The consultation time in individual doctors surgeries vary in order to provde a range of appointment times for patients.  Most of the time the duration of each consultation is 10 minutes.  Patients often prefer continuty of care and therefore we encourage you to see one doctor for one problem.

The surgery operates a range of appointments which include same day appointments and pre-bookable appointments.

There are also a range of different clinics that are available to help meet specific needs and include a Minor Illness clinic.

We run a computerised appointments system and appointments can be made at either surgery for either site.  We are usually able to offer you an appointment within 24 hours with any healthcare professional on the morning that you phone us.

You can make an appointment by:

• Telephoning the Surgery (during usual opening times)
• Visiting the Reception Desk at the Surgery (during usual opening times)
• Using our online booking system (24 hours) 

 

In the event of an emergency out of hours the Surgery is covered by Herts Urgent Care. This service if for emergencies only i.e. for problems which cannot wait unti the surgery is open.

To obtain the emergency doctors telephone number please telephone the surgery on 08444 778550 or alternatively you can Herts Urgent Care directly on 03000 33 33 33. You should then receive instructions to put you directly through to Herts Urgent Care.

Please note that call made to Out of Hours service may be recorded.

83 South Street, Bishop's Stortford, Herts, CM23 3AP

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South Street Surgery is located opposite the Post Office in South Street.  There is no surgery car parking available for patients at this surgery, however, there are a number of public car parks in the town centre within walking distance.

 

At the surgery there is access for wheelchairs via the ramp at the front of the surgery.  Arrangements can be made to see patients downstairs (please inform the receptionist of this when making an appointment).  There is a toilet for the disabled in the main reception area. There are also nappy changing facilities in this toilet.

There is a pay phone in the main reception area and a suggestion box.  We welcome any suggestions about how we may improve our services.  You can also use the online suggestion form.

Air conditioning is installed in waiting rooms 2 and 3 and in waiting room 2 free chilled drinking water is available from a dispenser.

Lancaster Way, Bishop's Stortford, Herts CM23 4DA

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Bishop's Park Health Centre is located on the A120 next to Tesco's.  There is ample free car parking for patients.

The surgery provides access for wheelchairs. There is a disabled toilet downstairs.  Nappy changing facilities are available in the ladies toilets.

There are 6 consulting rooms available downstairs and a further 3 consulting rooms upstairs.

There is a suggestion box available in reception.   We welcome any suggestions about how we may improve our services.  You can also use the online suggestion form.

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If there are any abnormalities in your test results that require treatment or any action to be taken then we will normally contact you by phone or letter.

 

If you have not heard from us within 7 working days of having your tests done and you wish to check that your result(s) have been received, or confirm a result requires no action, then please feel free to phone our dedicated results line on 08444 772470 between 10 am and 2pm Tuesday to Friday only.

 

If you have been asked to have a routine test and attend one of our regular nurse run clinics then your result will normally be discussed with you there.  To ensure we are able to contact you effectively please check with the nurse or doctor or at reception that we have your correct home and mobile numbers if appropriate.

 

Please note we will only give the results to the person who had the investigations, unless we have your permission in writing to give them to someone else.  For children under 16 years, results will usually be given to the parents or guardians.

The practice accepts patients from the following areas:

• Bishop's Stortford Town
• Farnham
• Hadham (as far as A120 lights only)
• Hadham Hall
• Bury Green
• Thorley Wash
• Birchanger
• and addresses within a 2 mile radius of our surgeries inside the M11.

This is indicated on the map below.

{mosmap kml='http://www.southstreetsurgery.co.uk/images/stories/ssspa.kml'| |zoom='10'|mapType='Earth'|width=500}

The Practice supports the Goverment's NHS Zero Tolerance campaign.  Violence and abuse is a growing concern.  GPs and thier staff have right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.  Violent patients will be reported to the police and removed from the Practice's list.  Their care will be transferred to a special scheme which has been set up by the Primary Care Trust. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you have a complaint or a concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us or the PCT (Primary care Trust) know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

How to Complain

 

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us or the PCT know as soon as possible - ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks - because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints should be addressed to The Practice Services Manager (for any issues to do with access ie: telephones,appointments etc) or The Practice Administration Manager ( for issues to do with patient recalls or any clinical complaints), or any of the Doctors or to the Complaints Manager at the PCT. There is a standard form you can use to help you. A copy of this is available from the Receptionists or may be downloaded from our website by clicking here. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with one of The Practice Managers in order to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and will make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.

What we shall do

We shall acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:-

 

find out what happened and what went wrong; 

make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this; 

make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate; 

identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn't happen again.

