Please note we are working on mainly Telephone Triage appointments released twice daily at both 8am and 11am. Please be assured that if you need to be seen face to face then the Doctor will arrange this after speaking to you.
We have a range of appointments that can be prebooked for the Doctors up to 12 weeks in advance. These include both Telephone Appointments and also some Face to Face appointments. Face to Face appointments will only be booked if there is a clinical need to be seen.
Appointments with the Doctors are available from 07:15-07:55 (Tuesday-Thursday), 08:30-11:00 (Monday-Friday), 12:00-12:30 (Friday only), 13:30-16:00 and 16:30-17:30 (Monday-Friday). Appointments with the GP’s are 10 minutes long. The practice does not book double appointments unless the GP requests this through reception and must be booked using the prebookable service, not the same day system. We had to introduce this policy due to the high number of patients booking double appointments when they were not needed which unfairly blocked off appointments which could have been used for other patients.
Appointments with the Nurses are available from 07:20-08:00 (Tuesday to Thursday), 08:00-12:30 and 13:00-16:30 (Monday to Friday). The nurses appointments vary in length depending on the procedure being booked in. Reception staff will always ask what you are coming to see the nurse about to enable us to allocate the correct length of time for your procedure.
House Visits
If you can manage, we expect you to come to the surgery. The doctors can perform a better examination with the surgery equipment available. However, if you cannot manage in to the surgery the Patient Care Advisors will take down a few details including a brief description of your symptoms and these details will be passed onto the GP. Please call before 10:00am if you require a home visit. House visit requests after 11:00 will be passed to the duty doctor that day, and only absolute emergencies will be visited as the doctor sees necessary. Due to other practice commitments we cannot guarantee a specific Doctor or time.
We operate as a group and you can make an appointment to see any doctor or nurse, however, it is beneficial to you that you try to see the same GP or nurse where possible to build up some continuity. If this GP or nurse is on annual leave or fully booked then you can see any other GP or nurse in that case. If your medical need is urgent then you may not be able to see the doctor of your choice. Our aim is to provide more “same day” appointments and less “pre-bookable”.
However, to achieve this we need your help. Please try not to book appointments in advance “just in case” you need seen as our aim is to provide an appointment on the day you feel you need one. There will of course be occasions when this will not be possible due to excessive demand, but we will try our best to minimise this situation. Please remember to let us know if you cannot attend your appointment by either phoning reception, popping into the surgery, replying to your reminder text (if you have signed up for this service) or using our cancellation form on the main menu on this website.
Pre-Bookable GP Appointment
30% of our appointments can be booked up to 12 weeks in advance and the earliest to pre-book is normally about 4 working days away but depending on demand and cancellations they can often be sooner or further away. The pre-bookable appointments are mainly early in the morning (07:15-07:55 and 08:30- 09:30) or late in the afternoon (17:00-17:30) with a few scattered mid afternoon. Patients fail to attend in about 1 in 6 pre-booked appointments. Please remember to let us know if you cannot attend your appointment.
Same Day GP Appointment
70% of our appointments are this type. Morning appointments for the same day are released at 08:00. Afternoon appointments for same day are released at 11:00. We offer approximately 100 same day appointments per day. This figure can vary depending on annual leave and ability to get locum cover (a locum is a GP that is not attached to the practice but helps us out with holiday cover). Please note that both release times can be very busy so we ask all patients to be patient with us and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Please call at the release times stated above. If left later than 08:00 or 11:00 it can sometimes be difficult to get an appointment. Phone lines can be very busy due to our patient list size. Please be patient as all members of admin staff answer calls at the busy periods.
Please note, we will not give any afternoon appointments out until 11:00 precisely so if you call before 11:00 you will be asked to call back a few minutes later.
Early Morning GP and Nurse Appointments
On a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we operate “early surgeries” between 07:15 and 07:55 and are intended to benefit people who find it difficult to see the doctor during normal opening hours due to work commitments. These appointments are pre-booked appointments and can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance.
Please note, this is strictly a pre-booked appointment service only so no other service is available at this time.
Telephone GP Appointment
We offer between 12 and 20 pre-bookable telephone consultations each morning. These are suitable for follow up appointments, medication queries (not re-ordering repeat medication), discussing results/hospital visits etc. They are not suitable if the doctor will need to examine you. These appointments are booked no further away than the next day. When asking for one of these appointments the receptionist will ask for your best contact number and a brief description of what it is concerning. This is to make sure this appointment type is appropriate and to make sure any urgent problems are dealt with without delay. There is no allocated time for this appointment and we would normally tell you the doctor will call you “any time between 08:00 and 13:00 depending on when they get a break in surgery“. Please remember that the GP could be delayed for a variety of reasons out of our control.
Non-urgent advice: Notice
Please note, if you wish to speak with a GP you must telephone as early as possible in the morning, and all requests must be made before 11:00. Only “Medical Emergency” calls will be made after 11:00 by the Duty Doctor.
Practice Nurse Appointments
We offer these appointments between 07:10 and 15:50 (please see the break down of appointments on the “Surgery Times” tab on this page). All Nurse appointments are pre-bookable. Our practice nurses deal with a wide range of procedures including injections and specialist clinics (Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, Cardiovascular) etc. Because the Nurses are trained in more skilled areas we ask that you do not book an appointment with the Practice Nurse for a blood test or blood pressure review. Our Phlebotomist and Health Care Assistant take all bloods and blood pressures.
Please note, that all tests which need sent off to the labs need to be done by 15:40 as our van collection is at 16:00 precisely.