When We Are Closed
EVENING & WEEKEND APPOINTMENTS- EXTENDED ACCESS - BOOKING ESSENTIAL
Your local GP practices have teamed up to provide extra weekend and evening appointments at Royton Health and Wellbeing Centre for their patients.
From 1st October 2022 the service will be available for patients registered at the following practices:
ROYTON AND CROMPTON FAMILY PRACTICE
OAK GABLES PARTNERSHIP
ROYTON MEDICAL CENTRE
THE VILLAGE MEDICAL PRACTICE
The service will be provided at Royton Health and Wellbeing Centre, Park Street, Royton, OL2 6QW
When: Monday - Friday 6.30pm - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
To book your appointment call: 0161 271 3180
Children Under Five
The Practice policy for children aged 5 years and under, is to offer an appointment on the same day, although it is not always possible to book the appointment with a GP of choice. Please note these appointments are available to ensure your child is seen on the same day. However, if you wish to book in advance for your child or book an appointment with a GP of choice you are still able to do this.
Pharmacy Service
Some pharmacies now offer advice on minor ailments and this will include some late-opening/out-of hours pharmacies. (See Useful Contacts Section)
Finally, it is important to bear in mind that not all of the out-of-hours services listed above will have access to your medical records and are therefore at some disadvantage compared to your usual GP. Those that do will only have limited information such as allergies and medication. Think carefully before you ring and consider whether you would be better requesting an urgent appointment at the surgery when it re-opens.
NHS 111.jpg)
NHS 111 is the new three-digit telephone service that has being introduced to improve access to NHS urgent care services, including those required out-of-hours. Patients can use this number when they need medical help or advice and it is not urgent enough to call 999. NHS 111 operates 24/7, 365 days per year and is free to use from both landlines and a mobile telephones.
All requests for out-of-hours medical help and advice for patients registered with ROYTON & CROMPTON FAMILY PRACTICE should now be made by dialing 111. When the surgery is closed you will need to dial 111.
How does it work?
The NHS 111 service is staffed by a team of fully trained advisers, supported by experienced nurses. They will ask questions to assess your symptoms, then give you the healthcare advice you need or direct you straightaway to the local service that can help you best. That could be A&E department, an out-of-hours doctor, an urgent care centre or walk-in centre, a community nurse, an emergency dentist or a late-opening chemist. If you contact NHS 111 in-hours, you may be advised to book an appointment at the surgery
Where possible, the NHS 111 team will book you an appointment or transfer you directly to the people you need to speak to.
If NHS 111 advisers think you need an ambulance they will immediately arrange for one to be sent to you.
Calls to 111 are recorded. All calls and the records created are maintained securely, and will only be shared with others directly involved with your care.
GoToDoc will continue to provide out-of-hours services for patients of Oldham GPs and when you ring NHS 111 you may be redirected to their base at Oldham Integrated Care Centre (ICC), situated on New Radcliffe Street, adjacent to the bus station in Oldham town centre. However, under the new arrangements you can no longer ring them directly and all out-of-hours services are now accessed via the 111 telephone number. GoToDoc is not an open access service
NHS Direct
This service first appeared several years ago and after a period of expansion, the structure and scope of the service in the future is now less clear as it becomes integrated with NHS 111
Most patients will be aware that this is a telephone advice service and advice will be offered on any medical problem. The telephone lines are operated by nurses who have had special training in triage and have access to advice protocols relating to a wide range of medical conditions. Patients may be advised, on the basis of the information they provide, that they need to consult their own doctor or seek further out-of-hours medical advice.
For patients in this area, the telephone number for NHS Direct is now 111. Patients should bear in mind that they will probably be speaking to someone who is not based locally.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Clearly some patients will develop acute illnesses, which could be potentially serious, and under these circumstances it may be wise to arrange transportation to the nearest A&E department (patients that ring for an ambulance and are thought to merit hospital treatment will be taken there anyway).
However patients should appreciate that A&E departments are often very busy and it may involve a long wait to be seen. Attendance with minor complaints will not usually be viewed sympathetically.
It is also not the role of A&E departments to arrange investigations of longstanding conditions or to expedite treatment for conditions already under investigation by other hospital departments.