Booking Doctor Appointments using Patient Partner our Automated Telephone Booking Service

Did you know that you can now book an appointment to see any one of our doctors using Patient Partner? You can telephone the surgery anytime day or night to book an appointment. You do not have to wait until 8am to ring the surgery. You can now book an appointment whenever you want to do so.

If you want to book an appointment in the future, or your visit is not an urgent one and you are happy to be seen in a day or two, Patient Partner is the best option for you to use to book an appointment.

It’s easy to use – all you need to do is select ‘1’ when you ring the surgery and then follow the prompts to book an appointment. You can select if you want to bee seen at West Quay or at Rhoose; if you prefer to see a male or female doctor or if you want to be seen in the morning or afternoon. It’s as simple as that.

There are some limitations. What you can’t do is pick a specific day or time to be seen or which particular doctor you want to see. We also do not offer nurse appointments using Patient Partner although we will be looking to offer this option in the future.

You can also change an appointment, or cancel an appointment using Patient Partner.

CHECKING IN

When you arrive at the surgery, you will find a self check in system in the main reception area on the ground floor.  You may use this system to check in  to see a doctor or nurse without the need to inform the receptionists.  This will help you check in more quickly particularly if there are long queues at the Reception Desk. 

PATIENT INFORMATION SCREENS

The Patient Information Screen provides you with lots of different information, some of it will be about the Practice and the services we offer.  Other information will be related to specific topics such as healthy eating, exercise, smoking cessation advice and much more.  If, after seeing the information you require further details, you should enquire at Reception where our staff will be pleased to assist you. 

PRESCRIPTIONS

There is a collection box located at the front entrance to the surgery which may be used out of hours.  A further collection box is located at the main Reception Desk located on the Ground Floor. 

We aim to deal with each repeat prescription request within 48 hours.  However, if you are due for a medical review due to the length of time that you have been on a particular type of medication, this may take longer to process.   You should also note that you may not be issued with your repeat medication if you have not been seen for some time and the doctor thinks that you need to have a review of your medication.  If this happens, you will be invited to make an appointment with one of our doctors or nurses.  We will help you  by reminding you when your medication is due for review. We do this by using a ‘traffic light' system to manage your repeat prescriptions. When you are nearing the end of your approved supply of medication, the surgery will place a green slip when you have three issues left, a yellow slip when you have two issues left and a red one when you have only one issue left.   At this time, you must make an appointment to have your medication reviewed.

Please also note that it is your responsibility to manage your own medication.   Whilst we understand that you may occasionally forget to order your repeat medications until you have run out, the Practice cannot always deal with your requests at such short notice.  If you are going on holiday, you should also inform us in plenty of time to arrange for your medication to be prepared.  If you leave your request too late, the Practice may not be able to process your request in time. 

Sometimes patients call at the surgery to request medication that they may have previously had as an acute prescription.   The Practice is quite happy to consider such requests but these will only be limited to certain medication and for one occasion only.  You will be required to complete a form which will then be assessed by a doctor who will decide if is appropriate for you to have this medication.  The doctor may decide that you need to be seen and you will then be advised to make an appointment to see one of our doctors.  Please note that the 48 hour rule does not apply to these requests and you are advised to contact the Practice by telephone prior to visiting us.

PRACTICE WEBSITE

We have a new website address, which is:  www.westquaymedicalcentre.co.uk  

We will continue to provide information which we hope you find useful on this site.  You can also still order your repeat medication from this site as well.

RHOOSE MEDICAL CENTRE

Our branch surgery at Rhoose continues to operate as normal with the following exceptions: 

• We have a single telephone number for the whole Practice which is 01446-722792.  When you get through to the switchboard you need to let us know if you want to be seen at either Barry or Rhoose to enable our receptionists to correctly book an appointment for you.   You also need to ring this number if you want to book an appointment out of hours using our Patient Partner system.

• All of the paperwork for Rhoose patients (other than dealing with repeat prescriptions) is administered from the surgery in Barry.

You are able to book an appointment at Rhoose surgery in person and all of the repeat prescriptions are produced there.  We have increased the number of surgeries at Rhoose and are open every morning during the week and two afternoons as well.

We are pleased that we finally have a surgery which is fit for purpose to enable us to provide you with a modern environment when you need to see a doctor or nurse.  We look forward to welcoming you to your surgery.

Doctors Telephone Consultation Service

The Practice has recently introduced a doctor's telephone consultation service at Barry. To find out more about this new service please visit our Appointments page.

SYMPTOMS OF SWINE FLU

The symptoms of swine flu are broadly the same as those of ordinary flu, but may be more severe and cause more serious complaints.

The typical symptoms are:

- sudden fever (a high body temperature of 38C/100.4F or above), and
- sudden cough

Other symptoms may include:

- headache
- tiredness
- chills
- aching muscles
- limb or joint pain
- diarrhoea or stomach upset
- sore throat
- runny nose
- sneezing, and
- loss of appetite

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