Appointments

Term time appointments usually start at 08:30 and are available until 12:20 - a few appointments are available over lunchtime on some days and tend to be very popular.

Afternoon appointments are usually from 13:50 to 17:20 except Monday when appointments start at 14:40 and Friday when they end at 16:50.

Female  and male doctors are usually always available - subject to appointments remaining unbooked and you can request your preference at the time of booking.

The aim of the system is to enable you to see a doctor within 48 hours or less for routine problems. Urgent problems will be dealt with on the same day. The nurse practitioners will deal with many common, urgent problems themselves, whilst our other nurses may see patients with urgent problems first and help them decide whether they need to see a doctor.

This system releases appointments with the doctors and allows our nurses to use their skills.

50% of our appointments can be booked up to 2 weeks ahead. These appointments get taken quite quickly.

50% are available on the day with the majority being released at 08:45 and a small number at 13:45 sharp.

Our phone system has a call-waiting and queueing system to make contacting us easier: six receptionists are answering calls when we open. Despite this, getting through can be difficult at peak times due to the volume of calls - we try to answer and deal with calls promptly. Consider signing up for on-line services, as all pre-bookable (but not on the day) appointments are available to choose. Note that you can only book 1 appointment at a time.

Urgent Medical Problems

Problems that cannot wait until the next appointment will be dealt with on the same day by the duty doctor or nurse practitioner on a first come first served basis between 09:00 to 11:00 and 14:00 to 16:30.

The 3 nurse practitioners deal with the majority of urgent medical problems such as emergency contraception.

Nurse Appointments

Our highly trained nursing team offers appointments for:

• Women’s Services including Contraception and Smears
• Travel Advice and Immunisations
• Children’s Vaccinations
• Dressings and Wound Care
• Minor Injuries and illnesses such as sore throats, influenza, diarrhoea and vomiting, bladder infections and conjunctivitis
• NHS Health Checks (by invitation for over 40s)
• Diabetic and Asthma reviews
• Blood Pressure Checks

Nurse appointments are available between 8:30 and 17:00 Monday to Friday including some lunchtime appointments. The appointments can be pre-booked up to 2 weeks ahead or on the day.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

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.

Phone the practice on 0121 687 3055 auto-attendant option 2.

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.

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)

Medical Certification

The University has a system of medical certification for students based, primarily, on the assumption that most courses are designed to take account of minor illnesses and occasional periods of sick leave and that these episodes should not normally require a doctor’s note.

A standard University form has been designed to be completed by the student, followed by their doctor (see details below), for any period of absence due to illness at exam or significant assessment times or for significant medical problems at other times. You should bring a completed certificate with you to your appointment otherwise an unecessary delay will occur. A certificate will be issued only if the doctor thinks the condition merits it and note that a charge may be made for its completion.

The form may be signed by a GP, hospital doctor, relevant nurse or counsellor, who have been involved in your care.

Please note that a medical note is never needed so urgently as to require seeing the duty doctor. Please book an appointment with your usual doctor or the doctor who has already dealt with the problem.

Categories of Certification

Students must make their personal tutor/supervisor/mitigations officer aware of the impact which they believe that this illness has had on their performance in the assessment. This information should be provided as soon as possible and certainly before the meeting of the relevant Board of Examiners.

The University may well also require completion of a mitigation form as part of the process of illness assessment - this does not need to be seen by the health professional completing your medical certificate.

Download the University of Birmingham Medical certificate

Note that if you do not tell us to whom the certificate should be sent (at the top of the second page), then the completed form will be left in reception for you to complete.

Travel Connections

Train

University Station is a 10 minute walk away on the north edge of campus and outside the medical school. Trains on the Cross City Line stop on a very frequent basis and trains to other destinations such as Nottingham and Cardiff stop as well. The station is open 06:00 (09:35 Sundays) until 23:35. There is no parking available anywhere close to the station.

Bus

The bus routes to or close to the practice change frequently. Check the up to date connections and plan your route at: