Appointments

All routine appointments will be available as on the day telephone consultations.  The GP will then decide if a face to face appointment is necessary.  This system enables us to deal with more patients on a daily basis.  The reception staff are trained to direct you to the most appropriate Health Care Professional and this may not be a GP.

We understand the problems when telephoning the surgery first thing in the morning as this is our busiest time. 

We can now offer appointments 08:00 - 20:00, seven days a week. We still operate from the surgery during our core hours [08:30 - 18:30], but there is also a GP and Nurse Practitioner based at the new Hub at Buckland Hospital who will see patients from 08:00 - 20:00 for any acute [new/urgent] problems. Please use the usual surgery number & an appointment convenient to you will be booked for you, or alternatively you can call into the surgery to book.

Request an Appointment Online: You can request administration help and clinical advice by requesting an appointment with either a GP, Nurse Practitioner or Prescribing Nurse via the following link or banner to request an appointment online.  Your request will be triaged and passed on to the correct person to deal with your query.

https://pencestersurgery.webgp.com/

Practice Nurses

We have four highly qualified nurses and a phlebotomist who are all trained to carry out a wide range of tests and procedures. You can see the nurses by appointment for such services as cervical smears, blood pressure checks, diabetic checks, baby/childhood immunisations and foreign travel vaccinations.

Pharmacy Consultations

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.

Self-refer for services

You can self-refer to the following services:

• Sexual Health
  Telephone: 0300 790 0245 or Text: 07401 302 946
• Adult Speech And Language Team
  Telephone: 0300 1230785
• Children’s ADHD/ASD Referrals
• Children’s Mental Health Team
  Telephone: 0800 011 3474
• Maternity Self-Referral
  Telephone: 01227 864152
• Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
  Telephone: 0300 123 1220
• Email: kentchft.oneyoukent@nhs.net
  For support on:
  • Losing Weight
  • Going Smokefree –  text ‘quit’ to 87023 
  • Getting an NHS Healthcare check
  • Cutting down alcohol intake
  • Getting Active
  • Improving Wellbeing

Counselling and Bereavement Service

For Bereavement Support:

• Cruse Bereavement Support
  Telephone: 0808 808 1677
• Talking Therapies around Kent
  Telephone: 0300 555 5555

For Cancer Support:

• Macmillan Cancer Support
  Telephone: 0808 808 00 00
• Maggie’s Centres
• Cancer Research UK

For Drugs and alcohol:

• Drugs and Alcohol Referral
  Telephone: 0300 1240 440
  Email: recoverysupport@forwardtrust.org.uk with the subject line: “Recovery Support”.

• Dover Counselling Centre
  Telephone: 01304 204123

If you are having a difficult time, talk to someone

• Samaritans
  Telephone: 116 123 (24 hr helpline)

Mental Health Services and Support

• The Crisis Team
  Telephone: 01634 833738
• Single Point of Access
  Telephone: 0800 783 9111
• South Kent Mind
  Telephone: 01303 250090
  Email: contact@southkentmind.org.uk
• Live Well Kent
  Telephone: 0800 567 7699
• Mental Health Matters
  Telephone: 0191 516 3500 (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday)
  Email: info@mhm.org.uk

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:30.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)