Appointments
Booking Your Appointment
To book your appointment phone reception at 046 9555006. Appointments are offered on availability. We will do our best to help you book your preferred doctor and time but if they are not available, we will give you a list of alternative options to book your appointment.
We will always try our best not to have you waiting too long. The nature of the job means that sometimes we need to spend extra time with people to ensure they get the best quality healthcare possible. You can help us manage our time by mentioning when booking if blood tests or further investigations might be required and also by turning up to your appointment on time.
Please contact us on 046 9555006
Cancelling Your Appointment
If you cannot attend your appointment for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible.
Telling us in good time (preferably 24 hours before your appointment) means we can offer the appointment to someone else. It also helps us to reduce waiting times for other patients and means everyone can be seen sooner.
To cancel your appointment please call 046 9555006; or inform the reception staff in person.
Appointment Types
Length of Appointments | ● 15 minutes ● Request for extended appointments may be discussed at reception |
Routine Appointments | ● Consultations for non-urgent health issues ● Follow-up consultations ● Consultations to discuss pre-existing conditions
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2nd Family Member Appointments | ● Book separate appointments for each family member ● Depending on the type of appointment, a reduced second fee may apply |
Missed/Late Appointments | ● If you arrive more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, you may be asked to reschedule your appointment ● Patients who repeatedly miss, cancel or arrive late for their scheduled appointment may be asked to find a new General Practice. |
Home Visits | ● Home visits are only appropriate for patients who are housebound because of serious illness or disability. ● Your GP may phone you back to determine if your health issue can be advised over the phone, with a home-visit or if attendance to the hospital/clinic may be more appropriate. |
Urgent Appointments | ● Please contact reception as early as possible in the morning as we keep some appointments times free to accommodate urgent appointments ● Unfortunately, your preferred GP or time may not be available upon request, we will do our best to accommodate accordingly * We will always endeavour to accommodate any urgent cases even if appointments are fully booked but in some cases, you may be asked to be seen and triaged by the Practice Nurse first. |
Life Threatening Emergencies | Dial 112 or 999 to request an ambulance if you or someone you are with has: ● Sudden severe chest pain ● Severe breathlessness ● Loss of power in a limb ● Loss of consciousness or severe bleeding |
Injuries | ● We treat minor injuries like small cuts and joint sprains ● For severe injuries such as broken bone, please attend your local A&E department |
Poisoning | ● For poisoning or overdose, please contact your local A&E department, as soon as possible |
Out-of-Office Doctor’s Hours | Weekdays 6pm – 9am. Weekends (Sat/Sun all day) ● North East Doctors on Call (NEDOC) 1850 777 911 |
Prescriptions
Repeat Prescriptions
Repeat prescriptions are available to patients without consultation once the medication has been agreed to by your GP and you have undergone an up-to-date medication review. If you wish to change your medication or dosage, please make an appointment to discuss this with your GP.
How often should I review my medication with my doctor?
If taking regular medications, you should review these at least every 12 months with your GP/Consultant to ensure you are on the best available medication for your condition. Some questions you may ask are:
- Is this medication still meeting my health needs?
- Do I still need to take this/these medications?
- Is the medicine list on my record accurate?
If you are on a repeat prescription, this may need to be reviewed every 6-12 months (depending on your health condition and the medication involved) to ensure you are on the best available treatment for your condition.
For patients with multi-morbidities (having a number of different ongoing medical conditions and often attending a number of clinics or specialists), you may be asked to attend for medication review at the practice more often.
48 Hours notice is required for all repeat prescriptions.
How do I order my prescription?
- By Telephone: Call reception at 046 9555006
- Online: Click Here
When will, my prescription be ready?
You will be able to collect your prescription 48 hours after it has been ordered. For example, if you ordered your script on Wednesday it will be ready for you on Friday. Please see table below.
Request Received: | Script Ready By: |
Monday | Wednesday |
New Patients
Call reception on 046 9555006 to discuss. All new applications to join the practice will be assessed by our doctors. It will be very important that we have a full understanding of our current health condition, previous health issues, list of medications and drug allergies.
If your application is accepted you will be requested to complete a registration form – a Consent to Transfer Medical Records
New Medical Card or DVC patients will also be requested to complete a Change of Doctor Form to transfer their card to The Healthcentre Longwood.
European Health Insurance Card
THE European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles everyone living in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland to get healthcare through the public healthcare system if you become ill or injured while on a temporary stay there.
The card is free, and one card is needed for each individual or member of the family.
If you are visiting Meath and are a current holder of an EHIC or NHS card and require urgent care for illness or injury, please telephone 046 9555006 and we will try to accommodate you. You are entitled to free emergency GP care and certain prescribed medicines under either of these schemes.
You will be required to show a valid EHIC or NHS card to avail of this free service at The Healthcentre Longwood – if you do not have a valid EHIC or NHS card but are covered by another form of medical travel insurance, you will be charged our usual fees (link to fees section) and provided with a receipt to allow claim for reimbursement from your insurer as allowed by your insurance policy.
Test Results
If you have signed and submitted the Consent to Text form, you will receive a text from us informing you your results were either satisfactory, or to contact the clinic and make an appointment with the doctor to review your results. If your results are satisfactory you do not need to contact us.
If you receive a message from the clinic requesting you to make an appointment, please don’t worry, as an unsatisfactory result may well just mean that your treatment needs to be changed or some follow up tests arranged.
In all cases if you do not hear from us in 21 days, please phone for your results.
Medical Certification / Sick Notes / Reports
If you need a sick note for work you may need to attend the surgery in person and be seen by a GP who can confirm and certify your note.
If you have been an inpatient in Hospital, we will need a letter from the hospital confirming your stay before we can provide certification..
If you have been absent from work for more than six days, you may need a continuance sick note such as a Social Welfare Certificate. We will need your PPS number and the dates of your sick leave. Please contact reception 24 hours before your social welfare certificate is due and they need to be collected from reception in person.
Letters and reports requested by patients will incur a charge depending on the complexity of the condition.
Payment Policy
The Healthcentre Longwood aims to provide you with a healthcare service that you can respect and trust. To do this, we need all payments to be settled at the time of consultation. We accept cash, cheque, and all major credit and debit cards.
We now have introduced a direct payment service which we can send out by SMS after your consultation and allowing you to pay online Collect | Payment collection | BOI Payment Acceptance
If you have any questions about our payment policy, please contact reception on 046 9555006 or email accounts@longwoodhealth.com
Confidentiality & Patient Records – Data Protection
All your medical data is stored in a secure electronic health record.
Respect & Equality
The Healthcentre Longwood aims to produce, promote and advance better healthcare for all. We provide a professional and compassionate service in an environment free from discrimination, denigration and harassment. If you have any questions or complaints regarding our service, please contact reception on 046 9555006.
Unacceptable Behaviour
We want your time with us to be as efficient, effective and pleasant as possible. So, we ask that you would work with us to ensure we come together in a professional, courteous and friendly environment.
Any threatening, abusive or violent behaviour towards any of our GPs, nurses, staff or other patients is taken very seriously. Such behaviour may include personal, abusive or threatening remarks, physical contact, aggressive behaviour and theft/damage of property.
If a patient is violent or abusive, they will be warned to stop their behaviour. If they persist, we may exercise our right to take action to have them removed, immediately if necessary, from our list of patients.
Please remember there may be children and other vulnerable people in the waiting room and offensive language will not be tolerated at any time.
Comments & Suggestions
A good patient-doctor relationship is based on mutual respect and trust, and is the cornerstone of good patient care. We are here to help you and your family make the changes you need to optimise your health and live a full life.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please speak to your GP.