 

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

Complaining to the Primary Care Trust

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use the practice in-house complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. But this does not affect your right to approach the PCT complaints office, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. You should contact the PCT complaints Manager for further advice:

 

 

The surgery are very interested to listen to the views of patients and regularly conduct patient questionairres.  The questionairre used by the practice is called "General Practice Assessment Questionairre" (GPAQ).

Once a medicine has been added to your repeat prescriptions list then it is usually printed on the right hand side of the prescription form. The prescription form, which is green in colour, has two halves. The left hand side is given to the pharmacist when you go to the chemist to collect your prescription. You should keep the right hand side safely yourself. This is the repeat prescription form that you will need when requesting repeat medication. If there are any items on this list that you do not use anymore, for example, if a medicine has been stopped by the hospital, then please let us know so we can amend it accordingly. When you require a repeat prescription fill in the repeat prescription form indicating the medication you require by ticking them and also indicate where you would like to collect the prescription from. It would also help us if you could date and sign it so we can deal with it in a timely manner. We normally require 2 working days (48 hours) to process the repeat prescription.

When you have completed the repeat prescription form you can send it to us either by post, fax (South Street: 08444 778782, Bishop’s Park: 08444 778898) or drop it in at either surgery. In the interest of safety we do NOT accept repeat prescription requests by telephone except in exceptional circumstances.

You may print out the attached form and complete it.

Once complete send it to the surgery and we will deal with your repeat prescription request.

 Repeat Prescription Request Form 18/01/2006,20:48 61.34 Kb

Repeat Dispensing is a new way for you to get your regular prescription.

If you are on the same medication regularly and use the same pharmacy then under this scheme you can get you repeat prescrptions direct from your pharmacy, rather than getting them from your surgery each time.

If you would like to know more about this scheme then please ask your pharmacist or enquire at the surgery where we will be able to give you more information.

If you require regular repeat medication then your doctor will once your condition is stable add it to your "repeat prescription".  This section describes different methods you may use to obtain your repeat medication.

• Using the Right Hand Side of your prescription
• Using the attached form and sending it to the surgery
• Using the Repeat Dispensing Scheme
• Using the online repeat prescription system

We are unable to accept telephone requests for repeat prescriptions.

We normally require 2 working days (48 hours) to process the repeat prescription. However, there are occasions when this may be longer. Reasons for this are;

• If you have not used the repeat prescription form to request your repeat medicines
• If your review date is overdue (in which case the doctor may not issue the prescription until you have been seen) or issue a limited quantity of tablets to last until your review appointment.  Your medication review date is printed on the bottom of the right hand side of your prescription.
• If your medication has been changed by the hospital doctors and there is a delay in us receiving a letter from them, the delay will be prolonged until we have received written confirmation.

 

For further details on Private Services click on the menu on the right or see our FAQ section or ring Denise Riches on 08444 772471.

Medical Examinations

Medical examination are sometimes requested by insurance companies, employers and potential employers, or they may be required in order to hold a particular driving licence, or to take part in certain sports. Employment and insurance medicals are usually paid for by the company, but most other medicals are paid for by the patient.
Because of the time it takes to do a full medical examination the fees are considerably more than our other private services. In addition there may be fees for blood tests, X-rays and ECGs.

The practice is able to offer a range of medical examinations including

• Insurance
• HGV/PSV
• Pre-employment
• Sports Medical examination

Insurance Reports and Examinations

Insurance companies increasingly ask for a medical report from your GP when you take out life insurance, and many other financial products. In some circumstances they may also require a medical examination. Both of these are paid for by the insurance company.
We cannot give information about your health to anyone without your written permission. The insurance company will have asked you to sign a consent form for this with your application. On this you can state whether you give your consent, and if so, whether you wish to see any reports before they are sent off – in this situation we will hold onto the report for up to 3 weeks.

Insurance Claim Forms

These frequently have a medical section when the insurance relates to your health – eg loan insurance, holiday cancellation insurance, private health insurance. You should fill in your section of the form before asking the GP to complete their section.

These forms are not paid for by the insurance company and you will therefore be charged a fee for our time.

Employers Letters, Certificates and Reports

The DSS Med3 form or ‘sicknote’ can only be issued to patients who have been off work for more than 6 consecutive working days due to their illness, and who have been seen by us during this illness. Employers may sometimes request certificates for absences which do not fall within these strict rules. In these circumstances we can provide a private certificate, but you will have to pay a fee – some employers reimburse this cost, so do ask them.
Employers may also write to us with your written consent, for a medical report. In this situation the employer would usually pay the fee.

Letters for Schools, etc

All letters to schools, colleges, universities and exam boards are private and attract a fee.

Letters to the Housing Department

It is increasingly common for the Housing Department to request a letter from a Doctor as a means of verifying claims of special housing need. We prefer not to get involved in housing issues, but may be willing to provide a letter in certain circumstances. Ideally the Housing Department should write to us, enclosing the patient’s consent, and agreeing to pay our fee. Alternatively the patient can request a letter directly from us, but in this situation the fee is payable by the patient.

