Currently, due to the Covid-19 situation, before an appointment is made with the GP, first you will require a telephone consultation with the GP; it may be possible to resolve your issue over the telephone, or by video conferencing.  If it is necessary to be seen about a more urgent matter, the GP will then invite you to the surgery for further examination.  Please do not attend to see the Doctor unless a prior arrangement to do so has been made.  This is to ensure the building is not overcrowded, and to ensure social distancing, hence protecting both patients and staff.  Thank you for your understanding.

The open surgery is for more urgent, single issue problems, rather than less-urgent long-term problems, or more complex problems.  These appointments are not bookable; registered patients can present between 8.30am and 10.15am and be added to the list, subject to available clinical capacity.  Before attending open surgery, please consider if it is indeed an urgent problem; if not please book one of our bookable appointments. 

The open surgery appointment will focus on the immediate need causing concern.  If you have a number of different concerns, you may be asked to book an appointment at a later stage, so your needs can be met more appropriately, and protect clinical capacity for others who may also have urgent clinical concerns.

Our open surgery is not suitable for patients who have not yet attended their new patient appointment, or those seeking a temporary registration, as they do not allow sufficient time for an effective clinical history to be gathered.  If you are in the process of registering, and need to see a doctor, prior to attending, please book a bookable appointment.  The new patient appointment is important for us to gather your history and more fully understand your needs.

The open surgery is provided so that we can meet urgent needs quickly; it is not provided simply as a convenience, or intended as a general "walk-in" clinic.  There are only so many patients the GPs can safely see in a given period; where patients choose to attend about less urgent issues, this can threaten the sustainability of this valuable service.  To give a few examples, open surgery appointments to manage repeat prescriptions, sick line requests, managing long-term conditions (unless there has been a significant change or concern) are less appropriate uses of open surgery; we respectfully ask you do not use open surgery in this manner.

These are ten minute appointments, bookable online, by phone, or in person at our reception desk.  These appointments are better suited for managing long-term conditions, or less urgent concerns, as the Doctor will have more time to explore your issue than in our open surgery.  We would respectfully ask that if you are unable to attend your appointment, please let us know so we can offer it to someone else.  Our clinical capacity is finite, and demand for services is strong.  If you require an interpreter, please ensure you request this at the time of booking.  Please try to arrive on time for your appointment, although we ask for your understanding if appointments run late from time to time; for example, there may have been an emergency, or more complex situation in earlier appointment. You can check in for your booked appointment at the check in desk.

Due to the national shortage in GPs and recruitment problems, different arrangements to the above rota may be necessary because of GP holidays, sickness, etc.

Home visits are reserved for those patients who are too ill or infirm to get to the surgery. They should not be requested if it is simply too inconvenient to travel to your nearest medical centre.

A doctor can usually see four people in the surgery in the time it takes to do a home visit so please use the service wisely. If you do require a visit please telephone the surgery before 10.00am, except in cases of emergency. This helps us plan visits and enables us to run surgeries more efficiently.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Health Centre.

Please do not abuse this service, as it is reserved for the housebound and in cases of medical emergency

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

You can also complete our appointment cancellation notification request form. This can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance. (excluding weekends and public holidays). You can also text to cancel your appointment.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

With local waiting times often quite long it is understandable this is also a source of frustration! Patients commonly want to chase up their appointment times or try and bring them forward. However, we again have no control over the appointment allocation and our secretaries do not have privileged access to the hospital departments. Urgent appointments are offered according to set clinical conditions and consultants will not accept letters from GPs appealing for a particular patient to be pushed up the ladder. We would therefore ask patients to contact the hospital directly if they have enquires about their appointment time or wish to be put on cancellation lists.