Appointments
To make an appointment with a member of our clinical team, if you have internet access please use our new online patient triage system, otherwise call reception on 01323 490022 or come in a see us at our reception desk at the practice.
More information regarding appointments can be found here
Making the Most of Your Appointment
As a patient, once you have booked your appointment to see/speak to one of our practitioners, you will be keen to extract the most from it. In order to help you and to help your doctor, here are some suggestions for a successful outcome:
- First of all, you may want to consider taking someone along with you, or having someone else on speakerphone if it’s a call. You might feel a bit stressed at the appointment and another person can help by making notes or prompting the patient. They will also be able to discuss it with you afterwards, making sure you haven’t missed anything.
- It’s advisable to say at the beginning of your meeting or conversation, if you have a number of issues to discuss. You might want to prioritise or let the doctor do that.
- Begin with, ‘My main concern is ….’
- If possible, keep a note of your symptoms and bring it with you to the meeting. It would be useful to know when they occur, how often, how long it has been going on, severity etc.
- If you can be specific, that will also help. For example, is the pain: dull, aching, throbbing etc. What time of day did it begin? What were you doing? Do you have other symptoms at the same time?
- If you have done any internet research and would like to raise this with your doctor, again, keep a note of it.
- Any issues with medication would also benefit from a note about side effects.
- It is fine to ask doctors to repeat or explain something several times, also to ask questions.
- Your doctor will suggest a way to manage the problem, perhaps medication, or more investigation might be necessary. There is also the possibility that you might be offered an appointment with the social prescriber who will be able to assess whether for example, a specific exercise programme, might be of help. Again, you must feel free to ask questions.
- You are always free to seek a second opinion.
- You are always welcome to bring a translator if English is not your first language.
Plenty more information can be found at:
Prescriptions
For more information regarding Prescription request, queries, information etc please visit our “Prescription” page
COVID-19 Spring 2025 vaccination programme
For more information regarding the Spring 2025 vaccination program, please visit our “Covid 19 Vaccination” page
New Patient Registration
How to register with the Practice.
To check that you live within the Practice Area and to register – click here
Online Services
Please visit our “Online Services” page for more information on how to register.
Test Results
We will normally only communicate test results to patients if there is an abnormality in the results. Results will normally be known to the Practice within five working days.
To ensure confidentiality, we only release results to the patient, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed in writing.
Referral requests are made promptly following a consultation with your doctor. The time to receive a response to the referral can vary considerably. The referral appointment will normally be posted to you by the hospital directly.
Should you feel that a test result or a referral appointment is overdue, please feel free to contact our secretarial team between 8.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. The telephone numbers for the secretaries can be viewed on the “Secretarial Staff Phone In Times” page.
Sick (fit) Notes
To request a sick (fit) note, please visit the Sick (fit) notes page
Updating Your Details
If you change name, address or telephone number, please notify the surgery as soon as possible so that we can ensure that our records are accurate. Please note, it may be necessary for us to leave a message on any telephone number you provide if we are unable to reach you. Please let our registration clerk know if you would rather we did not leave messages.
You can update your details via our Website Form, or in person.
Find Your NHS Number
Your NHS number is a 10 digit number, like 485 777 3456. It is on any letter you receive from the NHS.
You do not need to know your NHS number to use NHS services, but it can be useful to have it.
Research Active Practice
Our practice is a research active practice. This means we actively support and conduct different types of research with the intention of improving outcomes for patients. New treatments, technologies, care approaches and devices all need to be carefully and safely tested in real life healthcare environments. Clinical research in these environments is separately funded and adds value to patient care. For more information please visit our “Research Active Practice” page.
Protected Learning Time (PLT)
Find out what Protected Learning Time is and when the Practice will be closed for PLTs.
Public Holidays and Other Closures
To find out what dates the Practice will be closed during the year please visit our “Public Holidays and Other Closures” page.
Artifical Intelligence (AI) to assist with the recording of information during our consultations
Seaford Medial Practice is starting to use Artifical Intelligence (AI) to assist with the recording of information during our consultations.
We will let you know this each time we speak with you.
The AI is an Ambient Scribe which will listen to what we say and summarise the relevant element of our discussion. This summary is presented back to the clinician after the consultation. They will then review the words and make any corrections needed.
Why are we doing this?
- It means that we can hopefully spend more time talking with you and less time looking at the computer (though the latter is not completely unavoidable.)
Precautions put in place:
- This software has been approved for use in the NHS nationally.
- All data is processed within the UK.
- After the machine has presented its words, the recording is deleted.
- A Data Protection Impact Assessment has been undertaken and agreed by the Sussex Integrated Care Board.
Practice Private Fees for Non-NHS Services
Certain services carried out by the Medical Practice are not covered by the NHS. Special appointments must be made for these services and a fee is payable. For details of up to date charges, please click on the link below:
Non-NHS Services Charges December 2024
Examples of these services are:
- Power of Attorney
- Driver Medical for Insurance Company
- Medical Reports taken for patient notes (with the patients’ permission) for third parties
- Letter requested by patient addressed ‘To whom it may concern’
- Sick notes issued in the first 7 days of illness.
The above list is neither exclusive nor exhaustive.
Sharp Bins Free Home Collection
Please make arrangements to have your sharps bins collected from home. Lewes District Council offer a free collection service for patients who use sharps bins in their home. Please contact their Community Services Dept on 01273 484999
Summary Care Record – Opt Out
Summary Care Record (SCR) is a national database that holds electronic records of important patient information such as current medication, allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines, created from GP medical records. It can be seen and used by authorised staff in other areas of the health and care system involved in the patient’s direct care.
Please visit the NHS England Summary Care Record pages before choosing to Opt Out.
The Opt Out form is available from NHS England – SCR patient consent preference form page
Friends & Family Test
If you would like provide feedback via the Friends and Family Test form please click here
Please note that any feedback provide is completely anonymous.
Local and National Support Contacts
For local support links please click here