The Practice is a member of the local Cooperative of doctors providing an emergency service in the evenings and at weekends, commissioned by Berkshire East PCT. This applies overnight from 18:30 to 08:30 Monday to Friday, and from 18:30 Friday through to 08:30 Monday.
Our answering service will take all the details and either arrange for one of the duty doctors to ‘phone you back’ with advice, inform you of a time when you will be able to see a doctor at the Primary Care Centre (PCC) or they will arrange for the mobile duty doctor to visit you at your home if for medical reasons you are unable to attend the PCC.
If you see one of the duty doctors the practice will be informed, with the details, by fax.
Weekends can be very busy and in order to cut down on the waiting times for home visits we would encourage you if it is at all possible to attend the PCC at a prearranged time so that the mobile doctor is free to visit those people who are in need of urgent attention.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Out of Hours Emergencies
When the practice is closed, there is an out of hours emergency medical service available at all times. This service is meant for urgent and emergency problems and should not be used to avoid the inconvenience of consulting during the day. If you need out of hours help, you should telephone 111 which is a free-phone number nationwide. Trained staff located at the call control centre will handle your enquiry.
On dialling 111 a team of fully trained advisers and experienced nurses will assess your condition and direct you to the local service that can help you best, when you need it. That could be your GP surgery, an out of hours GP, A&E, a local urgent care centre, emergency dentist or a late opening pharmacist. The 111 service is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Remember the Out of Hours Service is for urgent problems only. Please do not contact the service for a second opinion or for anything which can wait until the next working day.
If you have a minor ailment you could visit your local pharmacy who will be able to provide you with some help or signpost you onto the next available service.
In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.
NHS 111 BSL
The NHS 111 service is available for deaf people to contact 111 medical staff. Fully qualified and experienced interpreters. This is for use when:
- You need help quickly, but it is NOT an emergency;
- You think you might need to go to A&E but are not in imminent danger
- You don’t know who to contact, or your GP is not available;
- You need health information or advice on what to do next.
How To Make Contact
Go to Interpreter Now – NHS 111. Click on Connect – a BSL interpreter will appear on your screen.
Making contact in BSL is easy. You can do it from any computer, and almost all tablets and mobile phones.
Mental Health Crisis?
You should call 999 or go to A&E if you, or someone you know, experiences a life-threatening medical or mental health emergency. These are cases where there is immediate danger to life or physical injury. A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a medical emergency. If you feel like you may be close to acting on suicidal thoughts or have seriously harmed yourself, you should call 999 or go to A&E directly if you need immediate help and are worried about your safety.