Noticeboard

Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Please be aware that the surgery will be closed between 12.00 and 15.00 on Tuesday 23rd January for Staff training. all calls during this time will be forwarded to BADGER (Birmingham and District General Practitioner Emergency Rooms). For all non-urgent enquiries please call before 12.00 or after 15.00.

THE SURGERY REMAINS OPEN MONDAY - FRIDAY 08.00 - 18.30, FOR BOOKED TELEPHONE/VIDEO CONSULTATIONS/FACE-TO-FACE CONSULTATIONS. THERE ARE SOME LIMITED APPOINTMENTS (TELEPHONE/VIDEO CONSULTATIONS ) AVAILABLE BETWEEN 18.30 - 20.00 WHICH NEED TO BE BOOKED BY THE SURGERY.

Alternative services:

Improved Access Scheme Urban Health Primary Care Network is launching the IAS (Improved Access Scheme) to extend the hours available to patients to be seen by a GP for its member practices. As Halcyon Medical is a member of Urban Health, patients will be able to book to see a GP for the following extended hours: Monday to Friday: 18:30 – 20:00 (6:30pm till 8pm) Saturday: 09:00 – 13:00 (9am till 1pm) Your local Hub is Broadway Health Centre Group Practice, Cope Street, Ladywood, Birmingham, B18 7BA.  To book please call the Surgery, Tel. No. 0121 203 9999.

NHS 111:  Call 111 for confidential healthcare advice 24 hours a day. 

Urgent Care Centre:  The nearest Urgent Care Centre is Summerfield Urgent Care Centre, 134 Heath Street, Winson Green, Birmingham, B18 7AL, tel. 0121 389 1100.

Accident & Emergency Departments:  HOSPITAL A&E DEPARTMENTS ARE FOR SERIOUS ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES NOT MINOR INJURIES OR HEALTH PROBLEMS.  The nearest hospital is City Hospital, Dudley Road, Winson Green, Birmingham, B18 7QH, tel. 0121 554 3801. 

Cancelling your Appointment

If you are unable to attend an appointment with one of the doctors or nurses, please telephone or use the link at the bottom of this page to cancel your appointment.

By giving us as much notice as you can you are helping us to make sure that someone else is given your slot.

Where to go for other local services:

Birmingham NHS Walk-in Centre, lower ground floor, Boots the Chemist, 67-69 High Street, Birmingham, B4 7TA, tel. 0121 255 4500.

NHS 111:  Call 111 for confidential healthcare advice 24 hours a day. 

Urgent Care Centre:  The nearest Urgent Care Centre is Summerfield Urgent Care Centre, 134 Heath Street, Winson Green, Birmingham, B18 7AL, tel. 0345 245 0769.

Accident & Emergency Departments:  HOSPITAL A&E DEPARTMENTS ARE FOR SERIOUS ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES NOT MINOR INJURIES OR HEALTH PROBLEMS.  The nearest hospital is City Hospital, Dudley Road, Winson Green, Birmingham, B18 7QH, tel. 0121 554 3801.

Latest GP data shows increase in appointments

Thousands more GP appointments are available in the Black Country and West Birmingham today than before the pandemic, new data has revealed.

 The latest figures for GP access show that 570,191 appointments were booked during August 2021, up from 547,384 in August 2019. Of these, 57% were carried out face-to-face and 49% took place on the same day they were requested (up from 41% in 2019).

 The additional appointments are the result of an increase in digital consultations, which is part of the NHS’s long-term strategy for primary care but was accelerated during the pandemic so GPs and their clinical teams could continue to see patients safely.

 The new statistics have also revealed that DNAs – where a patient fails to attend an appointment but does not cancel so it can be rebooked by the practice – are down, from 7% of all appointments in 2019 to 5% today.

However, this means there are still more than 25,000 GP appointments being missed in the Black Country and West Birmingham each month, so people are being urged to contact their practice if they cannot attend, and the slot can then be offered to someone else who needs it.

