About our appointment system
Primary care is changing. You may be aware that the team of clinicians and support staff at your GP Surgery now include many new roles of varying skills.
As a practice we have been working at scale with our NHS partners to increase access. In line with NHSE guidance, we have expanded the types of clinicians that can offer the support you may need. These clinicians may be based within this surgery or at our partner sites across East Birmingham.
In order to book your appointment appropriately, your GP has requested reception staff to ask what your concern is, to identify the most suitable person to help address the matter. We would like to assure you that all calls are confidential and we understand that you are sharing personal information. However, the reception team are following the policies and procedures of the surgery.
Your appointment may be booked with one of the following teams as a same-day appointment OR in the coming weeks:
- Pharmacists- If you have a query about medication and may also cover long term conditions and minor illnesses.
- First Contact Practitioner (FCP) – Supports patients that have muscle or joint pain
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP)- A highly skilled clinician whose career may have started as a Nurse, Paramedic or Pharmacist. they can cover multiple aspects of primary care.
- Physician Associates (PA)– They work directly under the supervision of a GP. Medications identified as suitable treatment are signed off by a doctor or prescribing clinician. As a result, prescriptions are not always immediately available following your consultation. However, we have narrow time frames to ensure you receive your medication in a timely manner.
- Nurse– Nurses often manage routine reviews of long term conditions. They also carry out health checks, family planning, immunisations and many other primary care services.
- CPCS- If your need can be covered by our local pharmacy partners, the surgery will process a referral. Please do not present at the pharmacy without a referral in place. The pharmacy will contact you.
Pharmacy First
Pharmacy First will enable community pharmacists to supply prescription-only medicines, including antibiotics and antivirals where clinically appropriate, to treat seven common health conditions without the need to visit a GP.
What are the seven common conditions?
- Sinusitis
- Sore throat
- Earache
- Infected insect bite
- Impetigo (a bacterial skin infection)
- Shingles
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.
For more information please see website below
https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/01/pharmacy-first-what-you-need-to-know/
Urgent Community Response
Urgent community response teams provide urgent care to people in their homes which helps to avoid hospital admissions and enable people to live independently for longer. Through these teams, older people and adults with complex health needs who urgently need care, can get fast access to a range of health and social care professionals within two hours. This includes access to physiotherapy and occupational therapy, medication prescribing and reviews, and help with staying well-fed and hydrated.
Carers and relatives can contact UCR directly for support on 0300 555 1919
Extended hours
We open at 7:30am for patients who have a pre-booked appointment during our extended access arrangement.
We also offer appointments between 6:30pm and 8pm, Monday to Friday and on Saturdays 9am till 5pm.
Your appointment
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face at the surgery
- on a video call
- by text or email
- Online consultations
With over 11,000 patients, the demand for appointments is always high and we continually analyse our system to offer the best choice that we can.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- using the GP online system: NHS App
- phone us on Church Road Surgery 0121 741 1101 or Tile Cross Surgery 0121 788 2020 during opening times
Every month approximately 26 hours of doctor appointments are lost through patients not cancelling appointments that they no longer require.
If you need help when we are closed
If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.
NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
If you need help with your appointment
Please tell us:
- if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
- if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs
Home visits
Bedbound patients may sometimes require a home visit to meet their medical needs. If you wish to request a home visit, please contact the surgery before 11am, and a clinician may contact you via telephone first, to understand what support you need. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details.
If you require support from carers to get to the surgery, please let our reception team know so they can book a suitable appointment for you.
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.