FAQ'S

Why can I not get an appointment with my GP when I want one?

Unfortunately GPs cannot work for 24 hours a day. We are restricted by time in the number of appointments we can offer. We do have home visits to do each day and also deal with the multitude of patient correspondence we receive each day. We also have to cover the Out of Hours Service (some nights working through the night and then having a full surgery the next morning).

If you do need to be seen by a doctor urgently you will be offered an appointment but it may not be with your own GP.

Why can I not always see my own doctor?

This question has basically been answered above. Some days appointments are booked up very quickly. Your own GP would prefer to see his own registered patients but this is not always possible. Please be assured that whichever GP you see you will receive the same medical treatment you would have received by your own GP.

Why is my urgent appointment only 5 minutes long?

Each day your GP plans his workload. He already has booked a full surgery of "normal" surgery appointments and then adds "extras" onto the bottom of his list for patients who need to be seen urgently. These "extras" are to deal with the urgent medical symptoms only, which require treating that day. If you have other medical problems you wish to discuss with your doctor, please book a "normal appointment" when your doctor will have the time to gives these problems his full attention.

Why can I not get an appointment with the treatment room in the morning when it is the most convenient time for me?

Out treatment room is extremely busy. There is one full time Nurses SRN Lorraine Grime seeing up to 20 patients in the morning. There are certain tests which are required to be done in the morning such as fasting lipids whereby the patient has had no food or drink since the evening before. This is necessary for the test to be carried out accurately. For obvious reasons these patients must be seen in the morning. Also the majority of blood tests are carried out in the morning to ensure that they are received by the hospital the same day.

The Treatment Room also receives requests from GPs to carry out all manner of procedures, such as ECGs, blood tests, etc for patients who have attended a doctor's appointment and the doctors feels the tests should be carried out that day.

The afternoons are generally quieter and you should be able to get an appointment pretty quickly. Please, if you need to attend the treatment room for a routine matter please try and book your appointment in the afternoon.

Why does my Practice Nurse only hold clinics on certain days?

We have three Practice Nurses who work with individual Practices. Sister Karen Schofield works with the Deakin, Norman and Bull Practice, Sister Michelle Makin works with the Saxena, Bowden and Saxena Practice and Sister Bernadette James works with the Shekar, Joseph, Gibson, Raza and de Vial Practice.

All three nurses attend to the nursing needs of patients who require diabetic screening and advice, cholesterol screening and advice, asthma management, elderly patient screening. They are also trained in smoking cessation. They also carry out 24 hour ECG and Blood Pressure monitoring.

As well as seeing patients in clinic, they also visit patients at home who are housebound or have poor mobility.

We have tried to accommodate all patients by dividing the clinic time equally between the three practices.

Our Nurses will be happy to discuss any concerns you have required your nursing requirements.

Why can I not always get through on the telephone?

Minden Medical Centre is the largest Medical Centre in Bury. We have approximately 18,000 + patients registered with us. Mornings are an extremely busy time on the phone as this is when the majority of patients phone in to make appointments, request home visits or acute prescriptions. Although with the introduction of the New Patient Partner scheme where you can ring and book appoinments on the telephone any time between 6am and 11pm the telephone lines should be a lot quieter.

We are always appreciative of patients who contact us after 2.30 p.m. with routine requests, i.e. repeat prescription, request for test result, request to speak to the doctor phoning after 2.30 p.m. when the telephones usually quieten down.

Please, if you do need to order a repeat prescription or request a test result, ring after 2.30 p.m. (alternatively please use the repeat prescription counterfoil when ordering your prescription).

Why, when I have an infection does my doctor not always prescribe antibiotics?

You may be surprised that we have not given you a prescription for an antibiotic when we have told you "you have an infection". This is because viruses cause most infections. Antibiotics kill bacteria but have no effect on viruses.