Copies of Medical Records or Reports

Such requests are usually made by a Solicitor acting on your behalf and representing you in a legal dispute. Requests should be made in writing, enclosing your written consent if someone is acting on your behalf. We charge either you or your representative according to the number of copied pages and the time it takes to check through your records.

Are you aged 15-24 ?

 

If so read on....

 

We offer Chlamydia screening and we recommend getting tested for this if you are sexually active.

 

Chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection

People who are 24 and under and sexually active are more likely to get Chlamydia

1 in 10 people 24 and under who are tested , have Chlamydia

It effects both men and women

 

If you wanted to get tested you can either make an appointment with one of our nurse or healthcare assistants or simply pick up a testing kit from reception.

 

For more information take a look at the C - Sure website.

Home visits are available for housebound patients and patients whose clinical condition prevents them from attending the surgery. If you require a home visit please fing the surgery on 08444 778550 before 10:30 am. The receptionist will need to know your;

• Name
• Address
• Telephone Number
• Name of your usual doctor
• Nature of Problem

A doctor or nurse will usually phone you first to discuss the problem and advise you of the appropriate course of action.

This will help the doctor assess the urgency of the visit.

Immunisations and vaccinations are available through the Practice Nurse as is foreign travel advice and childhood immunisations.

The practice is a registered centre for Yellow Fever vaccinations.

For further information about immunisations click {mosbookmarks:bm=5}

If you would like to speak to a doctor or nurse please telephone Reception who will advise you when this will be convenient or will ask them to call you back.

Specialist Employment Advice for people with disabilities or health conditions now available at South Street Surgery

The Disability Employment Adviser (also called a DEA) provides support to people who are having difficulty in getting a job because of their disability and also to employed people who are concerned about losing their job because of a disability.

What kind of help can a DEA offer?

 Dea's can provide a range of support advice and information including;

• Employment assessment, which can help you find out how your disability or health condition affects the type of work or training you want to do.
• Referral to a period of work preparation, which is an individually tailored programme designed to help disabled people, or those with health conditions, return to work following a long period of sickness or unemployment.
• job seeking advice and support
• training advice and information.
• information on workstep which provides supported job opportunities for disabled people facing more complex  employment barriers.
• information on the Job Introduction Scheme which pays a grant to your employer for the first few weeks of a job.
• details of the New Deal for Disabled people for people on  health related benefits who want to find work.

How can I find out more or make an appointment with a Disability Employment Adviser?

Ask your GP for a referral or contact Lisa on 01279 466306.  

The practice nurse offers a range of time for patients to make an appointment for a cervical smear.  These tests are usually done every 3-5 years depending on your age.

Click here for more information. 

The practice offers a range of contraceptive services.  Appointments can be made with a family planning trained nurse.

The Family Planning Association website offers a good range of information on the different methods of contraception.

From 1 January 2006, when you and your GP agree that you need to see a specialist, you will be able to choose from at least four hospitals or clinics. You will also be able to choose the date and time of your appointment.

Choose and book offers a number of benefits including:

We are pleased to able to confirm that South Street Surgery is offering this service.

For more information click below  {mosbookmarks:bml=31,32,34} .

Cryotherapy is also sometimes called freezing therapy and it is often used for treatment of a number of skin conditions including sun spots, warts, verrucae and other skin conditions.

We run regular cryotherapy clinics.  Referral to these clinics is via a doctor or nurse. 

These are run by specialist nurses to manage certain conditions in patients over 2 years old. The conditions that can be seen in this clinic include

• Cough, Colds, Flu
• Sore Throats
• Eye or Ear problems
• Sinusitis
• Hay feverSkin
• Problems & Rashes
• CystitisThrush
• Diarrhoea or Vomiting

We would recommend that if you are making an appointment for any of these reasons then to make it with the minor illness clinic.

A number of GPs are qualified to perform certain surgical procedures. Your GP will advise you where this may be appropriate. The following doctors are qualified to perform minor surgery procedures:

• Dr. M. Jenns
• Dr. P. Dawda
• Dr. N. Shukur
• Dr. R. Hadley

Designated GPs at the surgery run clinics where regular checks on the development of babies and young children are made.

The midwife holds regular antenatal clinics at the surgery and Doctors see patients for antenatal care during their surgeries.

Fore more information please see below or click here to download out Maternity (Antenatal Care) Leaflet (177.05 kB 2006-08-18 00:37:09).

If you have not had the need to attend the surgery within the last three years you may request an appointment for a general health check with the nurse.

If you are over 75 and have not seen a Practitioner within the last 12 months, you may request an appointment for a check up.