Telephone Appointments
Telephone appointment bookings can be made up to 6 weeks in advance. When you call, the receptionist will ask you a few questions such as the nature of the problem and the telephone number on which the GP can call you back. You can book a clinician of your choice or whoever is available when your booking is required. However, we encourage continuity with the same clinician for an ongoing problem where possible. The clinician will call you at your approximate booking time, but please be prepared to be flexible if the clinician is running late. Please ensure the contact number in your medical records is kept up to date. If you miss the call please call the surgery back to let us know.
Face to face Appointments
When you call, the receptionist will ask you a few questions such as the nature of the problem and the telephone number on which the GP can call you back. You can book a clinician of your choice or whoever is available when your booking is required. However, we encourage continuity with the same clinician for an ongoing problem where possible. The clinician will call you at your approximate booking time, but please be prepared to be flexible if the clinician is running late. Please ensure the contact number in your medical records is kept up to date. If you miss the call please call the surgery back to let us know.
Urgent Duty Doctor appointments
If you have an urgent problem, that cannot wait until the next available routine pre-bookable appointment, you will be able to speak to a doctor on the telephone that day. It may not be your usual doctor. Urgent appointments are for new problems that need to be seen urgently. These are shorter and will only deal with your urgent problem. You will need to give the receptionist the reason for your call so they can ensure the GP is aware of the urgency.
Home Visits
In order to ensure that you receive the best care and to make the most appropriate use is made of your GP services, please attend the Surgery whenever possible. However, a home visit can be arranged, if appropriate. Please call between 8.30am and 10.00am. A doctor will usually call you back to take some more details and plan when to visit.
GP home visit recommended
Home visiting makes clinical sense and is the best way of giving medical opinion, in cases involving:
The terminally ill.
The truly housebound patient for whom travel to premises by car would cause deterioration in their medical condition.
GP visit may be useful
Following a conversation with a health professional it may be agreed that:
A seriously ill patient may be helped by a GP’s visit to make an urgent assessment of their condition
(except in a life-threatening emergency e.g. crushing chest pain, stroke, collapse, when you should call 999 for an immediate ambulance)
For review of more chronic conditions for the truly housebound patient.
GP visit is not usual
In most of these cases a visit would not be an appropriate use of the GP’s time or best for you:
Life-threatening emergencies: the best approach is to call 999 for an emergency paramedic ambulance.
Common symptoms of childhood: fevers, cold, cough, earache, headache, diarrhoea/vomiting and most causes of abdominal pain. Young patients are usually well enough to travel to the surgery. It is not harmful to take a child with fever outside.
Adults with common problems: such as cough, sore throat, influenza, general malaise, back pain and abdominal pain are also usually transportable to the doctor’s surgery. Transport arrangements are the responsibility of patients or their carer's, home visits are not indicated just because of transport difficulties.
If you still feel that a home visit is required. Please call the reception team and they will take all of your details and forward this information to the duty doctor and they will decide if a home visit is necessary.
Extended Hours
The practice offers some appointments out with our normal working times. These are telephone appointments, and are available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings after 6pm and can be pre-booked up to 6-weeks in advance.
Video Appointments
If we have organised a video consultation for you, go to https://nhsattend.vc/77125 at your appointment time and you will be directed to our virtual waiting room; the clinician will connect with you from there. Your call will only be connected if you have an arranged appointment - we are unable to answer urgent or unscheduled calls in this way so please phone the surgery in the usual way. More information about the video consultation application that we use is available here.
Can you treat yourself?
Before you call us, please check the self-help guides at NHS Inform or speak to your local Community Pharmacist.
Running late or need to cancel?
Please let us know as soon as possible so we can give your appointment to someone else.