Appointments

Making an Appointment

Either call into the Health Centre or telephone (01458) 834100. Please note that we book the majority of doctors' appointments in the morning, which can mean that the telephone lines are extremely busy at 8.45am. Please keep trying and you will get through, but please do not use the BT Ringback service, as this can cause problems with our telephone system.

Appointments for both doctors and nurses can be booked up to a month in advance.

We aim to meet Government targets for access to appointments and we expect patients will be able to see a primary care professional within one working day and a GP within two working days.

Telephone consultations

Sometimes problems can be solved and advice given by speaking to the doctor on the telephone, and we have recently reviewed our procedures to make this more accessible. Rather than trying to get through to a doctor during their designated 'telephone time', you are now able to book a telephone consultation.

The receptionist will ask you which day you would like to talk to a doctor, and which doctor you would like to talk to. Although we are not able to give an exact time, the doctor will ring you during the course of that day. If you wish to give an indication as to the nature of the call, this will help the doctor to assess the clinical priority.

Telephone call requests can only be taken until 2pm. After this time urgent calls ONLY will be dealt with, by the duty doctor.

Please note that telephone calls made to the Health Centre may be recorded.

Home Visits

If you are unable to attend the surgery because of illness, a doctor will visit you at home. Please contact the surgery before 10.00am. (Urgent calls may be made at any time.) To enable the doctor to assess the urgency of the visit, please give the receptionist as much information as possible.

We would ask that home visits are only requested for those who CANNOT possibly get to the surgery because of illness. If the problem is one of lack of transport please arrange for a friend, relative or taxi to bring you to the Health Centre. Please remember that a doctor can see up to six patients in surgery in the time that it takes to do one home call. Patients can also be examined more thoroughly in a surgery environment. Please do not use this service for convenience.