Appointments

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Make, change or cancel appointments

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Cancel an appointment today

Call 01223 364127

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SystmOnline or call 01223 364127

Non-urgent advice: SystmOnline to book GP appointments

About SystmOnline

Patients can use SystmOnline to book routine virtual appointments with their registered GP, request repeat prescriptions for medications they take regularly and to look at their medical record online. 

Appointments booked online are virtual. Please DO NOT come to the surgery.

Virtual appointments are reviewed by your usual GP and then passed to the best person to deal with the query. We need a brief comment on the nature of your query so we can direct it appropriately. Someone from our team will then contact you (by text, email, or telephone) on the day of your virtual appointment. We are unable to give a specific time as this is dictated by workload and urgency. 

Available Services on SystmOnline

The following services are available to all registered patients:

Book / Cancel Appointments

Non-urgent advice: Urgent Appointments

If you need advice urgently please call reception to speak to one of our receptionists who will be able to help you.   They are trained to direct your call to the most appropriate person which may not be your GP.  If in doubt they will ask your GP for advice.  

There are several other professionals who deal with urgent incoming queries and who offer appointments without you needing to speak to the GP first: 

Phlebotomists and Healthcare Assistants - deal with blood tests, NHS well person checks, Long Term Condition reviews and tests like ECGs.  We only do blood tests if one of our GP team has requested them, or if an NHS specialist has sent you the form.  

Practice Nurses - deal with minor injury, dressings, vaccinations, long term condition reviews, and more.

Physicians Associate - deal with medical, and mental health, matters where same day advice is needed.

First contact physio - deal with patients with muscle and joint problems. 

Prescriptions clerk - deals with queries about prescriptions.

Our pharmacist - deals with medicine changes, and medication reviews, and more.

Social Prescriber - helps with non-medical problems to support patients practical, social, and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing. This includes connecting people to statutory services for example housing, financial and welfare advice.

Care Coordinators - responsible for coordinating health and medical services.

If in doubt please contact reception. 

 

Non-urgent advice: Non Medical and Non Urgent Requests

Where possible use SystmOnline to book, ammend, and cancel GP appoinments, view test results, and order repeat prescriptions. 

ONLY email  CPICB.HuntingdonRoadSurgery@nhs.net for Non Medical and Non Urgent requests. 

Please DO NOT email and then phone reception whilst you are waiting for a response as this creates two separate patient requests on our system and blocks valuable patient time. 

 

Non-urgent advice: Nurse and Blood Test appointments

Please call reception after 11 am  to book a nurse or blood test appointment. 

Non-urgent advice: Pharmacists

Pharmacists are able to provide care and advice on a range of illnessess including coughs, colds, earache, sorethroats, aches and pains. 

They can also give advice about medicines. This includes how to use your medicine, worries about side effects or any other questions you have.

If they cannot help you themselves, they can refer you to a GP or other health professional.

How pharmacies can help - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

 

Non-urgent advice: Online Advice

Please refer to:

Pharmacy First

NHS Health A-Z

NHS Medicines A-Z

NHS 111 Online

NHS Advice Website

If it is an emergency please call 111 or if it is a life threatening emergency call 999.

Non-urgent advice: Missed Appointments

It is important you let us know if you are unable to make your appointment. This will allow the appointment to be offered to another patient. 

Please use SystmOnline to cancel appointments you cannot make. If you are cancelling on the day of the appointment please call reception. 

If you fail to notify the practice that you are unable to make an appointment you will be contacted informing you thst you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistant defaulters may be removed from the surgery list. 

Patients that Do Not Attend cost the NHS approximately £120 for every missed appointment. 

Non-urgent advice: Texting Service

We have a texting service which sends confirmations and reminders about appointments.  We may also use text to reply when you contact us. If you prefer not to use this service, please let us know.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change home address, telephone numbers, or email address.

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Non-urgent advice: Are we the right place to go?

If you contact us about a problem which would be more appropriately handled elsewhere, we will redirect you to the correct and appropriate place.

Our reception team need to ask you questions, to find out the most appropriate pathway. 

Have you checked for advice on line?

You are able to phone your pharmacy for advice, their number is on their website or on your last prescription.

Pharmacists are able to offer advice on a wide range of minor illness, such as a rash, sore throat, sinusitis, and earache. They are able to prescribe some medicines, or offer over the counter remedies. 

