MINOR AILMENTS SCHEME

Same Day Advice?

This is a scheme, available in parts of Oxfordshire, which offers patients access to NHS health advice and treatment from their local pharmacy. The scheme means you may not need to wait for an appointment to see your doctor. To use the service you must be registered as a patient at the Donnington Medical Partnership, The Leys Health Centre, Hedena Health, Temple Cowley Health Centre, Bartlemas Surgery, Hollow Way Medical Centre or Cowley Road Medical Practice. You must also be entitled to free prescriptions. All exemptions are valid; examples include age, income and medical exemptions.

For more information click here or ask to one of our receptionist here. 

Evening and weekend NHS appointments are now available in the new OxFed Evening and Weekend GP Clinics, located in Botley, Summertown and East Oxford, where you can consult with an NHS GP, practice nurse, or other health professional.  Appointments are booked by calling our practice reception who can advise if the service is suitable for your needs. 

For more information about opening times and clinic locations please see the OxFed website.  

Do you really need to see a doctor? Appointments can be made with the Practice Nurses, clinical pharmacists, phlebotomists, physiotherapists, healthcare assistant and more. Also, you can refer yourself to other health care professional who can offer a quicker help. You can book by filling the online form here.

In order to make the most efficient use of our appointments, the doctors have requested our receptionists to ask patients to provide some brief information about the reason for their appointment.  This is to ensure patients are directed to the service which can help them best, and because it is very helpful clinicians to know in advance the purpose of your appointment. 

Please arrive in good time and book in at reception or with our self - check in device. If you cannot attend for your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible in order that your appointment can be offered to another patient. On occasions, surgeries can run late because earlier consultations have taken longer than normal or your doctor has been called out to an emergency. We ask for your understanding and patience at such times.

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list. To cancel your appointment please call 01865 777495.

We offer telephone appointments with the clinicians which can be booked with the receptionist in the normal way. You may find these useful if you wish to discuss test results or other follow–up or admin matters or if you wish to seek health advice. The receptionist will book a convenient time with you, take your contact number and the clinician will ring you back within the timeframe the receptionist will give you.

If you phone the surgery for a same–day appointment, you will be referred to 7 day access service; or our minor illness nurse; or your nearest pharmacy; or the Duty Doctor who will phone you back when available. The Duty Doctor will assess your problem and then direct you to the most appropriate route; this may mean a same–day appointment with a GP in a different location or a routine appointment with your usual GP. Also, they can direct you to see a practice nurse or health visitor, or telephone advice.

If you're worried about an urgent medical concern call 111 or during office hours, telephone reception on 01865 777495. Please give clear details about the emergency, the name of the patient, address and telephone number. The duty doctor will be contacted immediately and will then decide the appropriate course of action and inform you of this.

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. The Duty Doctor will arrange a home visit if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls.

You might be visited at home by a community nurse or paramedic. 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.

We have a texting service which allows you to recieve confirmation and reminders about your appointments. Please remeber to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

Please attend your appointment on time, if you are late you may not be seen. If you are not seen you will not be able to rearrange your appointment until the next working day-except in the event of an medical emergency that requires immediate attention.

If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see a clinician please notify the receptionist and she will arrange this for you.

If you need language line we advise to allow plenty of time for your appointment.

We encourage our patients to learn English as it will make medical matters easy for you to understand and care.