- Please call our main switchboard number (Valley Surgery: 0115 9430530, Chilwell Meadows Surgery 0115 9462767) to book an appointment.
- Medically urgent cases are seen on the day.
- If your condition is not medically urgent, we aspire to give you an appointment with a GP within five working days, though you may have to wait longer if you want to see a particular GP. Appointments are usually 10 minutes in length which means that we may not have time to deal with more than one issue.
- You are free to consult with any doctor within the practice but it is obviously an advantage to see the same doctor with the same problem so that continuity can be maintained.
- Please let the receptionist know whom you would like to see. If you don’t need an appointment within five working days, you also have the option to book up to 8 weeks in advance if this is more convenient for you.
- Nurses based in our practice treat patients for a wide range of common conditions. You can expect to see a nurse usually within 3 working days, or 1 day if urgent.
- You can book up to 12 weeks ahead for clinics – please see the ‘Clinics and Services’ section.
- Please note at Valley Surgery, Monday evening and Tuesday/Thursday morning early opening is on alternate weeks only. A guide to our appointments system can be downloaded here.
The practice offers a system for booking your routine GP appointments online, from the comfort of your own home. To take advantage of this system please click on this link.
Same day appointments
We are a busy practice, and providing some same day appointments makes it easier for you to see a doctor quickly if your need is medically urgent. You can phone from 8.00am for same day medically urgent appointments only.
Getting the most from your appointment
You may be able to help us work more efficiently if we could work together to help to solve your problems.
If you could offer information about the following areas when you see us we would be very grateful. It would help us work more effectively within the current time constraints:-
1. Please tell us what you think may have caused the clinical problem -
2. If you have concerns or worries about a serious underlying disease such as cancer or meningitis please tell us -
3. If you have discussed the problem with anyone else such as relatives, other health workers or pharmacists and they have suggested tests or treatment which you now expect please tell us -
4. If the effect of the problem is disruption of your life or work and you may need a 'sick note' or other support we need to know please -
5. If you are feeling unusually sad or worried please tell us -
Please remember that being asked to deal with more than one problem in a consultation is a common reason for us being unable to keep the appointment system running smoothly.
Role of reception
- Our receptionists are usually the first point of contact and are here to help you. They have a lot of information to hand and in most cases will be able to help with your enquiry, ensuring you see the most appropriate clinician. Nonetheless, it is your right to request to talk only to the doctor.
- Anything that is discussed with the receptionists or any other member of the team is treated in strict confidence.
- You have a right to be treated courteously, and our receptionists also have a right to be treated courteously by you. We can offer a degree of privacy in a separate room if your enquiry is sensitive. Please respect the privacy of other patients by standing well back from the reception desk until your turn.
Why might it be difficult to get an appointment?
The surgery is particularly busy on Mondays especially during the winter months. If your appointment is not urgent, try to book on a less busy day after 10.30am. If you let us know as soon as possible you can't attend your appointment, we can then make it available for another patient. You can book to have a telephone consultation with a doctor if you wish. He or she will ring you on the telephone number you have given.
What if I can't get an appointment
The surgery is particularly busy on Mondays especially during the winter months. If your appointment is not urgent, try to book on a less busy day after 10.30am. If you let us know as soon as possible you can't attend your appointment, we can then make it available for another patient.
Routine appointments
If you need to book a routine follow-
If you need a consultation but are too ill to come to surgery, a doctor may visit you at home. When urgent medical help is required this will be the doctor on call, but in less urgent cases you may request your own particular doctor, please note we cannot guarantee which doctor will come.
Patients are expected to attend the surgery if they are able to travel, with the necessity for a home visit being at the discretion of the doctor. If there is doubt your doctor may ring you to discuss the problem before deciding the most suitable place for the consultation to take place.
Please ring the main switchboard before 12noon to arrange a visit. Home visits are normally made between 1pm and 3pm.
On average please allow 5 working days for your test results to come back from the hospital unless your doctor has advised otherwise. Please note that X-
- We are currently accepting new patients.
- We can only accept new patients who live in our practice area. We will advise you at registration if you live within our practice area. For our practice area, please click here.
- If you want to join the practice please read this guide to registering as a new patient. You can register by completing a registration form which can be downloaded here. If this is for someone under the age of 5 please click here. You will need one copy per person. These are also available in Reception.
- When you register if you are on any medication you will need to make an appointment when your prescription is due.
- Other information you might find useful: an Introduction to our online prescription and appointment services and Summary Care Record leaflet and Opt Out form.
Please bring the completed form along to reception with your medical card if you have it. The information on the medical card will speed up the process of getting your records from your previous practice. Once you have been accepted as a patient your medical records will be transferred to us and a new medical card will be sent to your home address. You do not need to inform your existing practice that you are moving, although it may be courteous to do so.
How do I apply for access to my medical Records?
Please download a form here.
How do I apply for information under the Freedom of Information Act?
Please download leaflet here.
- For information on how to get a Fit Note (the new name for sick notes, or Med3) please click on this link.
- After the initial period of self-
certification your doctor will normally need to see you to issue a note, however if you are unable to get to the surgery or an early appointment is unavailable Fit Notes can be backdated. - If you are still unable to go to work after the expiry of the Fit Note, call the surgery and the doctor will decide on the most appropriate action -
either they will continue the note for another period without the need to see you, or they will ask you to attend for another appointment.
If you think you may need a prescription medicine, please make an appointment with the doctor. If you have previously been given a prescription for a straightforward condition we may be able to issue a prescription after a telephone consultation. Please ask the receptionist. Your local pharmacist should be able to give you advice for non-
How to get a repeat prescription
- We have a computerised repeat prescription service.
- Repeat prescriptions are normally for patients with long-
term conditions who receive regular treatment. Your doctor will decide who can have a repeat prescription. - From time to time we will ask you to see your doctor, nurse or practice clinical pharmacist to review your medication. We do this to monitor your illness and medication.
- Repeat prescriptions can be ordered online or by posting or dropping a request into the surgery in the postbox at the side of the building using the prescription counterfoil. (If you have lost the counterfoil please write clear details of what you need along with your name, address and date of birth and use this instead). Your prescription will be ready to collect from the surgery 2 working days later or, if you have registered with a pharmacy for electronic prescribing, your prescription will be ready to collect from your chosen pharmacy in 3 working days.
- We offer the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) which means your prescription can be delivered electronically to your pharmacy of choice so you do not need to collect it from the surgery. Please see your pharmacy to sign up.
How to request your repeat prescription, book an appointment or view your medical record online
Please click here for instructions.
Do you want your prescription to go direct to the pharmacy?
Register for EPS (the Electronic Prescription Service) at your pharmacy of choice (this could be one near work, for example). When the doctor signs your prescription it is then sent electronically to the pharmacy so you don’t have to collect it.
In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;
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Register the death
If the death has been reported to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.
You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.
You can use the ‘Register a Death’ page on the gov.uk website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Arrange the funeral
The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.
Funeral directors
Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:
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These organisations have codes of practice -
Some local councils run their own funeral services, for example for non-
Arranging the funeral yourself
Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.
Funeral costs
Funeral costs can include:
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Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.
If you are concerned about seeing a doctor or nurse on your own, please mention this at reception when you make the appointment and a chaperone will be arranged. Please click here for the practice’s chaperone policy.
Baby Changing And Feeding Facilities
These are available at any time when the surgery is open; please ask at the reception desk. We would rather see babies who are comfortable and happy and we are happy to wait until you are ready.
