By Sarah.G

When it comes to booking an appointment, we, at reception, might ask you to go to our extended access service surgery, instead. But what exactly is it? And how does it link with us at Garden City Surgery? 

In this article, we will explain what, where and who you can book with at extended access service.

What is E.A.S? 

Every area of England has a surgery that is named as extended access service, or, for short, E.A.S. For our patients at Garden City Surgery, Sollershott Surgery is named as E.A.S. The reason for this, is because Sollershott has availability and the space to look after patients from the following surgeries: 

• Garden City Surgery
• Ashwell & Bassingbourn Surgeries
• Nevells Road Surgery
• Baldock Surgery
• Birchwood & Sollershott Surgery

Extended access service is a place for us to be able to book appointments outside the normal practice hours. During the weekdays, Sollershott Surgery stays open until eight, and is open between the hours of nine to five on a Saturday. It means if you can’t see a clinician at Garden City Surgery due to work or other commitments, you can still receive health care at a more suitable time for you. We do also send patients to Sollershott if we can’t find any appointments with a clinician at our surgery. 

If you find yourself having an appointment at Sollershott, here is the address: Sollershott Surgery, 44 Sollershott East, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 3JW.

How does E.A.S link with Garden City Surgery?

Now, you might be wondering, if we send you over to Sollershott, does it mean you are now their patient? The answer to that is no, you are still our patient and under the care of Garden City Surgery. Clinicians at Garden City Surgery are still able to see what was discussed during your consultation. For example, if the doctor you had seen at Sollershott wants you to do a blood test or give in a sample, we will be able to see this. This is why when we book you with our extended access service, the receptionist will ask you if you give consent for the clinician you are seeing, to be able to look in your file and to add to your file. Please know that they will only ask you this if it is your first time being seen by someone from Extended Access Service.

Who can we book you with? And how long in advance can we book?

At extended access service they have doctors, nurses, minor illness nurses and healthcare assistants. These clinicians are locums, working extra to provide patients with the care they need. However, if you ever would like to see a familiar face, Dr Chand does occasionally have a clinic at extended access service. 

In most cases, the appointments available at Sollershott for a doctor are two weeks in advance. Therefore, if your concern isn’t as urgent and you know you can wait a few weeks before being seen, then booking an appointment with one of the doctors at the extended access service could be ideal. 

When it comes to clinicians such as nurses or healthcare assistants, you can book an appointment with them two weeks, one week or even a few days ahead. Of course, please understand that once the appointments are gone, they are gone. 

If you are going to Shollershott via the extended access services for a depo or B12 injection, you will have to pick up the injection from Garden City Surgery — we will contact you when it is ready to be collected prior to your appointment. 

Depending on your health worry, it will determine who you will be booked with. Please, do not hesitate to check out ‘Which Clinician Do I Need to See?’ to know what each clinician can do.

We understand that you might not want to go to the extended access service, due to maybe not feeling comfortable going there or not being able to get there. That is fine, if you would rather be seen by someone at Garden City Surgery, we will try to help you as much as possible to be able to do that for you. However, please understand that at the time of booking an appointment, there might not be any available at our surgery which is why we suggested Sollershott. 

If this is the case, we might either tell you to call at eight in the morning or come in at that time to book an appointment, or do an e-consult. 

Not sure what an e-consult is? Keep an eye out and we will soon have an article regarding this service. 

In the meantime, if you do have any more queries about E.A.S, please don’t hesitate to ask us at reception, we might know the answer.