Appointments

If your problem is urgent and you genuinely need to be seen at short notice when there are no routine appointments available, you can request an urgent call back from the duty doctor.  You should call the surgery at 8.30am (or as soon after this as possible).

The receptionist will ask for your name and contact number together with a brief description of your problem.  The GP will then call you back so that your problem can be given appropriate priority.

Appointments can be made as follows:

• By telephone or by calling into the surgery during office hours.
• By seeing the receptionist after your consultation if a return visit is necessary.

Please arrive promptly for your appointment.  There is no need to arrive a long time before your appointment but being late causes delays for you and other patients.

We have a number of telephone consultation slots available each day and there may be times when you would find it more convenient to seek advice from the doctor over the telephone.  The receptionist will advise you of the best time to contact each individual doctor.

For those who find it difficult to see a GP at normal surgery times, the practice offers Extended Hours appointments with GPs consulting on a rotational basis.  Please speak to the receptionist for more information.

These appointments are limited so please only request one if you genuinely cannot make it to the surgery during normal hours.

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10am.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery
• on a video call
• by text or email

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

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.

To cancel your appointment:

• phone us on 01333 311307 or 01333 330302, Monday to Friday from 8:30am

Late arrivals

It is important that you are on time for your appointment as late arrivals cause additional waiting time for other patients. If you arrive late for your appointment, you may be asked to rebook your appointment for another time.

The clinicians aim to keep to time and our surgeries and clinics usually start on time. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to run to time as patients seen before you may have unforeseen problems and patients arriving with an urgent problem may be seen as a priority. If a doctor is called out on an emergency, we will give you the option of making an alternative appointment.

The Primary Care Emergency Service (PCES) provides an emergency service to patients when the surgery is closed from 6pm to 8am on weekdays and all weekend.  Patients can access the service by telephoning NHS 24 on 111.  The surgery answering machine will give details of this number when the surgery is closed.

On weekdays from 8am to 8:30am telephone 01333 314333 for emergencies which cannot wait until the surgery opens at 8:30am.

In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.  

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, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

We are sometimes involved with the education and training of medical and nursing students.  We would be grateful if you could accept them as part of the practice.  You will always be asked if you agree to have the student present during your consultation and we will always respect your decision.