Appointments

Duty Doctor/ Nurse Practitioner

Every effort will be made to see patients with urgent medical matters during surgery hours. If you need to be seen please telephone 01862 892203 as soon as possible after 08:00.

If an appointment is not available and you feel you need to be seen you will be asked to give a brief description of the problem so that urgency can be assessed to assist triage on busy days or if doctor is out on calls. Your details will be passed on to the duty doctor or nurse practitioner who will phone you back. On many occasions the duty doctor/ nurse practitioner can deal with matters by telephone but if they require you to be seen they will arrange this during the phone call.

Consultation is by appointment only.

To make an appointment to see a doctor please telephone 01862 892203 or call at the health centre during opening hours 08:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday. The receptionist will try to give you a time that is convenient to you and with a doctor of your choice. If this is not possible the receptionist will suggest an alternative time or another doctor who is available.  They will also ask if your issue can be dealt with by phone or by the nurse practitioner.

Each appointment is for 10 minutes and the doctor can only deal with one or two problems at a visit. It is not possible, however, to adhere rigidly to 10 minute appointments. The surgery may be running ahead of or behind schedule depending on the nature of preceding patients’ problems. Patients who are more ill may require more time. We would request your understanding and patience.

If you feel you will need more time please ask the receptionist for a double appointment.

If the doctor specifically asks you to make a longer appointment or a combined appointment with a nurse, then please ensure that this is what you ask reception for (e.g. coil insertion or joint injection).

Please inform the receptionist if you have a time constraint (e.g. a bus to catch) and we will do our best to see you as close to your appointment time as possible if the surgery is running late.

Each appointment is for named patient only.

Extended Hours

This is on a 3 week rotating basis once per week on Tuesday early evening, Wednesday early evening and Thursday morning.

Cancellations

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.

Dental Emergencies

GPs cannot deal with dental emergencies.

If you are not registered with a dentist, please call the Dental helpline on 08456 442271 or phone NHS 24 on 111 during evenings and weekends