Viruses cause most infections of the nose, throat, ears and chest. Stomach upsets (diarrhoea and vomiting) as well as the flu are also viral infections. Our own immune system gets rid off viruses, antibiotics have no effect.

There are other good reasons to not use antibiotics when they are not needed these are:

Antibiotics may cause side effects such as diarrhoea, rashes, feeling sick, etc. These may develop on top of any other symptoms from the virus infection.
In the past, overuse of antibiotics when they have not been necessary has led to some bacteria becoming resistant to them. This means that they might not be as effective when they are really needed.
Antibiotics do not speed up recovery of most nose, throat, ear, chest, stomach and flu illnesses.

"Antibiotics - Don't wear me out" www.doh.gov.uk/antibioticresistance

What can you do?

Viruses can go on for several days and make you feel unwell. We can't give anything to get rid of the infection but you can use things to ease the symptoms, these include:

Take paracetamol or aspirin to ease any aches, pains and headaches and reduce fever. Aspirin must not be given to children under 12. Paracetamol liquid such as Calpol and Disprol are best for children.
Have lots to drink to prevent mild dehydration. This may develop if there is a fever and can make a headache and feeling of tiredness (common with virus infections) much worse.
Do not wrap up but try to cool down if you have a fever. This is particularly important in young children. Take the clothes off young children if they have a fever and give paracetamol medicine. It is quite safe and a good idea for children to get some fresh air. Do not over wrap them when you take them out, just put on their normal outside clothing.

Your pharmacist is always a good source of advice.

What if symptoms change?

Most virus infections clear without complications. Occasionally a virus infection may develop into a more serious infection. It is best to see a doctor to review the situation if the illness appears to change, becomes worse or if you are worried about any new symptoms.


