Richmond Medical GP Practice Care Navigation
You may have noticed that we now ask for a brief outline of your problem when you call to make an appointment at the practice. This is because we have developed a new role in the practice – called a care navigator – to help you to see the right health professional first time. We have trained a number of staff to take on this new role. Our care navigators will work with you to fully understand what your needs are and ensure that we help you with your problem efficiently and conveniently. Their goal is to ensure that you get the right care at the right time in the right place with the right outcome.
Through specialist training, our team can now offer more choice on who to see in the practice and help you get to the right health professional fast. Our care navigators never offer clinical advice or triage; this is about offering you the choice to see other more appropriate health professionals, often quicker and without the need to see the GP each time.
For example, we often get calls that can be dealt with by an optician, the pharmacist, or the nurse, that you may not be aware of if you haven’t visited the practice in a while.
By working this way, it helps us to free up time for GPs to care for our patients with complex or serious health conditions and it means that you will find it easier to get a GP appointment when you need one. More importantly though, it means you are seen by the most appropriate health professional that is best placed to deal with your problem each time you visit us. The choice is up to you.
Visit the Real Hyndburn website www.hyndburn.realtd.co.uk to find out more about the full range of services available locally.
Appointments on the Day
The majority of doctor appointments are available on the day. You can make them by calling in or by telephoning. Please make your appointment as early as possible on the day.
The surgery also runs a nurse triage service each morning. Sometimes it is not always necessary to make an appointment with a doctor to discuss trivial problems – in these cases the nurse through triaging may easily be able to sort your problem or direct you to the right health professional.
Nurse Practitioner
The practice has a prescribing nurse practitioner in post who can see patients for minor ailments – you can pre book appointments with her or you may be given an appointment through the triage nurse. She is a registered nurse who has had further university training to increase her ability in treating, diagnosing, counselling and diagnosing patients. She is fully qualified and can prescribe for patients.
Advanced / Follow-up – Booking Appointments
Advanced/follow-up appointments can be made with the doctor at reception or by telephone. Please make a separate appointment for each person. We are a group practice, although you are registered with the practice, you are welcome to see whichever doctor you wish, provided appointments are available.
Access Appointments
We cannot guarantee that patients will be able to see the doctor of their choice. Urgent cases will be seen as soon as possible. Please be considerate if someone else needs to be given priority. We offer a special priority service for sick babies. If you have a sick baby, please tell the receptionist when you arrive at the surgery and she will arrange for you to be seen quickly.
Practice Nurse/Nursing Assistant
Routine appointments can be booked to see the nurse from 08.00 – 11.45 and 13.30 – 17.45
Arrangements to Speak to GP’s and Nurses on the Phone
Patients can speak to the doctor at a prearranged time during the working day. You can leave a message with reception asking to speak to the nurse. She will call you back during the same working day.
Home visits
Home visits are available for those patients who are too ill or frail to get to the surgery. It is more difficult and takes longer to perform examinations and investigations at home. A better service can be provided and reduce delay in attending to other people’s urgent problems if you attend the surgery. Even if the patient has a temperature, rash or sore throat coming to the surgery will do no harm.
If a home visit is necessary please try to ring the surgery before 11.30 am before the doctors have gone out on their visits. The receptionist will ask you for a few details to allow the doctor to assess the urgency of the case.