When the Surgery is closed (Kensington and Finaghy Site)

Patients should contact 028 9079 6220

GP Out of Hours

The GP Out Of Hours Service provides care for people in Belfast when their normal GP surgery is closed. It is not intended to replace normal GP services, but deals with urgent problems that cannot wait until your own GP is available. You should therefore only use this service if you are suddenly ill and you cannot wait until your GP’s surgery is open.

The service operates weekdays after 6pm, at weekends and during bank holidays.

It is not a walk-in service, so you or your relative must first contact the Out of Hours Service by phone.

A doctor or nurse will return your call promptly and then speak to you or your relative and decide on the best action to take.

How to access this service

If you need to contact this service, call one of these numbers:

• 9079 6220 (in South and East Belfast)
• 9074 4447 (in North and West Belfast)

When you call, the operator will take some details and pass them on to a doctor. The doctor or nurse will then phone you back to discuss your condition, and as needed will:

• Give advice
• Arrange for you to visit one of our centres (listed below), or
• Arrange for a mobile doctors to visit you at home.

Please remember that home visits are for those who are too ill to travel to the centre and that inappropriate calls may deprive someone in more need of the service.

Location

If you live in South or East Belfast:

Knockbreda Centre - Tel: (028) 9079 6220 (6pm to 8am)

This Centre is located on the Forster Green hospital site, opposite Forestside shopping Centre. If driving, please use the Glencregagh Road entrance.

If you live in North or West Belfast:

64 Crumlin Road, Tel: (028) 9074 4447.

This centre is located directly opposite the Mater hospital

Please do not ask to see a doctor out of hours unless you genuinely cannot wait until the surgery re-opens.

Call 999 in an emergency. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.

If you’re admitted to hospital by the Out of Hours Doctor for treatment, before discharge, the ward doctor will give you a letter for your GP. The letter will explain to your GP any diagnosis and medicines you are now taking.

It is very important you bring these letters to our main site in Donegall Road, and not Finaghy Health Centre, as our reception is not manned in Finaghy at present.

South Eastern HSC Trust

• North Down & Ards - 028 9182 2344
• Lisburn & Downpatrick - 028 9260 2204

Dalriada Urgent Care (Northern Trust area) - 028 2566 3500

Southern HSC Trust - 028 3839 9201

Western Urgent Care - 028 7186 5195

Telephone calls to the Out of Hours Service are recorded to monitor service quality.

Please note that the Out of Hours Service is for emergencies only and should not be used to obtain repeat prescriptions.

We ask our Patients to consider carefully if they need seen Out of Hours or if they can wait to be seen at the walk-in Surgeries Monday - Friday at our main site, Kensington Medical Centre.