 While digital and telephone consultations now make up more than 40% of patient contacts, GPs will always examine a patient in person if medically necessary, while face-to-face appointments are still available for anyone unable to use technology. All patients have the right to request a face-toface appointment, although this may not be the fastest way to be seen as priority must be given to the most vulnerable.

Doctors' Appointments

Please be aware that all calls to and from the surgery are recorded for Training and Quality Purposes.

diaryAll consultations are by appointment with a routine time of 10 minutes. To book an appointment call 0121 203 9999. If you are registered with us and wish to book on-line please ask reception to print you out a Patient Access form.

We will endeavour to book an appointment with a clinician of your choice. However, this may not always be possible and if this is the case you will be advised accordingly.

Although there may be slight variations, availability is usually: 

Dr Kang

Monday09:00 - 12.30
Tuesday09:00 - 13:00 
Wednesday09:00 - 13:00
Thursday09:00 - 13:00
Friday 09:00 - 13:00
  

Dr Kumar


Monday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00
Tuesday09.00 - 13.00
Wednesday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00
Thursday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00

Dr Rajput

Tuesday09.30 - 13.00
Wednesday14.00 - 18.00
Thursday14.00 - 18.00
Friday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00


Dr Wood

Tuesday 14.00 - 18.00
Wednesday 09.00 - 13.00
Thursday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00
Friday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 17.00

Dr Begum 

Tuesday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 17.00
Wednesday09.30 - 13.00

Dr Maheshwari 

Monday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00
Tuesday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00
Wednesday09.00 - 13.0014.00 - 18.00

Referred to a Specialist?

If you have seen your GP and they have referred you to see a specialist please view our Patient Referral Leaflet to find out what to do/expect next. If you still have any questions please call us on 0121 203 9999 or e-mail halcyonmedical@nhs.net

Same Day Appointment For Under 5's

We offer same day appointments for any child under the age of 5 years old.  This can be arranged by telephone or in person.

Child Health Poster

 

Nurse Consultations

The practice nurses are available by appointment between 9.00am - 4.30pm, Monday - Friday.  

If you are between the ages of 16 and 74 and have not been seen within the last three years, you may request a consultation with one of the doctors or practice nurses. Please telephone to book an appointment. Consultations can also be requested by patients over the age of 75 if you have not been seen at the health centre in the last 12 months

Please inform the receptionist when you arrive for your appointment

Understanding the GP Appointments System

A Guide for Patients

 Introduction

 This guide is intended to help you understand how the appointments system works at our practice so that you can be seen most effectively. Our aim is to see any patient who has a health problem within a timespan that is appropriate for that problem. As a practice we undertake more than 42,500 clinical contacts in a year for our population of more than 11,000 registered patients. Some of these consultations are for new illnesses whilst others are for continuing problems, with more than 90% of all medical care being provided in general practice. It can therefore be a massive challenge to match the needs of individual patients to the supply of appointments.

Appointment Types

We have several different types of appointment aimed at meeting the needs of the majority of patients:

  • Telephone appointments. A telephone call can often save time for both patients and doctors, and we are developing telephone consultations as a means of improving efficiency.
  • Urgent (same day) appointments. These are intended for problems that need to be dealt with as a matter of medical urgency. Please telephone early in the day if you genuinely require one of these appointments.
  • Soon appointments. We aim to offer an appointment within three working days for people with problems that are not urgent but need reasonably quick attention. These appointments become available on a rolling basis and so it is not necessary to phone at any particular time of day to be given one of them. You will offered an appointment with the first available GP, not necessarily the one of your choice.
  • Routine appointments. These can be booked several weeks in advance and are best suited to follow-up of continuing problems with a doctor of your choice.
  • Nurse appointments. Our nurses can deal with a range of common problems including monitoring long term health conditions.
  • Home visits. Given that a doctor can see three or four patients in surgery in the time that it takes to do a single visit, home visits are restricted to patients who are genuinely unable to get out of their home.

