It is easier and quicker to manage your appointments via our online service. Simply log in and select an option.
NHS App
Download the NHS App, or open the NHS website in a web browser, to set up and log in to your NHS account. Owned and run by the NHS, your NHS account is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services online, including appointments and prescriptions.
Appointments are pre-bookable up to 12 weeks in advance. We will try to meet your needs where it is possible, sometimes there is a longer waiting time if you ask for a specific clinician. To book appointments telephone 01924 237100 selecting option 1 for appointments, visits and referrals. Don’t forget you can also book appointments online and cancel them 24/7. Please ask the receptionist for more information if you are not already registered with our online services.
We operate a daily call back service. (Monday to Friday.)
When you contact the surgery the receptionist will take your name, address and contact telephone number and will also ask for a brief description of why you want the appointment with the doctor or nurse, (this information is optional) but it helps the clinicians that may ring you to prioritise the telephone calls and is very helpful.
Can another Healthcare Professional help?
Do you need to see the GP?
Sometimes the GP is not the most appropriate Healthcare Professional to deal with your ailment. Please see the information on see a Doctor or Healthcare Professional, which might help you decide whether a GP appointment is truly necessary or whether it might be better for you to see a Pharmacist, Optician, Dentist or other Healthcare Professional. You can even self-refer for some services without seeing your GP.
For real life-threatening emergencies such as those below – RING 999
- Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
- Suspected stroke
- Suspected meningitis
- Anaphylactic shock (severe allergy)
- Heavy bleeding or deep lacerations
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness or completely unconscious
- Difficulty breathing or stopped breathing with a change in colour
- New seizure, fit or uncontrollable shaking
For immediately serious conditions such as the following, GO TO Emergency Department (A&E) IMMEDIATELY
- A fever and lethargic (drowsy) child
- A feverish and floppy (unresponsive) infant
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden, severe abdominal pain
- Accidental or intentional overdose of medication
- Trauma (including falls) and possible broken bones or road traffic accident
Your appointment at the Practice
- Please make one appointment for each member of the family who needs to be seen
- We try to keep to time but please be patient if someone before you takes longer than planned
- Appointments are normally ten minute slots, so if you have a complicated problem, or more than one problem, please ask for a longer appointment
- It is Practice Policy to allow patients to choose whichever Doctor they wish to attend in the Practice
Please help us
If you are not able to attend your appointment please let us know in time so that the time can be used for someone else. If you are late for an appointment you may be asked to re-book.
Missed Appointments and DNA’s
Do you feel frustrated when you cannot get an appointment?
Every year wasted appointments cost NHS £162 million. This can cause serious delays in treatment for other patients. On average approximately 150 patients each month Did Not Attend (DNA) their appointment. This means the patient did not turn up for the appointment and did not contact the surgery in advance to cancel or change the appointment. This currently results in approximately 40 hours of wasted clinical time each month.
Here is a list of the different ways you can access your General Practitioner or Healthcare Professional
Routine
Call 01924 237100 and choose Option 1.
Telephone consultations
Doctors and nurses are using the telephones more often to discuss problems with patients. We are using telephone consultations frequently for patients requesting acute/same day appointments. This has several advantages, if we can assess your problem and we are confident that it can be managed without you having to come to see us then it saves you time if you do need to be seen we can give you a convenient appointment and see you in the surgery. This initial telephone consultation will usually take place within an hour or two of you phoning us and so we can assess your problem much quicker than waiting for an appointment.
The receptionist will ask you the following name, address, contact telephone number and a brief description of why you need to see the doctor or nurse, this helps the clinician prioritise your call.
Urgent
Please call as early in the day as possible if you require to be seen urgently.
Additional information
Can I bring someone to accompany me to the Appointment?
We are generally very happy for patients to bring with them a carer, relative or even a friend. This often helps, particularly when they know you well and it allows them to tell us any observations they would make about you, which can help us in undertaking our assessment. Ultimately this will lead us more quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and therefore help you more.
Also, having someone with you means they can prompt you to ask questions that you may have forgotten, and after the appointment they can help in reminding you what was discussed.
Occasionally we might ask for them to leave but this would be unusual.
If you require interpretation services please contact us in advance of you appointment and we will arrange this.
Chaperone Policy
We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.
You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.
Giving Consent for Treatment
Before we begin examination or treatment we need your consent (if 12 and under we require consent from parent/guardian); 12+ would have to be assessed for competency to consent individually by the Doctor. Consent can be given in a number of ways. It may be by a signature on a document (for example if some sort of “invasive” procedure is to be carried out – minor surgery etc). It may be verbal (for example if the GP asks if he can look at your leg injury etc).
However it may also be implied. This means that you do not specifically give your consent, but your actions (for example rolling up your sleeve for a blood test or laying on the couch with your trousers unfastened for examination) state that you are happy to have the GP carry out his/her work. It is your right not to give consent, particularly if you are unhappy about any part of the procedure. Please let a GP know if you are unhappy and do not consent to being examined or treated, or if you require further clarification first.
If you have a suspected infectious disease
Please inform reception if you suspect an infectious disease, as this will enable us to deal with it appropriately during your visit to protect you, other patients and staff.
Interpreter
If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the receptionist and this will be arranged.
Private Medical Examinations
Medical examinations for special purposes such as pre-employment, fitness to travel, elderly drivers, fitness to undertake sports etc, will require longer than a routine appointment.
These examinations do not form part of NHS Services, you will be charged for any such examination. Please check the fee chargeable when you require to arrange any such examination.
Urgent and emergency care services
Which Doctor?
As a patient, you are registered with the practice, not an individual GP. You can make an appointment with any of the Doctors at the practice. As medical records are now computerised, all Doctors, at any site can access your details. If you prefer, you can make an appointment with a Doctor of your choice. You may need to wait longer to get an appointment with a specific Doctor of your choice, as they may be in high demand at the time.
Young People Appointments
The practice offers appointments for young people aged 13 – 19 years old. Please contact reception on 01924 237100 to book your appointment.