Village Voice October/November 2012 | Page 26

The Alresford Surgery Newsletter Station Road, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9JL Telephone No. 01962 732345 Fax: 01962 736034 Web site – www.alresfordsurgery.co.uk For general advice or reassurance NHS Direct 0845 46 47 OUT OF HOURS 0300 300 2012 Out of Hours Cover and the ‘111’ Service surgeries. Please telephone the surgery to make an appointment. From 2 October a new service will come into force in our area – known as ‘111’ (because that is the freecall number you dial). For details of who qualifies for the free flu jab and more information see last months editorial or go to our website. The ‘111’ service will be similar to NHS Direct which will be phased out in due course. The main change for now is that if patients need medical help when we are closed they will need to dial ‘111’. The call handler will then connect the patient to the Out of Hours team which will be able to provide advice, offer an appointment or home visit in the same way that it does now. The message on our phones will be updated to reflect this change. We now have a visiting phlebotomist here every Monday and Thursday morning which will increase the number of patients we can see for blood tests. If you are due to have blood taken please ensure you bring your paperwork with you unless one of our GPs has ordered the request on our computer system. If the request has not been made by a GP and you do not have a request form or warfarin book it will not be possible to take your blood. Urgent Care/Appointments Can we remind patients that if they feel that they need to be seen urgently a call is made to the surgery between 8.30am – 9.30am as this helps us to organise appointments effectively. If your call is not of an urgent nature please try to call us after 11.00am. Flu clinics ● Walk in clinics 1.00-2.30pm 26th September, 1st and 17th October ● Preston Candover Village Hall 9.30-10.00am 18th October Pre-booked appointments – dates now available and include two evening 24 Blood Test Appointments