Appointments

We operate an appointment system at both Howdale and Marham Surgery. Please contact your registered practice for an appointment.

When registering with the practice, each patient is allocated a usual doctor. Not all doctors are available at all times, but it is our aim to provide appointments with a doctor as soon as possible. We offer our patients the right to be seen by a practitioner of their choice but if you wish to see a particular doctor you may have to wait a little longer for an appointment.

Dr Heighton, Dr Prakash & Dr Do attend most of the Howdale surgeries and Dr Hart is mainly at the Marham Surgery.

Extended Access Clinic  

Extended access clinics are available on certain evenings.  These are only for patients who cannot attend during normal booking hours.  Dispensary will be closed at this time. Please ask at reception for more details.

Telephone Advice

The doctors are available to talk to you on the telephone about urgent matters or to discuss a new problem between 08:30 - 08:55 and at 15:15 - 15:55 for routine matters and/or some results.  These times may vary slightly but the receptionist will be able to advise you of a convenient time.

Improved Access

We are able to offer improved access to GP and nurse appointments at one of our hubs across West Norfolk. We have eight hubs in total spread across West Norfolk.

How do I access the service?

The provision of this service is available to patient who are registered with one of the 21 surgeries within West Norfolk.

Appointments are made by calling your own GP Surgery and are available to patients on equal footing to appointments within regular surgery hours.

What appointments are available?

We offer appointments Monday to Friday from 6:30pm – 8pm, on Saturdays 8am – 1 pm and on Sundays 9am – 12pm.

What conditions can be treated?

A mixture of routine and pre-bookable and same day appointments for general consultation.

Patients who cannot be seen:

Babies under 12 weeks old

Pregnancy-related problems

Severe mental health problems

Patients identified with a potentially life-threatening medical condition which requires referral to urgent or emergency care settings

Walk-in patients

Practice Nurses

In a number of cases it might be worth considering an appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor. Practice nurses are qualified to deal with many conditions and you may be seen more quickly. The practice nurses are available by appointment and cover both surgeries.  Morning, afternoon and evening appointments are available throughout the week: please contact your registered practice for an appointment.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

Home Visits

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 10:30.

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.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)