HOW DO I...?
OBTAIN TELEPHONE ADVICE?

You can talk to any of the doctors or nurses for advice. They may not be able to talk to you during surgery unless your problem is urgent. The receptionist will be happy to take a message and arrange for a doctor or a nurse to ring you back. Normally this is during the course of the day. If it is URGENT and cannot wait, then please make sure you make the reception staff aware of this.

HOW DO I...?
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

Appointments may be made by telephoning 810216 for Buckden patients or 210444 for Little Paxton patients. Routine appointments may be made in advance, which will enable us to offer you an appointment at a time more suitable to your requirements. We make every effort to ensure that your appointment will be with your usual doctor. However, this is sometimes not possible. If you cannot keep an appointment, please inform us as soon as possible as this will assist us when we are busy, avoiding wasted appointments. Emergency appointments are available on the day of need. Please note the receptionists may ask what the problem is about to ascertain which health professional can deal with it most appropriately. It is advisable you keep seeing the doctor you normally see to maintain continuity of care. However, for emergency appointments you are allocated at random or to the duty doctor. Doctors will see you as close as possible to your allocated emergency appointment time, but due to complexities of other sick patients this can be delayed. A minor illness nurse (Anne Weyell) is available to see patients with certain conditions that do not need a doctor.

Appointments can also be booked direct on the internet. To do so you will need to obtain your online codes from the reception desk. You must have your internet access details to be able to use the online access. Please e-mail your request to bandlp@nhs.net and we can send you your details.

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

Telephone your usual surgery number before 10.00am. Home visits are available when medically necessary at the doctor's discretion.They are for patients who are too ill or unable to come to the surgery, such as the terminally ill or housebound. Please do not ask for home visits just for convenience. If you need a home visit speak to the receptionist who will ask you about your problem so that the doctor can be given the information needed to plan visits, enabling them to see those patients with the most serious problems first. If you are calling for someone else who needs to see a doctor quickly, please say so.

HOW DO I...?
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?

Please note that the onus is on the patient to ring for results. Please ring reception after 1.00pm to enquire about your results at Buckden. Call after 11.00am at Little Paxton. On the afternoons Little Paxton is closed, please ring the Buckden reception.