Appointments

Before booking an appointment with one of our clinicians, it may be worth looking at our self-referrals page to check if a surgery appointment is needed for the service you require.

How to Book an Appointment

You can make an appointment in the following ways:

  • Online at: SystmonlinePlease note that if you use this service to book a telephone appointment, you will be contacted during the AM (08:00 to 14:00) or PM (14:00 to 18:30) period during which the time slot corresponds. You will not be contacted at the specific time
  • Calling the surgery

We strive to offer our patients an appointment within 2 working days. We also offer pre-bookable appointments up to 12 weeks in advance.

Please make your appointment with your usual registered GP. This to ensure you receive continuity of care.

GP Appointments

A standard slot is 10 minutes. If you have more than one issue to discuss, or feel that you may need a longer consultation time for a more complex problem, then you can request to book a double appointment.

Nurse Appointments

Some nurse appointments: dressing changes, diabetes checks, asthma reviews and smears for example, may be 15, 20 or 30 minutes. You will be advised of this at the time of making your appointment.

Telephone Appointments

We are also happy to offer our patients a telephone consultation with a doctor or a nurse.

If you feel you have an urgent problem that you would like to discuss with the doctor or nurse and are not able to get to the surgery for an appointment on the day, we can offer that they call you back. Unfortunately, we are not able to give a specific time when this may happen as it is very much dependent on the appointments diary for that day.

If the matter is not urgent, but you would like to discuss details with a doctor or nurse, then we can book a phone slot appointment for you in the future, on a day that is more convenient for you.

Berkeley Vale Improved Access

Berkeley Vale improved access appointments have currently been suspended due to the Cornavirus outbreak.

Cancellations

Please inform reception as soon as possible if you have to cancel your appointment as someone else may need to see a doctor urgently.

You can do this by completing our online Appointment Cancellation triage

DNA – Did Not Attend Policy

A DNA occurs when an appointment is not attended and the patient has not contacted the practice in advance to cancel it. Wasted appointments are a huge problem throughout the NHS. The issue of DNAs is a continued frustration both for patients waiting to get an appointment and for those working in the practice as well as a waste of resources.

Cam and Uley Family Practice in an attempt to try to improve and rectify the problem has therefore agreed the following policy.

If you cannot attend or no longer need an appointment please let us know in advance. Mistakes do happen and the practice understands that appointments can be forgotten about or overlooked. In such cases, the practice will take into account the reason given by patients. Preference, of course, is for the practice to know in advance so we can offer the appointment(s) to other patients in need.

The appointment system is monitored weekly to search for patients who have not attended appointments booked with GPs, Practice Nurses or HCAs.

Failing to Attend Without Prior Notification

When a patient fails to attend an appointment with a healthcare professional a note of the date and time is made in their electronic medical record and they are automatically sent a text message via TPP. In the event of a patient not having a mobile phone a letter will be sent. This will be sent to the patient by the DNA administrator.

If the patient fails to attend a further appointment following receipt of the first text or letter, the administrator will write to the patient with a warning that future failure to attend appointments without prior notification could lead to their removal from the practice list.

When a patient fails to attend 3 appointments within a 12 month period, the practice manager will write to the patient, reminding them of the importance of cancelling unwanted appointments and detailing the consequence of not cancelling. This letter will also explain to the patient, that should they fail to attend a further appointment without prior notification, they risk being removed from the practice list.

Where a fourth DNA occurs within a 12 month period, the practice will review the individual case along with a senior GP. They will consider whether consistent failure to adhere to Cam and Uley Family Practice policy constitutes a breakdown between the patient and the GP. Where the GP practice has given clear instruction on policy and service provision and the patient has chosen to disregard this on several occasions in spite of due warning, then a removal letter will be sent by the practice manager.