Appointments

Parents Guide When to call 999 or go to A&E
Important information for patients about GP appointments
- If you have Coronavirus symptoms – do not attend the surgery unless told to do so
- All GP appointments are initially by Telephone
- These can be pre-booked or if urgent done by the Emergency Duty Doctor
- Bookings are online or by phone
- We offer an e-consult service
- Doctors can do video consultations and patients can submit photos by secure system
- Face coverings or masks must be worn when attending the surgery for any reason
- If you have an appointment, please check in and wait in your car or outside until collected by nurse or GP
More information
To protect our patients, our staff and our community we have moved to a total telephone triage system for GP appointments in line with national guidance. By reducing the number of people in the surgery we can reduce the risk of transmission of Coronavirus by people who may be unaware they have the virus.
People with symptoms should not be attending the surgery unless specifically asked to do so and which would then be under strict precautions.
All GP appointments will initially be on the telephone. These appointments can be booked for a given time or if urgent put on the Duty Dr list. You can also use our e-consult system. Telephone appointments can be booked by phone or online.
Most consultations can be successfully completed by phone but if the doctor needs to see you face to face for an examination, you will be invited to the surgery. They can also do video consultations or ask you to send a photo to avoid you having to come out unnecessarily.
We are staggering the arrival times of patients coming in and you may be seen in your car, the tent or in the building whichever is most appropriate.
Patients must wear a face covering or mask when attending the surgery for appointments or for contact with receptionists.
Nursing appointments continue for warfarin monitoring, immunisations (NOT travel) , dressings and blood tests for monitoring certain conditions. Reviews can also be done by telephone.
Child Immunisations are very important. We are organising the appointments so that as few people as possible are on site at a time and there is extra time for cleaning between patients.
If you have symptoms of Coronavirus on the day of your appointment - do not attend
Our e-consult service is available please scroll down this page
We thank you for your co-operation and understanding. As you are aware, the situation and guidance is changing rapidly so we will keep patients updated by website and text.
Updated 09/07/2020
Statement from NHS England added 16/10/20:
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, how you contact us will be different at the moment. This is to limit face-to-face contact whenever possible and help stop the spread of coronavirus.
Your GP practice is open and if you need to see your GP, please contact us. All appointments are now triaged and can be pre-booked via phone on 01628 810242 or online through Patient Access if you have registered for an account or you can contact us using e consult, see blue box at the top of this page.
Our opening hours are on our opening times page.
Appointments are being delivered face-to-face, online and over the telephone. If you are asked to come into the surgery for a face-to-face appointment, please remember to wear a face covering. Measures are in place to keep you safe from infection during your visit to the surgery
Please do not come to the surgery unless you have an appointment.
If you are waiting for a check-up, please be assured we will be in touch
For serious or life threatening emergencies call 999
For urgent medical queries call 111.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Stay at home for 7 days if you have either:
a high temperature
a new continuous cough
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home.
Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if:
you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home
your condition gets worse
your symptoms do not get better after 7 days
Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.
We thank you for your co-operation and understanding. As you are aware, the situation is evolving daily and we will keep you updated via our website and text messaging service. The above information added Friday 13th March
APPOINTMENTS GENERAL INFORMATION (currently operating differently during Coronavirus outbreak but info below retained for when we return to normal)
Our doctors prefer to see their own patients to give good continuity of care but you may consult any of them. Appointments can be made by calling in at the Medical Centre, by telephoning 01628 810242 or booking online.
A routine appointment is 10 minutes. If you think your problem is going to take longer, please ask for a 20 minute appointment. Please make it clear whether an appointment is required for more than one member of your family. This will assist in preparing patient records for the consultations and allocating the appropriate amount of time.
You can also book telephone consultations with the doctors or nurses
SEVEN DAY ACCESS TO GP SERVICES
A weekend and evening GP and nurse service is also available at the General Practice Hub based at St Mark's Hospital. This is for pre-booked appointments only which can be booked via our receptionists. The GPs and nurses are not from our practice but are able to access your notes with your consent. Online booking is not currently available for this service.
Click the link for more information about this service in our CCG area
Extended Access Evening and Weekends
An evening and weekend phlebotomy service (blood tests) is also available at the hub - by appointment only
Patients may call directly to book these BUT only if a Dr has already ordered the test on the electronic system known as ICE.
Patients cannot get blood tests that have not been authorised
03000 240009
You will need your NHS number
Telephone Triage Consultations (Duty Dr system
For patients requiring urgent same day assistance we operate a Duty Doctor telephone triage system.
This enables the Doctors to manage and prioritise patients themselves according to clinical need and urgency.
The receptionists will ask for information on the symptoms to make sure the Doctor knows the nature and urgency of the problem and will take a contact number
Patients are placed on the triage list and the Doctor will ring the patient back during their Duty session. We have a Duty Doctor every morning and every afternoon.
In many cases the matter can be resolved during the call with advice but if a face to face consultation is needed – the doctor will arrange a time directly with the patient.
This may be to come down and see the Duty Doctor or to see one of the other doctors at a suitable time.
The advantage of this system is that the Doctor can provide advice and assistance to far more people than could be seen in a normal clinic session.
Cancellations
If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.
You can cancel by phone, by texting back cancel to a text reminder or cancel online even if you did not book the appointment that way.
Running to Time
We do our best to run to time. If you want to discuss several problems with your doctor, please book a double appointment so that you don't keep other patients waiting.
Chaperones
If a doctor or nurse needs to examine you and you would like to be chaperoned, please mention this before the examination.
Do you need to see a doctor?
Please consider whether your problem or condition could be handled effectively by one of the other healthcare professionals in the practice, for example the practice nurses.