Green Meadows Surgery - 01344 621627/8

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Welcome

Green Meadows Partnership has been a family practice since the 1930’s. We aim to provide a friendly and efficient service and encourage you and your family to achieve higher standards of health. 

Readers of this website are advised that the information contained on these web pages is intened solely for patients of the practice and should not be used as a substitute for seeking individual advice from a GP.

Patients should be aware that data electronicaly transmitted via this website to the surgery may not be secure.  We regret that we are unable to communicate with patients via email.

Surgery Opening Times

Monday-Friday 8.00 am - 6.00 pm
Midwife appointments are fixed for Monday afternoons.

Appointments

Consultations with a specific doctor are by appointment only, and are of ten minutes duration. If you wish to discuss several problems, a longer appointment time might be required, please advise the receptionist when you call.

Urgent Problems

We release a number of “urgent, one problem” appointment slots each morning. These are for problems which cannot wait until a future booked appointment. If you are worried that the problem is infectious please tell the receptionist – we can offer you a side room.  Our staff may ask some questions when you call to ensure that the best care can be provided.  Please do not be offended.

Home Visits

If you are very ill and unable to attend the surgery, please telephone for a home visit before 10.00 am. Please do not ask for a home visit if you are well enough to attend or be brought to the surgery by a relative, friend or taxi. As our “doctor on call” has greater access to diagnostic testing equipment and treatments within the surgery, as well as having the assistance of other medical staff if required. 

Emergency Care

Out of normal surgery hours please ring 01189 365390 for assistance. For life threatening emergencies e.g. a suspected heart attack, please telephone 999.

Alternatively patients can contact:

NHS Direct 0845 4647

NHS Direct is a 24-hour nurse led telephone advice and information service and is part of the National Health Service. NHS Direct provides you with information and advice about health, illness and health services.
If you feel that there is something wrong with you or someone you are calling about, a NHS Direct nurse will be able to:

• Tell you whether the symptoms are ones which can be managed safely at home and advise you on what to do.
• Advise you if you do need to seek further professional help and direct you to the right service at the right time, for instance whether you need to contact us or go to the local hospital’s accident and emergency department.

NHS Direct is staffed by experienced nurses who are specially trained to give advice over the phone. They will ask you a series of questions, which will help them, decide how serious your problem is.

Cancelling an Appointment

Please make sure you telephone to cancel any appointment that you are unable to keep. Patients often telephone asking if there are any cancellation appointments available. 

Heatherwood Minor Injuries Unit

This is for minor accidents and emergencies. More severe injuries should be taken to Wexham Park A&E.

Heatherwood Hospital, London Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 8AA

Telephone: 01344 623 333.

Slough NHS Walk-in Centre

Upton Hospital, Albert Street, Slough, Berkshire SL1 2BJ
Telephone: 01753 635505

The Slough Walk-in-Centre offers NHS advice, information and treatment for minor illness and injuries, from experienced nurses. Appointments are not needed and the opening hours are:

Monday to Friday 7.00 am - 10.00 pm
Saturday and Sunday 9.00 am -10.00 pm 

Repeat Prescriptions

A patient may opt to have their prescriptions collected from the surgery by one of the local chemists. This will require a patient to fill in an authorisation form, which may be obtained from the chemist.  The following chemists will collect prescriptions from this surgery, those marked * visit the surgery daily:-

Blackburn RF, 58 High St. Sunninghill: 01344 620707

Boots, Princess Square, Bracknell 01344 454581

*McPharland, 24 New Road Ascot: 01344 882399

Lloyds, Bullbrook: 01344 454012

*Boots Ascot High Street (Martins), 23 High St. Ascot: 01344 623236

*Sarna RK, Brockenhurst Rd Ascot: 01344 622818

Those patients with longstanding health problems may have repeat prescriptions after discussion with their doctor. These are computerised, the practice having a list of all regular medication that patients are using.

