FAQs

What can I expect from my doctor?

GPs or doctors at our surgery look after the health of people in the local community and deal with a whole range of health problems. They also provide health education, offer advice on smoking and diet, run clinics, give vaccinations and carry out simple surgical operations.

Our GPs work with a team including nurses, health visitors and midwives, as well as a range of other health professionals such as physiotherapists and healthcare support workers. If a GP cannot deal with your problem themselves, they’ll usually refer you to a hospital for tests, treatment or to see a consultant with specialist knowledge.

You have the right to be registered with our surgery, as long as you live within its catchment area. Visits to the surgery are free.

It is important to be registered with a GP as they refer you for specialist hospital and community treatment services if needed.

Can I see a different doctor in the surgery?

Yes. You can normally see any doctor within the surgery, subject to availability. It is quite normal, especially if you need an appointment quickly to be offered an appointment with the next available doctor.

What do I do if I need to see a doctor outside of surgery hours?

The surgery has an emergency out of hours service. This service is only for urgent medical problems that cannot wait until the next day to be treated. You can contact this service through the normal surgery telephone number.

Can the surgery give me travel vaccinations?

The surgery can give you some travel vaccinations, others you may need to visit another provider. Our vaccination team will advise you where to go for these. Some vaccinations may be free under the NHS, though there may be a charge for others. Consult the surgery at least two months before you plan to travel for advice and to arrange any vaccinations that you may need. This is because some vaccinations take time to become effective.

NHS medical cards?

In the past, when you registered with a surgery, you may have received an NHS medical card, which existed for NHS administrative purposes and listed basic details such as a your name, address, NHS number and registered practice.  These are no longer issued, but our receptionist can give you a ‘Patient Summary’ with the above information on, if required.

When you register at the surgery, the receptionist will give you a form to fill in. When you have completed and returned the form, Primary Care Support England (PCSE) will transfer your medical records to our surgery and write to you to confirm your registration as a patient with the surgery.

Why is the car park sometimes full even when the doctors are not consulting?

Even when the doctors are not consulting there is a lot of activity which indirectly contributes to the provision of the care for our patients. At non-surgery times there are many members of the team, including doctors, who are helping to provide or co-ordinate patient care – this includes receptionists, administrators, secretaries, dispensers, nurses and health care assistants. In addition we have associated staff who are not employed by the practice but who either based at the practice or who regularly visit the practice – these include District nurses, Health Visitors and Macmillan nurses. The practice is linked with our locality Clinical Commissioning Group and meetings relating to this are sometimes hosted by the surgery. As we work in a rural community most of our staff and visitors are obliged to travel by car and so inevitably this contributes to the use of our car park.

Why are there just two disabled car parking spaces at Ancaster Surgery?

The number of disabled car parking spaces is proportionate to the overall number of disabled patients. We would respectfully request that only patients who have disabled badges or who consider themselves to be disabled use these spaces, and that they are not used, as a matter of convenience, by other patients.

Why do the doctors sometimes run behind schedule?

A core part of our ethos is to offer patients an appropriate amount of time for their specific needs. It is not always possible to predict what problems a patient might bring or how quickly these can be resolved. Rather than rushing through consultations in a mechanistic manner the doctors try to spend appropriate time with patients – quite often this is at points of crisis in our patients’ lives. We believe that this is at the heart of good clinical care and is what you, as a patient, would hope to have. Inevitably this means that, on occasion, the doctors run behind schedule. If the doctors are running behind schedule the reception staff will try and inform you that this is happening and the approximate delay. If you feel that you have been overlooked then please do check with reception.

Why is it easier to get appointments with one doctor compared with another?

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly not all of the doctors work the same number of clinical sessions. Some work part-time and so this affects their availability. Secondly some doctors have specific areas of clinical interest and expertise e.g. contraception and minor surgery, and so their appointments may be more in demand than others.