The pharmacist will let you know if you need to visit a doctor or other healthcare service, such as a hospital. This may be quicker than seeing your GP and can resolve your query quickly. 

All other NHS services, including hearing centres, can offer advice via their websites or over the telephone if not in person.

NHS 111 is available at any time of day by calling 111 or online They will help you know where you should go for advice.

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Urgent advice: We cannot help with.....

Hospital 

The hospital is responsible for ALL queries relating to:

  • Appointments at the hospital
  • Cancelled and postponed hospital appointments and procedures
  • Tests and results suggested by them 
  • Advice and information about any treatment they have recommended
  • Preoperative tests and assessments
  • Anything relating to how COVID might impact on your care under them
  • Sick notes when they have suggested you need time off work, or to cover you for whilst you were in hospital

We recommend you check your hospital's website in the first instance. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has added strain on all NHS services.  Waiting times for outpatient and specialist appointments and procedures have increased for everybody.  We appreciate that this can cause worry and uncertainty about when you will be seen by the hospital.  However GPs do not have access to any of the hospital appointment/waiting lists and we cannot answer any of these questions. 

If you can't get the information you need from the hospital you should contact PALS (the "Patient Advice and Liaison Service") via the hospital website.

MyChart

Addenbrooke's have a very good online service patient portal called "MyChart" which will help you with most of the above.  To sign up, speak to your Addenbrooke's team next time you see them, or go online using the link above.  MyChart also has the facility for you to send an enquiry directly to your specialist team. 

 

Home Visits

GPs can provide a home visit service for patients who we need to see in person and who are housebound because of severe illness or a disability.

However, we are not able to visit patients at home unless it is absolutely necessary.  We will use our clinical judgement in each case, and considering the needs of all our patients. 

If possible please try to telephone 01223 364127 before 10:30 if you feel you may require a home visit.  One of our team will contact you to discuss the problem first.

Hospital Transport

If you have an appointment at the hospital or at an NHS treatment centre (not the GP surgery), but are unable to travel by private or public transport for medical reasons, you may be eligible for non-emergency patient transport.

This is provided by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST).  Call 0345 603 8117.

Lines are open: Monday - Sunday, 08:00 to 18:30. Before a booking is made, you'll be asked some short questions to see if you are eligible to use the service.

This is not booked through the GP surgery.

Chaperones

During your consultation, the doctor or nurse may ask you for permission to examine you. 

If you would like someone else to be present during your examination (a chaperone) please let the doctor or nurse know and they will arrange for another member of the medical, or nursing team to be present.  That person will be familiar with the type of examination you are having.

You are welcome to bring someone with you to the appointment, provided that you are happy to discuss things with them.

Similarly, sometimes the doctor or nurse may ask for your permission to arrange for a chaperone.

Interpreter

We use a confidential telephone interpreter service.  This does not need to be arranged in advance.  However if you are aware that you will need this service and can let us know, it will help us be prepared for your visit.

You are welcome to bring a friend or family member to act as interpreter, provided that you are happy to discuss things with them.

 

Currently away from home?

NHS Website

The NHS website is available to anyone worldwide, provided they have access to the internet.

The NHS 111 advice line is not available to patients outside of the UK.

Still in the UK?

If you are away from home but you are still in the UK, we are still able to offer you advice and treatment. 

Most of our consultations are remote either by telephone, text, email etc so it does not make a difference whether you are at home or elsewere in the UK. 

However, if we feel we need to see you in person you will be asked either to come back to Cambridge, or to contact the GP local to your current area and ask to be seen as a temporary patient.  It is important to be seen as a temporary patient, because if you fully register with another practice in the UK your registration with us will automatically be cancelled.   

PRESCRIPTIONS

We are able to send prescriptions to any pharmacy in England.  We will ask you for the postcode of the pharmacy you wish to use.

If you are in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland we will not be able to send a prescription to you. 

NB we no longer do any paper prescriptions so we cannot post one to you.

You can arrange for someone else to collect your medication in England and to send it to you.  Otherwise you will need to speak to a GP in your local area as above.

Not currently in the UK?

We do not offer medical advice to people who are not in the UK.

The NHS treats patients who are in the UK, not those abroad. 

Our medical licences and our medical insurance only allow us to practice medicine in the UK.  That means the patient MUST be in the UK.

If you are not in the UK and you need medical advice beyond what is available on the NHS website, you will need to contact local medical services in your area.

We strongly recommend you have appropriate medical travel insurance in place before starting your journey.