Telephone
| Watlington (Chiltern Surgery) | 01491 612444 |
| Chalgrove (Brook Surgery) | 01865 890760 |
A new telephone system has been in operation since the beginning of July 2020.
When you ring either of the Surgery numbers you will find that there are five options available to choose from when the call is connected. Regardless of which number you call, you will be put through to the Reception team that are working on that particular session (so if you call the Watlington number, it may be answered by a member of the team in Chalgrove and vice versa)
Please be aware that if you know the option you require, you can press the relevant number at any time rather than listen to all the options.
- Appointments
- Prescription Queries – It would be greatly appreciated if these calls are not made until after 10.30 am and please remember that the Practice is not permitted to take prescription requests over the phone. Please do this online or by email.
- General Enquiries to speak to a receptionist. If not urgent, please call after 10.30 am.
- Medical Secretaries regarding hospital referrals/appointments, insurance, firearm certificates, third-party medical forms etc.
- Flu/Covid Vaccination information including planned clinics
If the line is busy when you call, you will be told what position you are in the queue of callers. It is also important to be aware that you will be automatically transferred to the first available receptionist who may be at Watlington or Chalgrove. All staff can see all patient records at either surgery so that your requirement can be dealt with at either location.
In general, it helps if appointments can be booked well in advance to aid organisation. Patients requiring appointments which are not urgent for today should telephone after 10:30 am. Please tell the Receptionist if you think you need a long appointment as more time can be allocated to you.
Urgent Appointments
Patients requiring emergency, same day appointments should phone before 10:00 am. The Receptionist will ask you for basic details of the emergency so that the GP can access/review or, it may be more appropriate that you are given and appointment with the Nurse or Pharmacist. They may be triaged by the Duty Doctor. When all same day appointments are full/we have reached capacity, a message on the ansaphone will advise you of this. You will then be asked to contact 111 for any urgent matter which cannot wait.
In an Emergency
To contact the Duty Doctor during normal working hours (08:30 – 18:00 Monday to Friday), telephone either surgery on 01491 612444 (Watlington) or 01865 890760 (Chalgrove). If a Receptionist is not available, a recorded message will give you the number to call.
Children
We cannot see (and therefore treat) children under 12 unless they are accompanied by a responsible adult. We also prefer an adult to accompany older children (i.e., under 16) but will discuss any matter with a child over 12 in confidence if they wish.
Chaperone
Watlington and Chalgrove Surgery is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where the safety of patients and staff is of paramount importance. A key issue is the need for patients experiencing consultations, examinations and investigations to be safe and to experience as little discomfort and distress as possible. We offer a chaperone should you require one to be present for any part of the consultation or examination. Please just ask the Doctor or Receptionist.
General
- Morning Surgery usually starts at 08:30 in both Surgeries Monday to Friday.
- Patients who wish to consult a specific Doctor about a specific problem are welcome to do so (however there may sometimes be a wait for an appointment due to demand).
- Patients requiring emergency appointments will be asked to travel to either Chalgrove or Watlington. Please make a note when the Receptionist advises you where you need to go to see the Duty Doctor.
- Receptionists are available in both Surgeries Monday to Friday 08:30 to 18:00.
- One of the Surgeries closes at 14:00 on some days. There will always be one Surgery open to 18:30.
- There are Surgeries morning and afternoon 5 days per week.
- The precise times of Surgeries vary from day to day and week to week and depend on which GP is in attendance. Please phone and check.
- There is normally a limited Saturday morning Surgery every week (except bank holiday weekends) from 08:00 until 10:30.
Saturday Surgeries are held in either Chalgrove or Watlington, dependant on which GP is on duty. These are for routine, pre-booked appointments and not emergency matters. For urgent matters over the weekend, please call 111. We will not accept any “walk ins”.
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. You can do this by phone, email or online or in person. Please, please do not just not bother to turn up or cancel the appointment five minutes before you are due to be seen. This wastes an appointment and prevents someone who genuinely needs an appointment from being seen. We lose/waste on average 2-5 appointments every day when patients just do not turn up, despite text reminders etc.
