Appointments

How to Book an Appointment

Please let the receptionist know if you wish to speak confidentially away from the public area as this can easily be arranged.  If you have a rash or temperature you can be seen at the surgery. Please inform the receptionist when you arrive.

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Check your condition first

Many conditions can be dealt with without the need to see your GP.

Check your condition first

Many conditions can be dealt with without the need to see your GP.

You can try a local pharmacy for advice about a range of conditions and we also have lots of self help information. Please try this advice before contacting the Practice.

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Pharmacy & Self-Care

Your pharmacy can advise you on minor illness without the need of an appointment. Please speak to a pharmacist first.

Self-Care

Help and support available from many National and Local Organisations

Visit our Self Help Zone

Pharmacy Logo

Pharmacy & Self-Care

Pharmacists are qualified healthcare professionals who can offer clinical advice, over the counter medicines and their use, to effectively and safely manage a range of minor health concerns. They can also help you to decide whether you'll need to see a doctor. You don't need an appointment and you won't even be asked to make a purchase. Every pharmacy also has a private consultation area for you to talk about your symptoms in private if you prefer.

Locate your local Pharmacy

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Triage Appointment System

All patient contact, whether in person, by telephone or via e-consult will be signposted as we aim to ensure that patients receive the most appropriate care and support for their needs. We have implemented various services to cater to different requirements.

Firstly, some calls may be directed to the Pharmacy First. This service allows patients to consult with a community pharmacist who can provide advice, recommendations, and even issue prescriptions if necessary. This is especially useful for minor ailments that can be managed without the need for a GP appointment.

Secondly, our GP telephone Speak and Treat service is another option. Patients may be directed towards this service if their condition can be managed over the phone without the need for an in-person visit. A GP will assess the situation, provide advice, and even prescribe medications if required.

Lastly, our own triage service is available for more complex or urgent situations. Triage GP’s will assess the urgency and severity of a patient's condition and provide appropriate guidance on the next steps. This may involve booking an appointment with a GP, a trained healthcare professional or referring the patient to a specialist service if necessary.

By signposting calls and routing patients to the most suitable service, we can ensure that everyone receives the appropriate level of care and support for their specific needs. This helps streamline the healthcare process and ensures that resources are used efficiently.

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Booking of Appointments

Certain appointments can be booked up to 12 weeks in advance such as blood tests.

Certain appointments can be booked up to 12 weeks in advance such as blood tests, as long as the appointments have been added to our system. These are limited in availability so please bear this in mind when trying to book.

As well as contacting the surgery via telephone or in person, we offer an online eConsult service which is available for use Monday to Friday 8am to 5.30pm.

Ways to book:

  1. Contact us online with eConsult
  2. SystmOnline
  3. Download the NHS App
  4. Telephone: 01903 777000
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Urgent (On the Day)

I have an URGENT health concern requiring on the day attention

All urgent on the day requests for acute problems are placed on our triage list and dealt with by our triage team of either Paramedics or a GP. Please provide the receptionist with as much information as possible so that the appropriate clinician can all you back. If the clinician speaks with you and decides that the matter cannot be dealt with over the phone, they can make arrangements for you to be seen that day.

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Life Threatening - Go to A&E

If you or someone you know has a life-threatening condition, such as loss of consciousness, chest pain, breathing difficulties etc, you should call 999

In an EMERGENCY call 999.
Emergencies are situations that cannot be managed at home and may be life threatening

Triage

In response to an increase in demand for GP appointments, the surgery has researched options to assist with access and demands of our patients by changing our appointment system to a triage system.

Following relevant signposting, if your concern is appropriate, our Receptionists will place you on a triage list for a call-back from one of our Triage GP’s. You will be contacted the same day, (but should demand exceed patient safety for the day, you will then be contacted by a member of the reception team and given further information) and given advice or offered an appointment if deemed necessary.

You will be asked questions about your symptoms by Reception in order to signpost you correctly. Please answer as fully as you can.

The Triage team consists of GP’s; all other GPs, Paramedics, Nurses and Healthcare Professionals will continue with their usual clinics.

What is Triage?

Triage is a method by which a clinician contacts a patient and manages their care based on the outcome of the contact.

What are the benefits?

Benefits for patients:

  • will liaise with a clinician sooner;
  • will see a clinician sooner, when appropriate;
  • may get more time with a clinician, if they need it;
  • saves time by avoiding unnecessary appointments.

Benefits for GPs:

  • can manage workloads more efficiently;
  • improves the utilisation of Paramedics, Nurses and other Healthcare Professionals;
  • reduces DNAs (Did Not Attend).

