How to book your appointment
- consultations with patients are by telephone appointment in the first instance. To make an appointment, please telephone the surgery between 8:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday
- request medical advice or help via AccuRx. A member of our team will respond within 2 working days
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) to book a screening test or vaccination
- book an appointment using the GP online system – systmonline
- evening or weekend appointments are available on request by calling the surgery.
When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.
We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
Duty doctor arrangements and telephone consultations
The aim of these changes is to give priority to patients on the basis of clinical need rather than the old ‘first-come, first-served’ system. In order to achieve this we arrange an initial telephone consultation with a doctor which will usually be on the same day that you contact the surgery.
In doing this we are able to offer more timely and appropriate services. We have found that many patients seeking medical advice are able to discuss things with the doctor on the phone and not require a face-to-face appointment, while others who need to be seen in the surgery can be offered one, often within a few hours of calling. We are also able to make arrangements for necessary tests to be performed prior to an appointment so that the doctor will have the information to hand when a patient is seen.
A change from the traditional appointment-only arrangements is essential in light of the dramatic increase in the demand for medical services, despite the fact that we have more doctors working longer hours and little increase in the number of patients on our list over recent years.
We have been working in this way for several years now (long before the COVID19 pandemic made it commonplace among other general practices), and we are pleased that here has been a high level of patient satisfaction with the new arrangements.
We hope that this system will prove safer, quicker and more convenient and are grateful for comments from our patients so that we can continue to improve the service we offer.
Important information about doctors’ appointments
If you are able to provide a text message (or e-consult) with details about the medical problem you wish to discuss it facilitates allocating your call to the most appropriate member of the team, and ensuring more clinically significant or urgent problems are dealt with as a priority.
The response times vary pending on clinical work load, but we aim to return most calls within three hours, unless it is clinically extremely urgent, which we deal with as soon as we can. Please note we are not an emergency service, and if your call is about an emergency problem you will be redirected to appropriate emergency services (such as 999, A&E, Crisis Team).
Please bear in mind that that our doctors usually do home visits between 12:30pm and 3:00pm and so we may not be able to call you back during those times.
If you will only be available between specific times please let the receptionist know when booking the call-back and we will try to accommodate this.
If we are unable to get through to you we usually attempt to make contact 3 times. For mobiles we may try texting if phoning is not working – we do appreciate signal can be variable and texts can be received even when phone calls are not. Please do ensure your phone is not “on silent” and that the phone number you have given us can receive incoming calls from a switchboard.
Access the GP online appointment system
Manage your appointments via our online service: To register for this service please call into reception to fill out an application form. Please bring a form of photo identification, and a utility bill for proof of address, so our admin team can grant access to your record. This process can take up to 28 working days. If you require any further assistance, please contact our admin team on 01765 692366 extension 3 who will be able to help you.
Login for Online ServicesType of appointments
- routine appointments are available from 8:00am for nurses and 8:30am for doctors
- urgent appointments and medical queries are handled through telephone contact with the ‘duty doctor’ in order to provide the most clinically appropriate service. This service can also be used if you think your problem needs to be dealt with more quickly than the next available routine appointment, you need medical advice quickly, or may not need a face-to-face consultation – ask the receptionist to put you on the telephone list and the duty doctor will ring you back as soon as possible. The response times vary pending on clinical work load, but we aim to return most calls within two hours, unless it is an emergency, which are dealt with instantly. Please bear in mind that that our doctors do home visits between 12:00noon and 2:00pm and may not be able to call you back during those times (unless your call is urgent)
- nurses’ appointments – Our Practice Nurses offer a variety of appointments daily to support patients with long term conditions (such as diabetes and asthma) as well as some contraception, injections, immunisations and wound management. The nursing team members have varied skills and specialisms, so please discuss your needs with the receptionists to help them provide you with the most appropriate care
- the surgery also provides extended opening hours. These usually consist of late evening surgeries on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday continuing until 7.00pm.
If you are expecting a callback please ensure you can answer the phone when we ring. A lot of time is wasted if we have to ring people repeatedly. Please discuss with reception if this is difficult for you.
Doctors consulting times
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am to 11:00am | 8:30am to 11:30am | 8:30am to 11:30am | 8:30am to 11:30am | 8:30am to 11:30am |
| 2:30pm to 5:30pm | 2:30pm to 7:00pm | 2:30pm to 6:30pm | 2:30pm to 6:30pm | 2:30pm to 5:30pm |
Nurses consulting times
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00am to 12:00pm | 8:00am to 1:00pm | 9:00am to 1:00pm | 8:00am to 12:30pm | 8:00am to 1:00pm |
| 1:30pm to 6:00pm | 1:30pm to 7:00pm | 1:30pm to 6:00pm | 1:30pm to 6:00pm | 1:00pm to 5:00pm |
Non-urgent advice: Emergencies
What is an Emergency?
Whatever the time of day, if you or someone else experiences the symptoms below and you feel it is so serious that it cannot wait, go to the nearest Accident and Emergency Department or call 999.
Symptoms include;
Non-blanching rashes (the glass test)
Possible anaphylactic shock (swelling of mouth and throat)
Your appointment
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face at the surgery
Appointments by phone, can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- using the GP online system
- using our online cancel an appointment form
- phone us
- reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message
- If you are late for an appointment you may be asked to re-book.
If you need help now or when we are closed
If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.
NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
If you need help with your appointment
Please tell us:
- if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
- if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, or by face-to-face
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs.
Home visits
If you are housebound and need an appointment, we will do a home visit. We will phone you first to understand what you need.
To request a home visit, it’s helpful if you phone the practice before 10:30am if possible.
Help from your pharmacy
Did you know that your local pharmacy can help you with a lot of minor ailments; and a lot of treatments are covered by the Pharmacies.