Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10am if you require a home visit.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a District Nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Surgery.

Visit Requests

In order for the GPs and Nurse Practitioners at the practice to effectively plan their day and rounds, we ask that requests for home visits are made before 10.30am. Your usual GP, if they are working, will visit you if the request is made before 10.30. Visits after this may be dealt with by a GP you do not know. We respectfully remind patients that home visits are for the housebound. 

Appointments

Please do not be offended that our reception team ask you why you need to book an appointment.

The Canford Heath Group Practice is part of Poole North’s Primary Care Network (or PCN). The PCN together with the practice provide a number of different patient services. Some that your GP needs to refer you to and some that you can book yourself. Some services are available to all patients; some are only for patients with certain medical conditions, but all PCN patient services aim to improve your health and wellbeing. Our Reception Team can help advise you if you are unsure what service you might need.

Our PCN patient services include:

Musculoskeletal (MSK) First contact Practitioner (FCP)

For initial assessment and advice for the self-management of joint, muscle and bone pain for patients aged 16+.

Our MSK FCP can make referrals to our In-house Physio, if needed (the MSK FCP does not provide physiotherapy treatment).

Our MSK FCP can order x-rays / bloods, make specialist clinic referrals and can, if needed, refer any other concerns found back to your GP.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you.

Direct Physio

For physiotherapy treatment of non-MSK joint, muscle or bone pain (e.g., knee, lower back, shoulder, head and neck pain). For patients aged 16+.

Appointments are a combination of telephone triage, face-to-face treatment, and recommended exercises for patients to carry out at home.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you

You can also visit: www.mskdorset.nhs.uk to book yourself into a Poole Hospital-led physio service (which attends the surgery).

For more information about the service as a whole, please click on the following link.

Self Referral Information

Social Prescribing & Health Coaching

For support with practical, social, and emotional difficulties for patients aged 16+.

Your appointment will last 60mins, is tailored to you, and can be either over the telephone or face-to-face.

Our Social Prescribers connect you to local services, groups, and activities. Working with you to help improve your wellbeing.

You can read more about the service here.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you.

Adult & Teen Counselling Services  

For support with emotional issues (i.e., loss, illness, or relationship problems).

Teen Counselling is available to patients aged 13-19yrs, up to 6, 50mins sessions are offered and tailored to you (i.e., face-to-face or a telephone call).

Adult Counselling is available to patients aged over 18, between 4-6, 60mins sessions are offered, again, either face-to-face or over the telephone.

Onward referrals can be made to other services to help you, if needed, such as Active Monitoring, Steps to Wellbeing and Eating Disorders.

Your GP will need to refer you to these services, please speak to your GP at your next appointment.

Dorset Mind

For mental health triage for Adults & Children with mild to moderate mental health needs.

Support with issues such as, low mood, anxiety, phobia, bereavement, work-related stress, anger, and sleep problems.

The Triage Practitioner carries out an initial assessment (using pre-assessment questionnaires) and can sign-post to further services that can help you.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you.

Help & Care Dementia Coordinator Service 

For patients with a new diagnosis of Dementia and their families needing support.

Helping patients to stay as independent as possible and preventing problems (matters reaching crisis-point).

Coordinators connect you or your loved one to services for memory assessment as well as to local agencies for more information and advice.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you.

Help & Care Dorset Self-Management Service 

For support if you have a long-term illness / or are a carer. Link Workers can connect you with local groups and activities, growing your support network. Health and Wellbeing Coaches can help you feel more confident about managing your own health and its impact on your day-to-day life.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you.

Community Pharmacist Consultation Service

For minor illnesses / urgent medication you can be connected directly to your nominated Pharmacy (Children must be aged 2+ to be referred). Only specific conditions are suitable for referral and our Reception Team are trained in recognising what can be referred. Your Pharmacist will telephone you for an initial consultation, many patients who may have attended the surgery before are successfully treated by their Community Pharmacist.

You can self-refer to this service, please ask the Receptionist to refer you.

Podiatry

For diagnoses and treatment of foot health problems for patients with certain medical conditions. Concerns such as, painful skin conditions-e.g., corns and calluses, lesions, and minor infections. Our Podiatrist carries out nail surgery for ingrowing toenails, manages diabetic foot ulcers and can assess rheumatic foot conditions. As well as giving patient advice on footwear and routine foot health related issues.

Your GP will need to refer you to these services, please speak to your GP at your next appointment.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners

For support with a range of new / sudden onset health problems. Our Advanced Nurse and Emergency Care Practitioners (ANP / ECP) can independently assess, diagnose and treat complex health issues.  ANP / ECP’s can prescribe and administer medications, order tests, make referrals to specialist services and give expert medical advice. Under our Frailty Service, our ANP also supports patients with longer-term health problems.

You can self-refer to our ANP/ECP, please ask the Receptionist to book an appointment for you.

Teaching Practice

We are proud to be a teaching practice, training the next generation of GPs. You may be offered an appointment with our Registrar who is a fully qualified doctor, but one who is now training to be a GP. Our Registrar can call on their mentor (one of the GPs at the practice) at any time should they need to. Their clinical work is also strictly monitored by their GP trainer/mentor. For the purposes of teaching it may be necessary for your record to be reviewed by the Registrar and the teacher/mentor after your appointment or during one of the Registrar's one-to-one teaching sessions with their GP trainer/mentor. Please be aware that access to your records is strictly controlled and in line with our confidentiality policy.  

We currently are not accepting online appointment booking. However you can register for other online services. Please call into the surgery with photographic identification (either passport or driving licence) and your Online Service Registration Details will be issued to you. 

You may also wish to use eConsult, by clicking on the link below. Do please note that these are for ROUTINE matters only and anything urgent will be rejected. 

We are working to improve access to appointments for our patients, in particular at evenings and weekends. If you would like to be offered one of these appointments, please ask. These appointments may be at a different site; for example, Poole General Hospital.

In an Emergency

A Doctor is always available for urgent cases. Please telephone 01202 772540 giving your name, address and telephone number together with some idea of the nature and urgency of the visit. In extreme emergency or case of severe chest pain dial 999 and ask for an ambulance.

In cases where a nurse opinion over the telephone is required, ring NHS Direct on 1 1 1.

Emergency Contraception

The "morning after pill" is available and effective up to 72 hours from unprotected intercourse but the sooner it is taken, the greater the chance of success. Please ask for an appointment to see a Doctor or the Nurse Practitioner at the next available surgery. In certain circumstances the coil can be fitted after this time.