Home About Us How do I? Resources Managing Minor Illness Problems in Adults and Older Children Problems in Babies and Young Children FAQ Links Deakin, Norman and Bull Practice Dr Shekar Practice Saxena, Bowden and Saxena Practice Accessibility Sitemap *Login/Logout	FAQ'S Why can I not get an appointment with my GP when I want one? Unfortunately GPs cannot work for 24 hours a day. We are restricted by time in the number of appointments we can offer. We do have home visits to do each day and also deal with the multitude of patient correspondence we receive each day. We also have to cover the Out of Hours Service (some nights working through the night and then having a full surgery the next morning). If you do need to be seen by a doctor urgently you will be offered an appointment but it may not be with your own GP. Why can I not always see my own doctor? This question has basically been answered above. Some days appointments are booked up very quickly. Your own GP would prefer to see his own registered patients but this is not always possible. Please be assured that whichever GP you see you will receive the same medical treatment you would have received by your own GP. Why is my urgent appointment only 5 minutes long? Each day your GP plans his workload. He already has booked a full surgery of "normal" surgery appointments and then adds "extras" onto the bottom of his list for patients who need to be seen urgently. These "extras" are to deal with the urgent medical symptoms only, which require treating that day. If you have other medical problems you wish to discuss with your doctor, please book a "normal appointment" when your doctor will have the time to gives these problems his full attention. Why can I not get an appointment with the treatment room in the morning when it is the most convenient time for me? Out treatment room is extremely busy. There is one full time Nurses SRN Lorraine Grime seeing up to 20 patients in the morning. There are certain tests which are required to be done in the morning such as fasting lipids whereby the patient has had no food or drink since the evening before. This is necessary for the test to be carried out accurately. For obvious reasons these patients must be seen in the morning. Also the majority of blood tests are carried out in the morning to ensure that they are received by the hospital the same day. The Treatment Room also receives requests from GPs to carry out all manner of procedures, such as ECGs, blood tests, etc for patients who have attended a doctor's appointment and the doctors feels the tests should be carried out that day. The afternoons are generally quieter and you should be able to get an appointment pretty quickly. Please, if you need to attend the treatment room for a routine matter please try and book your appointment in the afternoon. Why does my Practice Nurse only hold clinics on certain days? We have three Practice Nurses who work with individual Practices. Sister Karen Schofield works with the Deakin, Norman and Bull Practice, Sister Michelle Makin works with the Saxena, Bowden and Saxena Practice and Sister Bernadette James works with the Shekar, Joseph, Gibson, Raza and de Vial Practice. All three nurses attend to the nursing needs of patients who require diabetic screening and advice, cholesterol screening and advice, asthma management, elderly patient screening. They are also trained in smoking cessation. They also carry out 24 hour ECG and Blood Pressure monitoring. As well as seeing patients in clinic, they also visit patients at home who are housebound or have poor mobility. We have tried to accommodate all patients by dividing the clinic time equally between the three practices. Our Nurses will be happy to discuss any concerns you have required your nursing requirements. Why can I not always get through on the telephone? Minden Medical Centre is the largest Medical Centre in Bury. We have approximately 18,000 + patients registered with us. Mornings are an extremely busy time on the phone as this is when the majority of patients phone in to make appointments, request home visits or acute prescriptions. Although with the introduction of the New Patient Partner scheme where you can ring and book appoinments on the telephone any time between 6am and 11pm the telephone lines should be a lot quieter. We are always appreciative of patients who contact us after 2.30 p.m. with routine requests, i.e. repeat prescription, request for test result, request to speak to the doctor phoning after 2.30 p.m. when the telephones usually quieten down. Please, if you do need to order a repeat prescription or request a test result, ring after 2.30 p.m. (alternatively please use the repeat prescription counterfoil when ordering your prescription). Why, when I have an infection does my doctor not always prescribe antibiotics? You may be surprised that we have not given you a prescription for an antibiotic when we have told you "you have an infection". This is because viruses cause most infections. Antibiotics kill bacteria but have no effect on viruses. Viruses cause most infections of the nose, throat, ears and chest. Stomach upsets (diarrhoea and vomiting) as well as the flu are also viral infections. Our own immune system gets rid off viruses, antibiotics have no effect. There are other good reasons to not use antibiotics when they are not needed these are: Antibiotics may cause side effects such as diarrhoea, rashes, feeling sick, etc. These may develop on top of any other symptoms from the virus infection. In the past, overuse of antibiotics when they have not been necessary has led to some bacteria becoming resistant to them. This means that they might not be as effective when they are really needed. Antibiotics do not speed up recovery of most nose, throat, ear, chest, stomach and flu illnesses. "Antibiotics - Don't wear me out" www.doh.gov.uk/antibioticresistance What can you do? Viruses can go on for several days and make you feel unwell. We can't give anything to get rid of the infection but you can use things to ease the symptoms, these include: Take paracetamol or aspirin to ease any aches, pains and headaches and reduce fever. Aspirin must not be given to children under 12. Paracetamol liquid such as Calpol and Disprol are best for children. Have lots to drink to prevent mild dehydration. This may develop if there is a fever and can make a headache and feeling of tiredness (common with virus infections) much worse. Do not wrap up but try to cool down if you have a fever. This is particularly important in young children. Take the clothes off young children if they have a fever and give paracetamol medicine. It is quite safe and a good idea for children to get some fresh air. Do not over wrap them when you take them out, just put on their normal outside clothing. Your pharmacist is always a good source of advice. What if symptoms change? Most virus infections clear without complications. Occasionally a virus infection may develop into a more serious infection. It is best to see a doctor to review the situation if the illness appears to change, becomes worse or if you are worried about any new symptoms.
	Disclaimer: The aim of Minden's web site is to provide patients, the public and NHS staff with the latest information about the Centre. We also hope to gain feedback from you on how we can improve the information on this site. Certain links on this site are not under the control of Minden Medical Services and we are not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. These links are provided for your convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement. Minden Medical Centre, 2 Barlow Street, Bury, Lancashire BL9 OQP.