the appointment time as this facilitates the smooth running of the surgery for all concerned. The doctors will endeavour to ensure that you are seen at (or as close as possible to) the appointment time. Sometimes you may be seen slightly later than arranged, as the enormous variety of problems presenting to a doctor is unpredictable and is not always amenable to a strict timetable. However, you should note that if you are late the doctor may not be able to see you and you will be asked to rebook your appointment.

If you require a chaperone during your appointment, please inform the receptionist.