At Riccarton Clinic, we aim to provide the very best service possible to our patients. An essential aspect of this is an ongoing relationship between the patient and their regular doctor, this is a concept known as Continuity of Care. Medical research has shown that this concept results in very positive outcomes for the patient.
When you enroll at Riccarton Clinic, you have the opportunity to see any of our doctors but at some point you should choose a particular doctor and you should aim to book appointments with this doctor whenever you need healthcare advice. Over time, you and that doctor will hopefully establish a good working relationship, which is an important aspect of General Practice.
For your routine visits, medication reviews, prescriptions, and other related needs, such as medical examinations, we ask that you book an appointment in advance with your regular GP. If your GP authorises it you will be able to order repeat prescriptions between visits - this can be done online or in person.
We recommend that where possible you phone at least 48 hours before you need the appointment, although appointments can be made up to a month in advance - our online booking system shows availability many weeks in advance. This should mean you get seen on time, by the doctor you know, who then has the appointed time to attend to your health care needs. Without this continuity of care, it is possible that important issues are missed, or monitoring tests not arranged as they should be.
Of course, if you have an immediate, unexpected, health need then you can simply drop in and wait to be seen by the next available doctor using our Urgent Care service. You should be aware that it may not be possible for your regular doctor to make time to see you, as we work with usually full appointment books, and see 'drop in' patients in order of attendance, or clinical priority as determined by the triage nurse.
Should you wish to change your regular doctor for another at Riccarton Clinic please ask reception to do this and you then book appts with this doctor instead