Making Appointments

There are several different ways of making an appointment including the following:

  • In person. We are happy to make appointments at the reception desk although it can sometimes be very busy as other patients will be wanting to check in or have other requests.
  • By telephone. This is still the most popular way of making an appointment although our lines can sometimes be very busy depending on the number of patients phoning.
  • Online. Soon and routine appointments can be made online, and this has the advantage that you can access them even when the surgery is closed. You need to register at reception initially in order to get access to the online service. At the current time you cannot make urgent (same day) online.

10 tips to help us to help you get the most out of the Appointment System

  1. Is it ‘urgent’? Please don’t request an urgent (same day) appointment unless you consider your problem to be medically urgent. If you are not sure then you can ask to leave a message for one of the doctors to phone you back to assess your situation. Inappropriate requests for same day appointments mean that it is more difficult for patients with genuine urgent problems to be seen.
  2. Think ahead. If you have a long term medical condition or you take regular medication then you will need to be seen periodically for review, usually every six or twelve months. Please try to book these review appointments well in advance so that you can see the doctor (or nurse) of your choice. Appointments can usually be made up to six weeks in advance.
  3. Turn up … or cancel. Please don’t miss an appointment that you have booked. This is wasted time that could have been used for another patient. If you can’t make an appointment or need to change it then let us know.
  4. Can anyone else help? Before you make an appointment please think about whether there are any other services that might be more appropriate. For example, remember that pharmacists are trained to give advice about minor health problems and answer any questions about your medicines and treatment. The NHS 111 system is also available to guide you to appropriate sources of advice.
  5. What’s the problem? Understandably many people are reluctant to tell a receptionist about the reason that they want to see a doctor. However our reception staff are more likely to be able to guide you in the right direction if you give them a rough idea about your problem. All our staff have a responsibility to treat your information confidentially, and we take this very seriously.
  6. Go online. You can book routine appointments with a doctor online, as well as ordering repeat prescriptions. Online services are available 24 hours a day so you can use these services at your convenience. Using the online services also reduces demand on reception staff during the day so everybody gains. You will need to register to be able to do this and reception staff will be happy to give you more information.
  7. Telephone consultations. If you have a simple problem or question then it may be possible to sort this out over the phone. Ask the receptionists to take a message and we can call you back. However please check that we have your correct phone number and you let us know if there is a best time to call.
  8. Continuing care. If you have an ongoing problem then pleas, if possible, try to see the same doctor for each appointment. This means that you don’t have to keep on repeating your story, and enables the doctor to build up a better picture of what is going on. If you have been for a consultation and been told that you need a follow-up appointment then try to make it before you leave the surgery.
  9. Multiple problems. A routine appointment is for 10 minutes. During that time the doctor needs to read up on your records, get you from the waiting room, deal with your problem(s), and write up the records. If you have more than one problem then it may not be possible to deal with it in a single appointment. Ask the receptionist if you think that you may need more time.
  10. Be patient. Please understand that the receptionists and clinical staff are trying to meet the needs of thousands of patients, each of whom is very important. Although we want to offer personal, patient-centred care, we are often stretched to the limit. Please try to be understanding if things are not completely to your satisfaction.

Finally, although our reception staff will always do their best to offer you an appointment that meets your needs when you contact us, if one is not immediately available then you will be invited to leave a message so that the doctors can decide on the best way to deal with your problem.

Times are Changing

As a practice, we want to make it easier to access the right services with the right person, in the right place and at the right time so we are extending the number of GP appointment slots available. 

You can now get appointments with a GP or other healthcare professional in the evening and at the weekend.

When are the extra appointments?

  • Weekday pre-bookable and same day appointments in evenings (after 6.30pm)
  • Weekend pre-bookable and same day appointments on Saturdays 

How do I make an appointment?

Ring the practice on 0121 203 9999 or book online.

Information for Patients Under Hospital Care

Follow Up Appointments

If you need to be seen again the hospital will provide you with another appointment.  Please ask the specialists’ secretary if it does not arrive in a timely way.

 

THE GP SURGERY IS UNABLE TO ASSIST WITH ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS RELATING TO HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS

 
 
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