Smithfield Medical Centre

Appointments may be made by telephoning the receptionists at on 028 25652301 or by coming into the surgery.

If you are unable to keep an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible.

HOW DO I...
REQUEST A TELEPHONE CONSULTATION?

If you wish to speak to the doctor please ring between 11:30am - 12 noon or 2:45pm - 3.00pm. If the doctor is unable to take your call the receptionist will take your details and the nature of your call for the doctor to call you back. The receptionist may be able to help with your query so it is important to give as much information as you can. Please note: in case of a genuine emergency the doctor will always be able to speak to you; if this is the case please let the receptionist know. Please also note, however: in general we do not take calls during surgery consultations, as this is a distraction for both the doctor and the patient.

TELEPHONE CONSULTATION WITH THE PRACTICE NURSE

If you want to speak to the practice nurse please ring reception. The receptionist will take your details and the nurse will call you back.

HOW DO I...
REQUEST A HOME VISIT?

Please do not ask the doctor to make a home visit if you are well enough to attend the surgery. If you request a visit you should give a complete description of the patient's condition to the receptionist so that the doctor can decide if a home visit is necessary. (telephone advice may be all that is required). Only the doctor can judge if a home visit is needed. Other than in cases of extreme urgency, all requests for home visits should be made before 10.00am.

HOW DO I...
ORDER A PRESCRIPTION?

Prescriptions can be ordered by either telephoning the surgery or by calling at reception. When prescriptions are ready they can be collected from the surgery or can be sent by the courier service at your request to a chemist of your choice.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS

When ordering a repeat prescription please have the correct name of your medication at hand. Please allow 48 hours for your prescription to be processed.

ACUTE PRESCRIPTIONS
Acute medication requests will be dealt with on the same day. Patients are reminded that not all requests will necessarily result in a prescription being issued. If you feel you may need an antibiotic please phone at a suitable time, to speak to a doctor. Acute scripts ordered before 11:00am will be ready for the collection at the designated chemist after 4:00pm.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?
The doctors review all results on a daily basis and note what action (if any) needs to be taken. Please phone for results between 12:30 - 2:30pm. The recetionist will give you the result of your test and if you need to speak to the doctor, the receptionist will inform you of this.
If you have tests carried out at the medical centre it is your responsibility to obtain the result. Please check with a member of staff when to contact the surgery for your test results.

HOW DO I...
REGISTER WITH THE PRACTICE?
If you wish to register with our practice contact a member of staff at reception. The staff member will explain the details of the registration process.

Patients will not be registered with an individual doctor, but with the practice. All patients have the right to see the doctor of their choice where possible. However for an urgent appointment it may only be possible to see whichever doctor is available.

HOW DO I...
CHANGE MY DETAILS?
If you have changed your name, address or contact number, please inform us as soon as possible so we can update out records.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN FURTHER INFORMATION FOR CARERS?

If you are a carer or have a carer, please inform reception so we can update your records. For further information and advice for carers contact Social Services on 2565 6447 or visit www.carers.gov.uk