Station Road Surgery

Drs Whittaker, Carter, Purwar, Hill,
Srinivas, Venison & Staniforth

Station Road Surgery, 74 Station Road,
West Wickham, Kent BR4 0PU
Telephone: 020 8777 8245

EUROPEAN ANTIBIOTIC AWARENESS DAY - 18TH NOVEMBER 2011

Please help us to tackle the rise in antibiotic resistance, which is one of the most significant threats to patient safety. The number of infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria is groing globally and is related to the over-use of antibiotics and inappropriate prescribing. 

• Antibiotics won't work in the case of a cold or the flu - you should rest and take care of yourself; drink plenty of liquids and take over-the-counter non-antibiotic remedies.
• If your doctor decides you do not need antibiotics but your symptoms do not get better or even become worse after 3-5 days call your doctor because you may need to be re-evaluated.
• Follow your doctor's advice on when and how to take antibiotics.
• Don't use "left over" antibiotics.
• Ask your pharmacist about how to dispose of remaining antibiotics.

Further information about antibiotics can be found on the following website:  www.nhs.uk/antibiotics

FLU VACCINATION

Flu vaccine is currently available for all patients in the "at risk" chronic disease groups (as determined by the Department of Health), registered carers, all pregnant women and patients over the age of 65.  If you are in one of these categories and would like a flu vaccine please contact the surgery to make an appointment.  Patients who are not in an at risk group or over 65 and who want to have the flu vaccine should make arrangements with their local pharmacy or other provider.  We will not be issuing prescriptions for the flu vaccine.

RESULTS

Please try to help us manage the volume of calls received at peak times by calling for results between 11am and 4pm.  Thank you.

ACADEMIC HALF DAYS AND OTHER CLOSURES

All the doctors are required to attend educational events (Academic Half Days) as part of their continuing learning development.  These events are always held in the afternoons, but the days of the week are varied.  During these events there are no doctors available on the premises and all emergencies are advised to contact Emdoc on 020 8676 3263.  Please note that prescriptions that would normally be ready after 4pm on these days may not be ready until the following morning as the doctors are not in surgery to sign them.  The Academic Half Days for 2011 are:

Thursday 29th September - Tuesday 22nd November

We also have some training days for the whole practice when we need to close the surgery during the afternoon.  The next surgery closure for this reason will be notified here in due course.

APPOINTMENTS ON THE DAY

Urgent appointments are available on the same day for any patient who feels their medical condition requires urgent attention.  To request an emergency appointment please telephone the surgery as soon as possible.  The telephone lines are open between 8.30 and 9.30am specifically for requests to be seen that morning.  For a same day evening emergency appointment the best time to call is between 2.30 and 3.00pm.  Please bear in mind that the evening surgery is a "sit and wait" surgery and there may be a very long wait to be seen if there are a lot of patients.  Appointment times can be given for the morning emergency surgery.

Please use this service appropriately and not just for convenience.  For example, repeat prescription requests, completing medical forms (such as medical certificates) are not considered appropriate for an emergency appointment.

EXTENDED HOURS

We appreciate that some of our patients are unable to attend the surgery during normal working hours.  We have therefore added appointments between 7.00 ando 8.00am on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and 8.00 to 11.15am on Saturdays, which can be booked up to four weeks ahead.  These appointments must be pre-booked as there is no provision for walk-in emergencies.

BOOKING APPOINTMENTS ON-LINE

As the telephone lines get very busy, particularly  first thing in the morning, we have introduced the option for patients to book appointments with all our doctors through the internet.  Please ask at Reception for a registration form, which will give you a unique access code for your own personal use.  Parents can register for this service to be able to book appointments for any child under the age of 16.  Once a child reaches 16 this facility will be removed and the 16 year old will need to come to the Surgery to register to use the service themselves.  Further information is available in the Surgery.  Please use the following link to go to the Emis Access website www.emisaccess.co.uk/default.aspx.  You will need to register as a new user to be able to create your own password before being able to book appointments.  This facility can also be used to cancel appointments.

CHOICE OF HOSPITAL

Every patient has the right to choose which hospital they would like to go to in the event that they require a referral for a specialist opinion.  The doctor will discuss the choice of hospitals available and make the appropriate referral. 

NHS HEALTH CHECKS

We are now offering an NHS Health Check for patients in the age group 40-74 years, who have no history of heart disease, heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease and are not taking any heart medication.  We will be sending out invitations to eligible patients, but if you fall into this criteria and wish to have a Health Check, please contact the surgery and request an appointment for an NHS Health Check with our Health Care Assistant, Vivienne Green.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

The Practice has an Equal Opportunities/Anti-discrimination Policy, which states that the Practice: