Lane End Surgery Services and Healthcare Clinics

Healthcare Services and Clinics

The following clinics and healthcare services are available at this practice, by appointment.

Service	Day	Time
GP Appointments	Mon - Fri	8.30am - 11.30am, 2.30pm - 5.30pm
GP Evening Appointments	Tues & Thurs	6.30pm - 8.00pm
Practice Nurse Team	Mon - Fri	8.00am - 6.00pm
Relate	Mon	9.30am - 2.30pm
Relate	Thurs	4.00pm - 7.00pm
Ante-Natal	Mon	2.30pm - 4.30pm
Ante-Natal	Wed	1.00pm - 3.30pm
Diabetic Dietician	Wed (x2 per month)	1.00pm - 4.00pm

Making an appointment

All consultations are by appointment. They can only be booked 2 weeks in advance.
Most appointments are for 10 minutes. If you require a longer or shorter appointment please let our receptionists know when you make the booking. We aim to offer an appointment with a GP within 48 hours (unless it is more urgent) or a nurse within 24 hours. For an urgent appointment on the same day, please ring as early as possible.

The practice operates a GP appointments system with a daily mixture of same day and pre-bookable appointments. This allows patients who prefer to book ahead to make an appointment in advance, whilst also catering for those who need/want to be seen on the day.
Some patients prefer to try to see their regular doctor. Whilst we will try our best to accommodate this, unfortunately it is not always possible to make an appointment with a particular doctor at the time/day requested. This may be because the doctor is already booked or absent from the practice. On these occasions we will try to offer you a convenient appointment with another of our doctors.

You can make an appointment with a nurse without seeing the doctor first.

A visual call system (LED panel) is used to call patients to see the doctor/nurse. If you do not want the panel to be used please inform our reception staff.

Automated Arrivals Screen

To save patients waiting at the reception desk we have an automated arrivals screen. This allows you to check in without having to tell the receptionist you have arrived. The system lets the receptionist and doctor or nurse know that you are here.

Home visits

Home visits are available for patients who genuinely cannot attend the surgery due to a medical reason. Please try to telephone before 10.00am. Our reception staff will ask for details of your problem, as this helps the doctors to plan their visits.
Do please try to come to the surgery if at all possible (A doctor can see 3-5 patients at the surgery in the time it takes him/ her to visit one patient at home).

Telephone Advice

The practice operates a daily telephone message screen for patients requiring general advice/support. Patients are asked to leave their details and a GP will contact them at sometime during the day.
Patients who request a named GP returns their call are advised that the GP may not be able to speak to them that day, but they will contact them within 2-3 working days. As all GPs work part-time it is not possible to give a specific day when the call will be returned.

Wasted appointments

Missed appointments cost the NHS thousands of pounds every year. Please phone the surgery as soon as possible if you cannot attend. This will help us to make appointments available to as many patients as possible.
The practice has a policy to manage the number of wasted appointments. Patients who DNA (did not attend) appointments are written to. In extreme circumstances patients who repeatedly fail to attend may be removed from the practice list.

Out of hours

If you require general healthcare advice at any time, 24 hours a day, contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 (local rate) to speak to a trained nurse adviser, or visit www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.

If you need to see a doctor urgently outside normal surgery opening hours, please ring 0300 123 4343.
Out of hours GP services are arranged by North Tyneside Primary Care Trust and are provided by qualified doctors and nurses. You may receive telephone advice from a doctor or be asked to attend a local primary care centre for an examination. If, for medical reasons, travel is impossible, a home visit from a doctor can be arranged.

You should only dial 999 for an ambulance if you believe the problem is life threatening or very urgent, e.g. collapse, chest pain, breathing difficulties.

Interpreting service

If you would like an interpreter to attend your consultation, please tell reception when you book your appointment.

Test results (e.g. blood tests, X-Ray reports)

If you have tests taken you will be asked to contact the practice between 2.00pm and 6.00pm for the results. Please note results cannot be given outside these times. Patients are responsible for contacting the surgery for results.
Your doctor may prefer to discuss the results with you in person or they may be given out by our reception staff.

Lane End Surgery

North Tyneside NHS