Our Appointment system
For real life-threatening emergencies such as those below – RING 999
- Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
- Suspected stroke
- Suspected meningitis
- Anaphylactic shock (severe allergy)
- Heavy bleeding or deep lacerations
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness or completely unconscious
- Difficulty breathing or stopped breathing with a change in colour
- New seizure, fit or uncontrollable shaking
For immediately serious conditions such as the following, GO TO Emergency Department (A+E) IMMEDIATELY
- A fever and lethargic (drowsy) child
- A feverish and floppy (unresponsive) infant
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden, severe abdominal pain
- Accidental or intentional overdose of medication
- Trauma (including falls) and possible broken bones or road traffic accident
Appointments
We have been working in different ways since the pandemic to ensure our patients needs are met. Following extensive feedback, we are planning on delivering the majority of our consultations in person (face to face) from 8 April 2024 onwards. All requests to seek advice or discuss problems will require an appointment to be booked. For GP appointments, the default position is for a face to face consultation in either surgery. We can offer a telephone consultation, but please consider that any examination that is required (including skin lesions and mental health assessments) will require a face to face appointment, and we therefore expect you to attend the surgery anyway for these type of consultations – please think carefully if a telephone consultation is suitable for you in the first place.
- GP results call back appointments will be via telephone.
- All Physician Associate appointments will be face to face, with our Physician Associates being supported and supervised by on site GPs at all times.
- Clinical Pharmacist Minor Illness appointments will also be face to face. Clinical Pharmacist medication review appointments will initially be over the telephone, as before.
- Nurse appointments are face to face and can be booked directly by reception.
For an appointment, please call
Avicenna Medical Centre - 01495 227156
Oakdale Medical Centre - 01495 224843
Availability
Appointments are available every week day between 08:30 and 18:00. The surgery offers a mixture of pre-bookable and same day appointments.
Making an Appointment
When you contact us to make an appointment, the doctors have instructed our reception team to ask you if you can tell us what the appointment is for. This information is to help you to get the right appointment with the right clinician. If you do not wish to provide this information, the receptionists will respect your decision.
Routine Appointments
Routine appointments with a doctor can be pre-booked up to 6 weeks in advance. We recommend you try and plan ahead to ensure you get an appointment with your first choice of doctor. The practice believes in continuity of care, and we encourage you to see the same doctor for your particular medical condition on each occasion. There will be times, however, when your first choice of doctor is not available, due to training or leave. These appointments can also be requested via email – Avicenna.medicalcentre@wales.nhs.uk
Same Day Appointments
A limited number of same day appointments are also released at 0830 and 1400 every day. When we have exceeded our capacity for these same day appointments, our Reception Team will ask you a series of questions, which will be relayed to our GPs in order to decide the most suitable time to offer you an appointment. These decisions will be based in order of clinical need.
Patients seeking advice from abroad
Please note that we cannot offer medical advice or consultations for patients who are currently abroad, whether you are on holiday, or working abroad, or for any other reason. You are advised instead to seek medical advice local to where you are. This includes travel within the UK away from the local region (please temporarily register with an NHS GP local to your location).
Clinical Pharmacy Team
Clinical Pharmacists are highly qualified health professionals who train for many years to become specialists in medicines and how they work. They can work directly with you, as part of the General Practice team, to make sure your medicines help you get better and stay well. Having a Clinical Pharmacist in the practice team means you can be treated by the best professional for your needs. All pharmacists are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- When Will I See A Clinical Pharmacist?
You will see a Clinical Pharmacist when you need expert advice on your medication, often for those taking multiple medicines (polypharmacy). Below are some examples of how a Clinical Pharmacist can help you:
- Long-term Conditions
If you have a condition such as asthma, diabetes, arthritis or high blood pressure, the Clinical Pharmacist can discuss the medicines you’re taking to make sure they’re working for you. They can also help you with lifestyle changes to help you manage your condition.
- Reviewing Your Medicines
If you are taking medicines long-term, you should be regularly reviewed. The Clinical Pharmacist can review all your medicines, discuss how they are working for you and carry out health checks, such as taking your blood pressure. They can also arrange for you to have blood or other tests.
- After A Stay In Hospital
If your medicines have been changed while you were in hospital, the Clinical Pharmacist can help explain these changes and ensure you get the maximum benefit from these medicines.
- Your Appointment
Our Clinical Pharmacists can write a prescription for your medicines, but you will still have to collect your medicines from your local pharmacy in the usual way. Please let the surgery know if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, so that another patient can benefit from it instead.
- For Common Illnesses, You Can Still Visit Your Pharmacy
If you are suffering from a common illness such as a cold, hay fever, diarrhoea, an eye infection or pain, the fastest way to get advice is to visit a Community Pharmacist who is able to advise and sell you the appropriate treatment. If they think a prescription only medicine is required, or you need more specialist advice, they will recommend you attend the surgery.