Out of Hours Care

When not to call Grabadoc….

Potential life threatening emergencies such as poisoning – ring 999 for an ambulance.

Non urgent conditions – if your problem is not urgent, please try to wait until your surgery opens and avoid using the emergency service.

Test results or second opinions for something you have recently seen your own GP about.

Dental problems – Doctors are not dentists: if you have a dental problem ring your dentist, leave a message and wait for the dentist to contact you.

Non urgent medical advice or medical information – this can be obtained from NHS Direct on 0845 4567 or via their website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.

If you require urgent medical help…

If you require urgent help and feel you cannot wait until your surgery re-opens, telephone your own doctor’s number and have a pen and paper handy.  You will either be diverted directly to Grabadoc or an answerphone message will inform you how to contact Grabadoc.

A trained receptionist will ask you for the following details:

Patient’s name, address, telephone number and date of birth.

Name of patient’s doctor.

Details of the medical condition.

They may also ask for details of any medication being taken.

Using protocols drafted by the doctor, the receptionist will be able to identify if your condition is life threatening in which case she will advise you to call 999, or if it requires you to go to A&E otherwise you will be called back as soon as a doctor is available.

What happens next…

The doctor can:

Offer advice.

Suggest a remedy you can buy from the chemist or arrange a prescription you can collect.

Offer an appointment for you to be seen at one of our bases.

Arrange a home visit if you are unable to travel.

Refer you directly to A&E or the Minor Injuries unit at your local hospital.

Request an ambulance.

Home visits…

Home visits are only arranged, strictly on medical grounds only, for those who are housebound or terminally ill or otherwise unable to travel to our bases.  In the vast majority of cases it is best for patients to see a doctor at Grabadoc’s base where the equipment and support for a proper examination are available.  Also a doctor at the base can see and help three times as many patients in the time it takes to do one home visit.

Please note

Access to our bases is strictly by appointment.  These are not walk-in centres and you must have telephoned and spoken to the doctor first.

All calls to Grabadoc are recorded for medico-legal reasons and to ensure high standards.

Grabadoc doctors do not have access to the records held at the patient’s surgery.  For this reason they will need to ask a number of questions about the current problem and past medical history.

Details of your consultation will be passed to your surgery on the next working day.