MAKING AN APPOINTMENT

We offer an appointment system so that waiting times are kept to a minimum, however please try to be punctual. Often your query can be dealt with without you having to attend surgery and the Doctor has regular daily telephone consultation sessions. When you ring to request an appointment you will be given a specific appointment time to ring back to talk with the Doctor on duty.

Otherwise it is our policy to offer a routine appointment within 48 hours and within 24 hours for patients who feel they have an urgent problem.  Appointments are available to pre-book up to 4 weeks in advance. 

It is a great help in scheduling our Nurse appointments if you can give us a general idea of the problem (eg: dressing, smear, well person check etc…).

Please let us know if you wish to cancel an appointment.

If you feel an appointment may not be necessary but you require professional advice the NHS Direct 24 hours Nurse led helpline is well worth an initial call where they can advise whether you need to attend surgery or not.

Routine or Urgent Appointment?
The doctor allocates some appointment slots for patients who have an urgent problem that cannot wait longer than 24 hours. Such problems may include moderate to severe pain, chest or urinary infections or deterioration of previously established conditions eg: asthma. 

A routine appointment is usually necessary for other problems such as review of ongoing conditions, emotional problems, HRT and discussion of test results, as the doctor will require more time for discussion of these.

Emergencies
We are not an emergency service but we do have a daily doctor-on-call who responds to life-threatening emergencies. However, if it is difficult to contact the surgery immediately, we recommend 999 is dialled.

ONLINE APPOINTMENT BOOKING

In addition to the website we now have another facility available to anyone registered with the practice which enables you to book and cancel appointments online.  In order to register for this service all you have to do is let a member of staff know that you wish to have access. 

We will then send out details including a user name and pin number which you can use.  This will only apply to yourself therefore if you wish to also register other members of the household you must give us all the names that require this facility.

Once you have your personal sign in details you can simply follow the link below:

Online appointment booking

We provide an evening surgery on Tuesday evening each week.

The evening surgery will provide bookable appointments with a GP between 6.40 pm and 7.40pm for patients who work during the day or for those who have a problem getting to surgery between 8.00am – 6.00pm.   We hope you will find this extended service useful.  

HOME VISITS

If you are too ill to come to the surgery, the Doctor(s) may decide to visit you at home.  If possible please notify the surgery before 10.00am so that the Doctor(s) can plan his/her round. 

Please help the Doctor(s) by giving as much information as possible to the receptionist on duty.  If you are medically fit to travel you will be asked to attend the surgery. 

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Health Centre.