FAQs

Q. Is this to stop me getting an appointment?

A. Not at all. It is the ensure that the patients who need to be seen on that day or in a timely manner are seen by an appropriate health care professional. It’s also to help us cope with the demand for appointments.

Q. How does it work?

A. Any patient who wants to be see on the same day, and who fits the criteria for triage, may be assessed this way. The system has been used successfully for several years in many GP surgeries around the country and analysis has shown that the process significantly improves access for patients.

Q. Why is the practice implementing it?

A. For a number of reasons:

  • To improve access, and because of the increased demand for appointments.
  • To improve our DNA rates (Did Not Attend); on average we see at least 25 hours of wasted GP & nurse time every month because patients do not turn up for their appointments.
  • We need to optimise GP appointments; with an ever-developing workforce, less complicated needs can be dealt with by other members of the healthcare team.
  • To hopefully reduce waiting times for patients.

Appointment Information

1 problem per appointment

More than 1 problem inevitably makes your appointment over-run and this will likely cause the appointments following yours to run late.

Cancelling & Rescheduling Appointments

If you cannot attend your given appointment please call 01903 777000 to cancel or reschedule. You can also cancel via the online service. On average 120-170 appointments per month are wasted due to patients failing to turn up.

These slots could be offered to other patients who need to be seen, allowing the doctors and nurses to reduce any backlogs and waiting times. Please think of others; cancel your appointments if you no longer need them.

Text Messaging

The practice is able to offer a text service to your mobile phone, to confirm and remind you of your appointment. Please ensure that your details are kept up to date with reception.

Enhanced Access Appointments

Phlebotomy appointments are available from 7.10am to 8.00am Monday to Friday.  These can be pre-booked.  Please enquire at reception.

Appointments Running Late

Our doctors and nurses aim to keep their surgeries running on time but there are a number of factors that may cause them to over-run.

Most general appointments are booked at 10 minute intervals, but this does not necessarily mean that you have 10 minutes face to face with the clinician. During that 10 minutes the clinician will listen to your problem, ask you questions which will help in forming a diagnosis, examine you (if required), provide a prescription (if required) and perhaps arrange a follow up appointment or a referral to a specialist. When you leave the room, the clinician needs to type a record of the consultation into the clinical system. So in any 10 minute appointment, there are only approximately 7-8 minutes with the clinician.

Probably the two most common reasons for the clinician running late are when patients present with either a particularly complicated problem, or when they bring more than one problem to a standard 10 minute appointment:

(a) Complex Problem:

Sometimes the ailment the patient presents with requires more than 10 minutes. If you think you have a difficult problem, or perhaps a new psychological symptom, e.g. depression, please ask a receptionist for a 20 minute appointment.

(b) One Problem – One Appointment:

Bringing more than one problem to the clinician will invariably cause them to run late. Some patients bring in a list of problems. If the clinician deals with every problem on the list, that patient will be content but it means that subsequent patients in the surgery will be seen late. It only needs 2-3 patients with either a complex problem, or with more than one problem, for the last few patients in the surgery to be seen up to an hour late. Also if patients have turned up late, this can add to the wait.

We hope you will see that for the greater good of all patients, the doctor or nurse may ask patients who bring multiple problems to a 10 minute appointment to rebook on another day. This ensures the clinician can try to stay on time, but also that you get the right amount of attention for your concerns.

What can you do to help?

  • Book one 10 minute appointment for one problem; if the problem is complicated, ask for a longer appointment.
  • Turn up on time; if you are late every patient seen after you will probably be seen late.
  • If you want to check in and there is a queue at reception, why not try the computerised check in system to the right of the main reception desk.
  • Cancel your appointments if you don’t need them or can’t attend. We are now sending text reminders the day before your booked appointments so please do cancel if you can’t make it.
  • One patient only per appointment – please don’t bring your family members' ailments to your appointment.
  • Before you see the clinician, think about your symptoms and what you will tell him/her, e.g. how long have you had them, how severe is it, does it come and go, what makes it worse or better.
  • Sign up for online services where you can book and cancel appointments, request medication and much more.
  • Download the excellent NHS app - this app mirrors the services you can receive when signing up for online services.
  • If the doctor or nurse is running late, please be patient and understanding. They may have been called out to a seriously ill patient.

Our Receptionists

Our receptionists have a very difficult task to perform, and they must follow the doctors’ instructions. They have received extensive training to ask pertinent questions when dealing with requests, particularly when assessing urgency, so that they can signpost to the most appropriate clinician for your needs. They will ask you details about your condition and your assistance when answering is appreciated.

All training given to receptionists is approved by the practice and the GP Partners.

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