St Thomas Road Surgery Featherstone Tel: 01977 801363
What is a Doctor Callback?
The Doctor Callback scheme is designed to improve patient access to GPs and has been running successfully since April 2012.
We currently operate the scheme between 9am to 12:00 midday Monday to Friday inclusive.
When a patient rings to make an appointment they will be offered the opportunity to speak to the on-call doctor as some problems can be more conveniently managed over the telephone.
Patients who call the surgery will still be able to make appointments for doctors, nurses etc without having to speak to a doctor, but they will have the opportunity to use this service if they want to.
Each morning one of the regular doctors (Dr Roberts, Dr Wakefield, Dr Ramakrishnan and Dr Alba will triage the doctor callback telephone calls.
Patients will be called back between 09.00 and 12.00.
We will try and ring you back as soon as possible, however an exact time for call back cannot be provided.
Patients do not need to be at home to use this service as we can call you on a work telephone number or mobile phone.
If you request a “call back” after 12:30pm which is non-urgent, this can be put into the following day’s list of calls.
If you require an emergency appointment this can be booked by the on-call GP.
It would be helpful if patients using this service could provide the receptionist with some details about the nature of their problem to assist the doctor in prioritising their call back.
If you prefer not to give details please just say the call is of a personal nature.
Who can use this service?
The following are some examples of how this service can be used:
- Patients or carers who want a telephone consultation for any reason can use this service.
- Patients who are requesting home visits can use this scheme.
- Patients considering going to Accident and Emergency for less serious conditions, for example ankle sprain, sore eyes, minor head injury, coughs and colds should speak to a doctor if possible.
- Please note that we can arrange immediate x-rays for injuries which have occurred within the previous 2 weeks. Patients bypass Casualty and go straight to the X-ray department with a form completed by us.
- Medication reviews can sometimes be done over the telephone.
- Sick notes can sometimes be dealt with over the telephone depending on the circumstances.
- Explanation of blood results, x-rays or scans can be done by phone.
We welcome any comments or suggestions about the scheme.