Appointments

You can make an appointment by calling:

 020 8527 2677 

Please call at any time during our opening hours for cancellations, this is first come first serve service, and we can not reserve any appointments for any patients. Please note that we do not have a walking-in facility, all appointments are need to be called in.

If you do need an urgent appointment we cannot guarantee that you will be seen by your doctor of choice.

We also offer online booking appointments, Please note, one appointment is for one issue only when you book appointment to see a doctor, if you have more than one issues, please book extra appointment or call the surgery to speak to one of the staff regarding this. No smear test, vaccinations and wound checking with doctor's appointment; antenatal bookings, postnatal check up and baby 6-8 weeks check up are only avaliable by calling the surgery. Nurse appointments are for blood pressure checking, smear and child immunisations ONLY. All inappropriate online bookings will be cancelled without notice.

Practice Nurses

In a number of cases it might be worth considering an appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor. Practice nurses are qualified to deal with many ailments and you may be seen more quickly.

Languages

Please note the following languages are spoken in the practice:

English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali(Bangla) and Turkish.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us at least an hour before your booked appointment, or reply 'CANCEL' to your appointment reminder text in order for us to give the slot to someone else. This text has to be sent an hour before your appointment not within the hour of your appointment. If it is done within the hour of your appointment you may be redirected to call the surgery which may mean that you can reschedule your appointment but may not be able to cancel your appointment.  Please not we have a strict policy about DNA (missed appointments). Please read this important information

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 10:00.

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.

Training Practice

Higham Hill Medical Centre is a training practice and has medical students and trainee doctors working at the practice. 
 

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)