Appointments
Our Appointment System allows patients to pre-book up to 4 weeks in advance (Pre-booked appointments are now limited due to Covid-19 and staff isolation/ shielding when necessary). We do also offer ON THE DAY APPOINTMENTS WITH A GP, these are on a first come first served basis.
When booking an appointment to see a clinician it is the practice policy that receptionists ask a reason for the appointment. This has come directly from the GP's and there are several reasons why this is important.
- If receptionists have an idea of what you are coming to the Practice for they can ensure that you are booked with the appropriate clinician.
- It can save the clinicians time during you consultation as they can have a clear idea before your appointment what you are attending for.
- Depending on the reason given you may need to see the GP sooner, this can be facilitated by giving the reception staff as much information as you can.
Non-Urgent
To make an appointment please telephone or call in at the surgery during office hours. Appointments are 10 minutes per patient so please book a double appointment if your problem is complex. Please remember to cancel appointments you cannot keep. You may consult any doctor in the practice, although it is often preferable to see one who knows you best.
Urgent
If you have an urgent medical problem we will always try to see you the same day. Please telephone early in the day after 08:00, or you may call in at 08:00 when the Surgery opens. You might have to wait but be prepared to see any doctor who is available. We try to accommodate children as a priority. As an alternative patients are able to contact NHS11 via the telephone or on-line for urgent medical advice)
Monday Mornings
Monday mornings are particularly busy. It would help the staff and other patients if, where possible, you could avoid telephoning surgery on a Monday morning for routine appointments, enquiries etc, allowing the telephone lines to be kept free for those patients needing an appointment or home visit that day. We currently do not pre-book appointments on Mondays as this allows us to maintain maximum flexibility in meeting demand. Where we have no appointments left for a particular day it may be possible for the doctor to ring you back if the problem is straightforward.
Same Day Access Scheme
The Avenue Medical Centre is committed to providing the best possible service to a wide range of patients. We are supporting a new initiative, which will enhance communication between ourselves, Walk-in Centres and the Accident & Emergency Department at North Manchester General Hospital and provide extra appointments each Day.
Medical Emergencies
All staff – including receptionists - have undergone basic life support training and have been issued with certificates of competence which are updated on a yearly basis The surgery is equipped with oxygen, an electrocardiograph (ECG) and an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
Chaperones
At times your GP or Nurse may need to examine you to make a diagnosis and you may wish to have another person present to put you at ease. This third person is called a chaperone. All of our staff are fully trained as chaperones and can be present during your examination. All staff adhere to a strict confidentiality policy. The GP will ask you whether you would like a chaperone present before the examination takes place, also on some occasions the GP may request a chaperone to be present.
Keeping Your Appointments
Please cancel your appointment if you do not wish to attend. Patients who do not attend for an appointment without notice waste the GP’s/Nurses valuable time and prevent other patients accessing the Service.
We now have a facility to cancel an appointment over the phone. Call on 0161 720 9441 and select OPTION 1!
Anyone failing to cancel their appointment without informing us may receive a letter from the practice and be asked to explain why they did not attend. Patients who continue to fail to keep appointments and who do not provide a satisfactory explanation may be removed from our list of patients.
As health professionals we strive to treat all our patients with respect regardless of age, sex gender, culture and sexual orientation. In return we expect that the doctors, nurses and other staff will receive respect in return and that patients will also treat each other courteously whilst visiting the surgery. We will not tolerate abuse, or threatening behaviour in any form and this will be dealt with severely.
We also ask that patients do not use mobile phones on the premises and do not attend the surgery wearing pyjamas or whilst intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.