Access to the Surgery

• The main door is open.
• Social distancing guidelines continue to be in place.
• All patients are required to wear a face mask or shield when entering the building.
• Use hand sanitizer on entry.
• A maximum of 7 people is allowed in the waiting room. You may have to wait outside if there is a queue.

General Information

• All GP appointments will initially be by telephone. If the doctor or nurse decides they need to physically examine you, this will be arranged.
• All GP appointment requests will be reviewed by a doctor first. We are unable to directly book GP appointments.
  
  
• If you have any specific communication needs please let us know.
  
  
• Some appointments can be booked without triage for practical procedures such as blood tests or cervical screening.
  
  
• Attending face-to-face appointments;
  
  • To reduce the length of time people are in the building we are asking anyone who is attending for a face-to-face consultation to arrive at their appointment time.
  • You may be asked to wait outside or in your car if needed.
  • If you arrive late, you may be asked to rebook your appointment. You may be asked to wait outside / in your car. The clinician will then call you to rearrange a time. This may not be the same day due to capacity and room planning.
    
    
• Chronic disease management for asthma, COPD and diabetes, etc, is taking place by a combination of phone, video and face-to-face consultations. 
  
  
• Please be aware that a number of normal services that we provide still remain unavailable such as joint injections, minor surgery and spirometry testing.

If we are unable to speak to you directly, a text message will be sent where possible. Please ensure that we have your up-to-date contact information.

Following the ease of COVID-19 restrictions, nationally GP practices have been increasingly overwhelmed by the ever-rising demand put on their services. Castle Donington Surgery has been no exception. We share your frustrations with regard to your difficulties booking GP appointments. Unfortunately, the demand is currently higher than our capacity.

In response to your feedback, we are changing our appointment system to offer improved safety and more appropriate access to care. We hope that these changes will make it quicker and easier to access our services.

How do I request help from the doctor?

• Call the practice or use the online form.
• Appointment requests are reviewed by a doctor first, therefore we are unable to directly book appointments.
• You can send us a request via the online form or by telephoning the practice as usual. A member of the team will document your request.
• To protect your privacy, we are not taking requests for GP appointments at the front desk.

If your request is urgent, please contact the practice by telephone. 

Please do not submit medical problems as administrative queries, these will not be processed.

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How long will it take?

• Each request will be reviewed by a doctor within 24 hours (Monday-Friday).
• You will be contacted with the outcome of the request within 48 hours (Monday – Friday).

When can I make a request?

• Our online request form is available from 06:00 Monday until 13:30 on Friday.
  This is to help those people who are not able to call during our usual opening hours.
• The form is not available over the weekend.
• We also may disable this service when we have reached the safe number of requests for that day. This level changes and will be affected by events such as staff sickness or redeployment to the vaccine program. This is reviewed and amended daily.
• If you wish to call the practice our usual opening hours apply: 08:00 till 18:30 Monday till Friday.
  
  

What do I do if I think my problem is urgent?

1. If you think your problem or condition is life-threatening call 999.
   
   
2. Not sure what to do? Call NHS 111.
   In Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland there are many places you can go if you urgently need healthcare, but it is not a serious or life-threatening emergency.
   
   If you are unsure of the service you need, or you need immediate medical advice, call 111. You can now also access NHS111 Online.
   
   Depending on the situation, the NHS 111 team can connect you to a nurse, emergency dentist or even a GP, and can arrange face-to-face appointments if they think you need one. NHS 111 advisers can also assess if you need an ambulance and send one immediately.
   
   
3. Call the practice. If you still feel that we are the most suitable source of help please call and speak to a member of the team.

What else can I use this service for?

• If you need a prescription.
• Contact us when we are closed. This is an ideal tool for patients who are unable to request help during our usual opening hours. **We may disable this service when we have reached the safe number of requests for that day. This level changes and will be affected by events such as staff sickness or redeployment to the vaccine program. This is reviewed and amended daily.
• Request sick notes, GP letters or other admin requests.
• Easy access to NHS help, advice and self-care information. 

Home visits

There have been some changes to the way home visits have been made since the start of the pandemic. Within Leicestershire, a dedicated home visiting service (Acute Home Visiting Service) was set up to provide care at home to those who need it. They provide vital clinical support to GP practices at this time.

We are happy to provide care at home where appropriate. We understand patients and their carers prefer care to take place in the home rather than in the hospital. 

• We ask for home visit requests to be made before 10:30 am.
  
  
• Home visit requests will be reviewed by the duty GP and triaged over the telephone first.
  
  
• Requests may be passed on to our acute home visiting service.

Online Services (SystmOnline)

Please note - The NHS APP offers many of the same services as SystmOnline but is a separate system. Often you can self-register via the NHS App without the need to contact the practice.

• Order your repeat medication
• View your summary care record
• View your test results and other detailed coded records
• Change your nominated pharmacy
  
  
• Due to all appointments requiring clinical triage, national instruction dictates booking appointments online be suspended until further notice via the NHS App or SystmOnline.
  
  

Valid forms of photo ID need to be provided with all online applications and amendments. 

Due to COVID guidelines, we are asking patients to submit their completed forms electronically. This means printing off the relevant forms, completing them by hand and either scanning them or by taking a photo of each of the completed pages and emailing them back to us. Please also include copies of your ID. Email completed forms to; castledoningtonsurgery@nhs.net

We will then complete this process with a phone call to each of the patients requesting access. All copies of ID will be deleted as soon as the process has been completed. 

For those patients who can not return these documents electronically, please post all completed forms and copies of relevant ID directly to the surgery (or pop them in the post box located on the wall outside the practice). 

Online Access Patient Leaflet

Online Access Request Form

Online Access PROXY Request Form CHILDREN

Online Access PROXY Request Form

Online booking for other locations

To be seen quicker, we are asking all patients to use the online SwiftQueue system to book appointments at alternative locations such as the Royal Derby Hospital or even Coleman Street Health Centre in the first instance. 

This is especially useful if you require urgent tests.

Click Here to Book Your Blood Test

Blood tests at Castle Donington Surgery

We have a limited number of blood test appointments available at the practice. 

If you are unable to travel and require a test at the surgery, please call reception to book.