The Avenue Medical Centre is providing Extended Access

The practice is now hosting the Extended Access Service and we are pleased to offer access to GP, nurse and HCA appointments during the evenings and at the weekends. Monday to Friday 18:30 to 20:00, Saturday 09:00 to 17:00.

To book appointments simply ask the receptionist who will arrange an appointment at a time  that suits you best. This may not be  your usual  GP or Health Care Professional however they will have access to your medical record and can issue prescriptions if required and deal with other matters appropriately should the need arise.

The Practice is open Monday to Friday 08:00 to 18:30 and provides a full range of Primary Health Care Services. If you need medical advice or treatment, please call us or, for non-urgent advice or treatment, visit our website and send us your query.

Appointments are being delivered face-to-face, by telephone, or using video calls and messaging to your mobile or computer – the practice team will assess what is most appropriate for you and if you have a preference you can discuss this with them. To book an appointment Initial contact should be made via On-line Consult (https://www.online-consult.co.uk/org/the-avenue-medical-centre) or by telephone, we do not book appointments face to face at 08:00hrs.

Our Appointment System allows patients to pre-book up to 4 weeks in advance. We also offer ON THE DAY APPOINTMENTS WITH A GP, these are on a first come first served basis.

When booking an appointment to see a clinician it is the practice policy that receptionists ask a reason for the appointment. This has come directly from the GP's and there are several reasons why this is important. 

• If receptionists have an idea of what you are coming to the Practice for they can ensure that you are booked with the appropriate clinician. 
• It can save the clinicians time during you consultation as they can have a clear idea before your appointment what you are attending for. 
• Depending on the reason given you may need to see the GP sooner, this can be facilitated by giving the reception staff as much information as you can. 

To make an appointment please telephone  the surgery (0161 720 9441) during office hours.  Please remember to cancel appointments you cannot keep.  You may consult any doctor in the practice, although it is often preferable to see one who knows you best.

If you have an urgent medical problem we will always try to see you the same day.  Please telephone early in the day after 08:00, or you may call in at 08:00 when the Surgery opens.  You might have to wait but be prepared to see any doctor who is available. We try to accommodate children as a priority. As an alternative patients are able to contact NHS111 via the telephone or on-line for urgent medical advice(https://111.nhs.uk/)

Monday mornings are particularly busy.  It would help the staff and other patients if, where possible, you could avoid telephoning the surgery on a Monday morning for routine appointments, enquiries etc, allowing the telephone lines to be kept free for those patients needing an appointment or home visit that day.

We currently do not pre-book appointments on Mondays as this allows us to maintain maximum flexibility in meeting demand.

The Avenue Medical Centre is committed to providing the best possible service to a wide range of patients. We are supporting a new initiative, which will enhance communication between ourselves, Walk-in Centres and the Accident & Emergency Department at North Manchester General Hospital and provide extra appointments each Day.

Medical Emergencies (Telephone: 999)

Please contact the Emergency Services (Dial 999)

We are not an emergency service and are not equiped to deal with Medical Emergencies

Speaking To The Doctor By Telephone

It is usually possible to speak to the doctor by telephone after their morning surgery, The receptionist will take your details and pass a message to the GP through the messaging facility. Reception cannot give a time when the GP will call due to the high demand on the practice but it will be at some point the same day. Please keep these calls for urgent matters only.

Speaking To The Nurse By Telephone

If you wish to speak to a nurse a nurse by telephone, this can be arranged by the receptionist.  If the nurse is unavailable the receptionist will take your number and the nurse will return your call when it is practicably possible to do so.

For all routine enquiries please telephone after 14:00 only.

Please note; we will not tolerate abuse, or threatening behaviour in any form and this will be dealt with severely.

We also ask that patients do not use mobile phones on the premises and do not attend the surgery wearing pyjamas or whilst intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

At times your GP or Nurse may need to examine you to make a diagnosis and you may wish to have another person present to put you at ease. This third person is called a chaperone. All of our staff are fully trained as chaperones and can be present during your examination. All staff adhere to a strict confidentiality policy. The GP will ask you whether you would like a chaperone present before the examination takes place, also on some occasions the GP may request a chaperone to be present. 

Interpreter

If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the receptionist and she will arrange this for you.

Home visits may be available for patients who are medically unable to attend the surgery.

Whether the patient should attend the surgery or be visited at home will be decided by a doctor based on their professional opinion. 

We urge all patients to attend the surgery if possible because a properly equipped and staffed environment provides a higher quality of care and usually a quicker response. Also the doctor can see up to four patients at the surgery for every one home visit.

To arrange a home visit please telephone the practice before 10.30am.

Please cancel your appointment if you do not wish to attend. Patients who do not attend for an appointment without notice waste the GP’s/Nurses valuable time and prevent other patients accessing the Service.

We now have a facility to cancel an appointment over the phone. Call on 0161 720 9441 and select OPTION 1!

Anyone failing to cancel their appointment without informing us may receive a letter from the Practice and be asked to explain why they did not attend.  Patients who continue to fail to keep appointments and who do not provide a satisfactory explanation may be removed from our list of patients.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

You will need to register by completing the consent form →

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

The Avenue Medical Centre is proud to have been chosen by the University of Manchester as an undergraduate teaching practice. We have been teaching medical students since 1986 and many of our former students are now General Practitioners and Consultants.

It is possible that we may have a student sitting in with us during your consultation or accompanying us on a home visit. We hope you will understand that training tomorrow’s doctors is very important but we will always understand if you do not wish a student to be present when you are seen and will always abide by your wishes in this respect.

We have recently been presented with a GOLD award for the excellence in teaching Medical Students, we would like to thank the patients as they play a big part in the quality of training we can provide as many patients allow the Medical Student to observe their consultation.

GP services nationwide are under pressure! Waits for routine appointments are going up.

The reception staff may ask you the reason why you need a GP appointment.  We have asked them to ask this so as you can see the most relevant person.  It may be that you need to see the practice pharmacist or could be signposted to other services.

Have you considered:

The minor ailments scheme - Local pharmacies can see a range of minor ailments

We have a practice pharmacist who has a dedicated clinic on a Friday afternoon.  She can see minor ailments in adults and children over 1 year old

NHS Choices - is a great source of information for self-care

We have evening and weekend nurse and GP appointments at the HUB - this can be chronic disease management or cervical smears if these are more convenient.

If you need urgent medical help but it’s not life-threatening, then make sure you use NHS 111 instead of going straight to A&E.

You can contact NHS 111 by either calling 111 or visiting the website: NHS 111

If you need to go to A&E, NHS 111 will book an arrival time.
This will mean you spend less time in A&E. This also helps with social distancing. 

NHS 111 is also able to direct to or book appointments at Urgent Treatment Centres, GP surgeries, pharmacies, emergency dental services and walk-in clinics.

Remember if you or someone you know has a life-threatening illness or injury then you should still call 999 immediately.