ALL TELEPHONE CALLS ARE RECORDED FOR TRAINING AND MONITORING PURPOSES

Our Doctors hold appointment surgeries on the following days:

WHEN THE SURGERY IS CLOSED, IF YOU NEED A DOCTOR, FOR A MEDICAL EMERGENCY ONLY, PLEASE TELEPHONE 01444 484056 AND LISTEN TO RECORDED MESSAGE. ALTERNATIVELY, DIAL 111 FOR MEDICAL ADVICE

1) 'On the day appointments' are for medical emergencies only, not routine care.

2) Please note that the email address sxicb-wsx.lindfield.reception@nhs.net is to be used for general enquiries only and not for requesting appointments. If you send an email requesting an appointment, you will be advised to use the telephone lines.

Current appointment times

GP - Urgent appointments:  Same day

GP - Routine appointments: 30-35 days

Prescriptions: 5 days for surgery to raise the prescription and then allow a further 2 days for the pharmacy to dispense it.

To enquire about any hospital referral appointment times, please contact the central appointment booking hub on 0300 303 8360

What is eConsult?

eConsult is a service that enables you to contact the surgery without making a phone call.

The eConsult service will ask you to answer quite a lot of questions about you and your condition. These are the kind of questions that a GP would ask you during a usual consultation, so take your time in answering them and provide as much detail as you can.

What happens after I have submitted an eConsult?

As soon as you submit your request, it will be sent directly to our experienced and highly trained Workflow team. They will send any requests for medical help directly to your GP, or to an on-duty GP if your GP is not available. The GP will then do one of four things,

1) Call you on the contact number provided, to discuss your condition in more detail.

2) They will contact our Reception Team and ask them to call you to arrange an appointment.

3) They may feel that a prescription is required and so message you that one has been sent to your Pharmacist for pick-up.

4) They may message you with some self-help advice.

Any requests that are admin related, such as a request for a Fit Note, will be directed initally to our Reception Team who will then task your GP accordingly.

To access eConsult, just press the GET STARTED button below.

Evening and weekend access to GP appointments

GP appointments are now available during the evening and at the weekend for people registered with a GP in Horsham and Mid Sussex.

This means that both routine and urgent appointments are available at a local hub during weekday evenings and on a Saturday and Sunday, to make sure local people get the health help and support they need.

NHS Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG, working in partnership with local patients and clinicians, designed the service. The appointment hubs are run by Alliance for Better Care Ltd, the local GP Federation.

How to book an evening or weekend appointment at a hub:

Appointments can be booked through your own GP practice in the normal way, during normal opening hours.

Clinicians working at the hubs will be able to access your medical records with your agreement. You will be asked before any information is shared and can decline if you wish.

Your help to design this new service

In preparation for this additional, improved access to GP care, we sought the views and experiences of local patients and the public through a survey. The results can be found here:

www.horshamandmidsussexccg.nhs.uk/news/your-views-on-evening-and-weekend-access-to-gp-services/  

The Lindfield Medical Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff or one of the doctors or nursing team is treated in a rude, abusive or violent way.

The Practice supports the government's 'Zero Tolerance' campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide our services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. 

Our staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. However, rude or aggressive behaviour, be it intimidating, violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

• Using insulting language, bad language or swearing at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
• Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
• Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
• Causing damage/stealing from the Practice's premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
• We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.

Patients should be mindful that our staff are following the rules, regulations and guidance as dictated by NHS England and the Management of the Practice. It is not in their power to change or alter these. 

Removal from the practice list

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. If any of the behaviours listed above are reported by a member of staff, a review will be held internally and a decision made if the patient should receive a warning letter. If and when trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the Practice, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.

Zero Tolerance Policy.pdf

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

You can also complete our appointment cancellation notification request form. This can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance. (excluding weekends and public holidays). You can also text to cancel your appointment.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.