Patients are issued with a printed prescription, which is signed by the doctor and a printed copy, which should br retained to be used to re-order their medicines, please tick the items you require. If a medicine you normally take is not on your prescription copy please print the name and dose in black letters.

Repeat prescriptions may be:

1. brought in by hand and posted into the letter box, which is situated on the left hand side of the main entrance of the surgery, or
2. out of surgery hours they can be posted through our letter box which is a locked secure area, or
3. they can be posted via Royal Mail, or
4. they can be faxed to us on 01344 875136, or
5. patients can sign up for our on-line repeat service (please ask at reception two forms of ID will be needed - this service is not currently available to those under 16).

We are unable to take requests for repeat prescriptions over the telephone.

If you provide a self addressed stamped envelope we will post a repeat prescription back to you as soon as it is ready.

A patient may also opt to have their prescriptions collected from the surgery by one of the local chemists. This will require a patient to fill in an authorisation form, which may be obtained from the chemist.

Please allow 48 hours (Monday to Friday) for the prescription to be processed. If you are using one of the services offered by local chemists for collection, you should add a day to the turn around time.

Repeat prescriptions need to be reviewed on a regular basis. A review date is printed on the medication repeat list. Please make an appointment to see a doctor at that time.

Results

We ask patients to telephone after 2.00 pm for their results. The receptionists can pass on the doctors’ comments, but are not trained to interpret the result. If you do not understand a comment or are worried, please ask to speak to the doctor directly. Please allow at least three working days before ringing the surgery for your test result. It may take longer for some test results to be sent to us e.g. x-rays.

All our staff are trained to respect your privacy and confidentiality at all times. This means that they are unable to talk about your results to anyone else, unless you give your permission for them to do so.

Telephone Advice

If you wish to speak to your doctor he or she is usually best contacted just before or after surgery. You may therefore be asked to phone back or leave your telephone number for the doctor to contact you later.

Paperwork

Please allow at least five days for a Doctor to complete paperwork such as insurance claim forms, “to whom it may concern” letters etc. 

Private Services

We provide a range of non-NHS services for which we charge. These include private sick certificates, signing private insurance forms, passport and driving licence forms, and medicals, e.g. driving, pre-employment, insurance etc. Please ask the receptionist staff for the details of fees charged.

We regret that we cannot take payment by card. We can only accept cash or cheque (supported by a valid card) and payment must be made prior to any service being undertaken.

Other Services Available

The practice offers many services including: contraception advice, maternity care and child health surveillance. We also hold clinics for patients with:-

• heart disease (CHD) Tuesday am;
• respiratory disease Wednesday pm; and
• diabetes Friday am.

Some of our doctors also perform minor surgical procedures.

Our nurses are available every day to help with immunisations, dressings, travel advice, blood tests, ear syringing, and suture removal and many more aspects of health care and disease prevention. We also have a phlebotomist.

Training Practice

We are approved as a teaching practice and this means that we encourage everyone to look at what and how we do things and promote a learning environment.
We are a large practice and fortunate to have a wide and varied workload, which provides an excellent training ground for new doctors.

At present, we take on one Registrar a year commencing in August. These are fully qualified doctors who will probably have just come out of hospital-based jobs, and are making the transition from a hospital position to that of a General Practitioner.

We could not offer this training without the co-operation of our patients. When seeing a Registrar, you may be asked for your permission to video your consultation. These videos are used as an aid to the Registrar’s training. It will help us improve their consultation skills.

Hopefully they will be full of new ideas and enthusiasm and we will help them to learn new skills necessary for General Practice. 

Comments, Complaints and Suggestions

We are interested to receive constructive comments and suggestions from patients of this practice, whether it be something which you feel works well or any areas you may feel can be improved. Please put your comments/suggestions in writing to the Practice Manager

All members of the Green Meadows team endeavour to provide a good service to all our patients. However if you feel you have cause to complain about any part of the service you have received please let our Practice Manager know and the “In-House Complaints Procedure” will be adhered to.

