Routine GP pre-bookable appointments are limited and are intended for those patients due a follow-up appointment to review an on-going issue. New or urgent problems (where your health may have deteriorated) should be managed via the GP
Telephone Triage.
GP pre-bookable appointments are released on a staggered basis and are available up to 2 weeks in advance. They can be booked in the following ways:

By telephoning reception

Online via www.greenwaysurgery.nhs.uk

By calling the automated telephone system
(Patient Partner)
We also offer a range of appointments with our
Practice Nurses and Health Care Assistant. These appointments are available up to 2 weeks in advance and cover the following:

Practice Nurses: o Chronic Disease Management o Childhood / Travel vaccinations o Contraception / HRT advice and checks o Cervical Smears o General nursing care including dressings and suture removal

Health Care Assistant: o New patient checks o ECGs / Ear Syringes / B12 Injections o Urgent bloods / Phlebotomy Clinic o Blood Pressure Checks o Hypertension / Chronic Disease reviews
SURGERY OPENING TIMES
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
0830-2030*
0830-2030*
0830-1830
0830-1830
Friday
Weekends
0830-1830
Closed
* Extended opening hours 1830-2030 designed for working patients
OUT OF HOURS/EMERGENCIES
If you have an urgent problem when the surgery is closed please contact GP Out of Hours on 0151
6788496. In an emergency you can also call
NHS111 – simply dial 111
PRESCRIPTIONS
Requests for repeat prescriptions will be dealt with within 48 hours. Requests for non-repeat items may take longer and may require a telephone consultation dependant on circumstances.

Greenway Surgery operates a GP Triage system to deal with urgent (on the day) and new problems. Pre-
bookable appointments are offered for on-going problems (those needing review).
WHAT IS TRIAGE?
Triage uses a set of principles that guide the sorting and assignment of treatment priorities. Triage comes from the French verb ‘trier’, meaning ‘to sort’. Triage methods can be traced to Napoleon’s surgeon general who developed a system to evaluate patients while the battle was still in progress.
As the number of patient contacts in General Practice steadily rise and the nature of healthcare becomes increasingly complex many professionals view triage as a way of safely managing increasing demand while also meeting patients’ understandable desires for a timely response to their request for urgent healthcare.
HOW DOES TRIAGE WORK?
The purpose of triage is to ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate clinician for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time. In General Practice, Triage is a system whereby a doctor speaks to a patient to assess their problem and determine the best course of action.
INITIAL STAGE
The initial stage of triage is often undertaken by the patient themselves; many will have reflected on their condition and considered who they feel they need to see and in what timeframe.
CALLING THE PRACTICE
If your problem is urgent or new then you should telephone the practice, before 1200, and speak to one of our receptionists. You will be asked if it is a new problem or a follow-up. If it is a new or urgent problem you will then be asked to provide your full name, contact number and a brief description of the problem; this will assist the Duty Doctor to prioritise your call, access your medical records and familiarise themselves with your medical history before they call you. (If you would rather not discuss issues with reception then you can state it is private but you should be aware that this will make it difficult for the Duty
Doctor to prioritise your call appropriately).
The Duty Doctor will call you back as soon as possible – usually we will aim to achieve this within an hour but please bear in mind that, dependent upon demand, the Doctor may have a particularly long list of patients to call.
It would be helpful if you could keep your phone line free to ensure you do not miss your place in the queue.
If you are unable to receive a call back please inform the receptionist and advise of a suitable time for the
Doctor to call you back and, when possible, we will endeavour to accommodate your request.
The Triage system operates from 0830-1200 daily
(Monday-Friday) emergencies outside these times will continue to be dealt with by the Duty Doctor.
TRIAGE CONSULTATION
When the Duty Doctor calls you back this will be the start of the consultation process and the
Doctor will discuss the next course of action with you. Your problem may be dealt with in one of the following ways:

While on the phone either with advice or treatment via a prescription (saving you an unnecessary journey to the surgery)

You may require to have further tests which can be initiated at this stage
 You may need to see a doctor in surgery on the same day
 Your case may be felt to be non-urgent and can safely be left until an appointment booked on a later day
 You may need to see another member of the Practice Team (Nurse Practitioner,
Practice Nurse or Health Care Assistant) either on the day or later
GP Triage is designed to improve access and convenience for patients and the system is monitored to ensure it continues to fulfil this requirement.
APPOINTMENT LENGTH
GP/Nurse Practitioner appointments are for 10 minutes and we would therefore request that this time is given to discussing the presenting condition rather than multiple problems.