Appointments

How to make an appointment

Weekdays 8.00am - 6.30pm

NOTE: We are closed between 1.00 and 2.00pm each Wednesday afternoon for staff training.

Our practice is part of a local ‘Advanced Access’ project which means that we try and do today's work today and that we actively monitor our demand for appointments. Therefore most of our appointments are offered either for the same day or for the following day with a very limited number that are pre-bookable up to four weeks ahead. We also offer open surgeries on days that we are struggling to meet demand.

You may at times be offered an appointment with a doctor who is not your usual GP. It is always helpful if you can be flexible about whom you see as your preferred doctor may not necessarily be available. Please be assured that all of our doctors will have access to your medical records. Patients requiring an x-ray as a result of an injury such as to the head, or anyone with a wound requiring stitches, should go to the Accident and Emergency Department at Russells Hall Hospital, as we cannot provide such facilities here at the surgery.

Patients between the ages of 16 and 75 and those aged 75 years and over who have not been seen by a doctor or nurse for any reason during the last three years will be offered a consultation if requested by the patient. Please contact the surgery to arrange a suitable appointment.

Cancelling an Appointment

We implore you to cancel any appointments that you no longer need.

Due to high number of patients who Do Not Attend (DNA) despite booking restrictions it is felt necessary to take a more pro-active approach to managing non attenders in order to ensure that we achieve access targets by offering appointments efficiently. We will try to  maintain effective control on the number of patients who DNA (and do not notify the Practice of this) by offering those patients who do not attend appointments on two occasions within a rolling twelve month period, a warning letter.  Should they fail to attend again without prior notification with a rolling twelve month period, then they will be advised in writing that they will be removed from our list.
 

Home Visits

If you are too ill to attend the surgery and require a home visit please telephone 01384 371616 before 10.30am. This will help doctors plan their visits for the day.

Please do not request home visits for conditions that can be seen at the surgery as a doctor can see up to five patients in surgery in the time it takes to make one house call. Patients can also be examined more thoroughly in a surgery environment. If you have a temperature or rash, coming to the surgery will do no harm but please inform the receptionist on arrival.

Telephone Advice

The doctors are more than happy to offer telephone consultations, should you wish to talk to either a doctor or nurse without coming in to the surgery. Please ring prior to 11.00am to request a telephone consultation. If the doctor is unavailable at that time, the receptionist will take a message and ask the doctor to call you back. Bear in mind that at other times they may be busy and the receptionist will suggest an alternative time to ring. Interruptions during surgery are upsetting for both doctors and patients and, for this reason, the receptionists have been asked not to disturb consultations with non-urgent telephone calls.