Appointments
Telephone 01202 517333, option 1
Appointments are available to book on the day. Patients are reminded that booking-on-the-day is very useful in certain circumstances, but it is not the only option for booking an appointment.
Please read this section very carefully so that you are able to get the best from the appointment system.
Reasons for using the Book-on-the-Day Facility
- Your condition is of a more urgent nature and requires treatment that day
- The next available pre-bookable appointment is not soon enough
Reasons for Booking in Advance
- Your condition is on-going and not restricted by a time limit
- Medication reviews
- Continuation sick notes
- Follow-up appointments e.g.: if the doctor asks you to come back for review you should book your next appointment at reception before you leave or as soon as you get home if you have to consult your diary.
Our telephones are very congested at 8.00am due to the overwhelming volume of calls we receive. If any of the reasons for booking in advance above apply to you or you know you will need to see your GP routinely it would be appreciated and of huge benefit to yourself, the surgery and other patients if you would endeavour to book these appointments as far in advance as you possibly can.
Urgent Appointments
If you need to see a doctor urgently please make sure you tell the receptionist and say why your need is urgent. The receptionist will then ensure you are seen by the most appropriate doctor or nurse and in an appropriate time frame.
Partnership Working
The doctors work in partnership and you are welcome to make appointments to see any of them including the associate doctor. Please be sure to inform the receptionist who you would like to see and they will do their best to accommodate you, however if that particular doctor is away or their surgery is full you will be offered an appointment with an alternative doctor or perhaps the triage or practices nurses, whoever is most appropriate. Occasionally we have approved locum doctors working at the surgery while individual doctors are away.
Please remember, one appointment is for one person only and the doctor will not be able to see anyone else in addition.
Cancelling Appointments
Telephone: 01202 517333
If you do not need an appointment please cancel in good time so that another patient may benefit from this time. In order to address the issue of wasted consultation time, appointments missed or cancelled too late to be given to someone else are logged in patients’ records. Patients who persistently fail to attend appointments will receive a letter from the practice manager and be removed from the surgery list if the problem continues.
Telephone Access to Doctors
Telephone: 01202 517333, option 1
The doctors are happy to discuss queries by telephone. We will try to allocate you a telephone slot, with a guide time of when the GP might respond. Please bear with us if that timing slips - this could be due to an emergency in the surgery or other work that has to be prioritised. Try to keep your phone with you - we find sometimes that we try several times to contact people without success. Please allow up to 48hrs for a response.