Confidentiality of Patient Information

As an organisation, which provides care to patients, there are times when it is necessary to record and share information about you so that you receive the right medical care and treatment. The rules we apply are based on the Caldicott Guidelines set out below.

If you want us to pass confidential information about you to anyone outside the healthcare sector you will need to provide us with written authorisation. This includes passing information to other members of your family. Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information – for example, to notify a birth, death, or infectious disease.

We comply with current legislation concerning data protection and use the Caldicott Confidentiality Guideline as our benchmark.

1. Justify the purpose(s)
2. Do not use patient-identifiable information unless it is absolutely necessary
3. Use the minimum necessary patient-identifiable information
4. Access to patient-identifiable information should be on a strict need-to-know basis
5. Everyone with access to patient-identifiable information should be aware of their responsibilities
6. Understand and comply with the law
7. We need to keep information about you to ensure the continuity of health care and treatment.

Parking

The practice has a large car park for the use of our patients.  Patients who park their vehicles in the practice car park do so completely at their own risk. The practice will not be liable for any loss or damage to vehicles or their contents.

Please note that we have two marked parking bays for the use of those patients with a disability who hold a Blue Badge. Please do not park in these bays unless you are displaying the Blue Badge.

Access for People with Disabilities

At Green Meadows Surgery we have tried to take into account the needs of patients with disabilities. We have wide doors for wheelchair access and provide a disabled toilet in both of our buildings. All clinic rooms are on ground floor level.

Registering at the Practice

Patients’ permanent address must be within the practice boundary. Patients are registered with the practice, not an individual doctor. However patients will be able to state a preferred doctor.

NHS Zero Tolerance

This practice fully supports the government’s NHS Zero Tolerance Zone Campaign, and would like to make our patients aware that the following behaviour is considered inappropriate and will not be tolerated.

• Verbal abuse
• Intimidation
• Physical violence

The practice procedure for dealing with violent or abusive patients is:

1. Verbal warning from a doctor
2. Written warning from a doctor
3. Removal from the practice list

There may be situations where it could be deemed necessary to:

• Call the police
• Immediately strike patients off the practice list

Please remember that we are here to help you.

Practice Charter

We are committed to giving you the best possible service and believe the only way to achieve this is by working together.

We will:

• Involve you as much as possible in all decisions regarding the care that you receive and ensure your consent is given prior to treatment.
• Treat you with courtesy and respect.
• Ensure absolute confidentiality of medical records within the limits of the law.
• Open up “urgent” appointment slots each morning at 8.00am for conditions which cannot wait for a booked appointment.
• Try to answer the telephone within ten rings.
• Keep you informed if your appointment time is more than 30 minutes behind schedule.
• Aim to get repeat prescriptions printed within 48 hours of the request.
• Provide you with access to your medical records as the law permits.
• Refer you to a specialist for a second opinion if the GP thinks it appropriate.
• Abide by Health & Safety Regulations.

Any comments or suggestions on how to improve our services would be welcome.

We ask that you:

• Inform us if you do not understand or are unclear about your treatment.
• Treat us with courtesy and respect and be patient when we are busy – please understand that some emergency situations may take priority.
• Inform us of any change of name, address or telephone number.
• Request access to medical health records in writing.
• Keep your appointment time and give as much notice as possible if you need to re-book or cancel.
• Only request a home visit if the patient’s medical condition prevents them from attending the surgery – please try to telephone before 10.00a.m.
• Only contact the doctor out of hours if the patient’s medical condition cannot wait until the next surgery.
• Report to the reception desk when you arrive.
• Do not request repeat prescriptions over the telephone.
• Understand that at least one week’s notice is required for doctors to complete paperwork e.g. passport forms, insurance forms, driving licence forms etc. Please be aware there is a charge for all non-NHS services.

We believe that by working together we will provide you with the best possible service.

Green Meadows Surgery is part of Berkshire East Primary Care Trust (PCT). The PCT can provide you with details of primary medical services in the area. Please contact the Primary Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 01753 635615.