Practice Telephone System

From: Friday 23 April 2021

We have now moved to a new telephone system.  When you contact the surgery you will be provided with a number of options,

Press 0, if you need urgent medical assistance - you will be connected with a member of the administration team.  Please note - if you have a critical emergency you should dial 999 and not wait to be connected to a member of staff.

Press 1 - Repeat Prescriptions - you will be connected with a member of the administration team between the hours of 11.00am to 12.30pm & 2.30pm to 4.00pm.  Outside these times until 5.30pm you can leave your name, date of birth, address and name and strength of medication you require. 

Press 2 - to book a telephone consultation with the GP.  Please note these consultations are limited & once they have been allocated each day you will be asked to ring the following day.  The administration staff will ask  questions on behalf of the doctor to ensure you are directed to the appropriate healthcare professional i.e. queries regarding medication will be directed to one of our Practice Based Pharmacists.

Press 3 - General Enquires.

Please note:  if you leave a message on our repeat prescription line for issues not related to a medication order your request will not be processed.

We would like to thank everyone for your patience and kindness shown to our staff.  Unfortunately, a minority feel it is appropriate to verbally abuse our staff and this cannot be tolerated.  Such behaviour may result in your removal from the practice list.

Covid Vaccination

Update - 21/4/21 -  Unfortunately we do not have any available vaccines to enable us to proceed with 1st dose of Covid vaccination.  We do have sufficient supply for those who require their 2nd dose in the next few week.

You can still be able to book your vaccination at a central vaccination centre if you are age 18 and over. Please click on the link below to book your appointment

Unfortunately this is beyond our control and affects all practices in the locality.

Please ensure we have your most up to date mobile number by completing the 'Update your contact details’ Section below. 

Further information on eligible categories can be found at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/covid-19-vaccination-programme-northern-ireland

Vulnerable patients aged 16 & 17 years of age.

The type of COVID-19 vaccine being administered within this Practice, known as the AstraZeneca vaccine, is only approved for use in those aged 18 years and therefore we can only offer this vaccine to our patients aged 18 years and over who are within the clinically vulnerable group.

However, the type of COVID-19 vaccine being used by the Health and Social Care Trusts, known as the Pfizer/BioTech vaccine, is approved for use in those aged 16 years and over.

Therefore, while we are unable to offer you a COVID-19 vaccine, I am pleased to say that you can book a vaccination slot at one of the regional vaccination centres to receive a vaccine. 

In order to book a vaccination slot you should use the following link https://covid-19.hscni.net/get-vaccinated/ and select the category ‘16-17 Clinically Vulnerable group’

CHANGE - Regarding 10am telephone consultations for Non-Urgent Advice

From the 1/10/20 the Practice will no longer offer telephone consultations for non urgent advice at 10am.   This is due to an exceptional increase in demand for GP service/telephone consultations.  These levels have now reached an unsafe level as well as putting additional stress on our telephone system.

 General Information regarding appointments - Amended

In line with government guidelines the Practice have suspended all routine booking of appointment.  We would like to reassure you that we are still available should you need to speak to a doctor.  We cannot stress how important it is for you to contact us by telephone if you need medical assistance. 

In March like other GP Practices we moved towards a 'total telephone triage system'; whereby every patient contacting the surgery in relation to a medical condition is assessed by one of the doctors. A majority of patients are managed by telephone or asked to attend the surgery if appropriate.

This system enables the Practice to minimise the number of patients attending the practice whilst ensuring safe infection control measures. 

We continue to ask that you do not come to the surgery if you have symptoms of covid-19 as outlined above.

You will not be permitted entry to the premised unless you have been advised to attend by one of the GPs or have a prearranged appointment with the treatment room, childhood immunisation clinic or midwife.

We would like to thank all our patients for their on-going co-operation and understanding at this difficult time. 

Childhood Immunisations during Covid 19 Outbreak

During the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak there are lots of things that parents are having to think about.

Immunisations protect children from many serious illnesses. To make sure that your child is properly protected it is important that they still get their immunisations on time where possible. Health experts strongly advise that you make and keep your children’s immunisation appointments as planned.