Appointments

The practice uses an appointments system for most of the health and medical activities that take place. Appointments can be made to see a GP, nurse practitioner, nursing assistant, practice nurse, health visitor or midwife. You may at times also be offered an appointment to see a dietician or counselor. Appointments can be made by telephoning the surgery, by using the on-line booking system or at the reception desk

Advanced Access

The practice uses an appointment booking system called 'advanced access'. The main idea is that most patients should be seen on the day that they contact the surgery, so avoiding the problem of a backlog in the appointments system. If you need an appointment then phone the surgery as soon after 8.30am as possible and we will do our best to fit you in the same day. More appointments are also released at 1.30pm so an alternative is to phone around that time.

We do appreciate that sometimes it is helpful to plan an appointment ahead of time. For this reason we release about one third of the appointments two weeks in advance. Therefore, if you need a routine or follow-up appointment you may be able to book this no more than one week ahead, so long as those have not already been taken.

In summary, we offer on-the-day appointments and a limited number of appointments booked up to two weeks ahead.

Seeing a doctor

Doctors see patients by appointment. Normal appointments are booked at ten minute intervals. As an alternative to seeing a doctor you can book a telephone consultation if this is appropriate. This can save the need for you to actually attend the surgery if you need advice that could be given on the telephone.

Surgery times vary but are typically as follows:

Morning surgery: 8.30-11.00am
Afternoon surgery: 2.00-4.00pm
Evening surgery: 3.20-5.30pm

Seeing a practice nurse

We are fortunate to have a team of highly skilled practice nurses who you can see by appointment. They have specialised roles in the management of chronic diseases including asthma, diabetes and heart disease. In addition you can see a practice nurse by appointment for dressings, contraception, immunisations, cervical smears etc.

We also have nursing assistants who carry out some of the nursing tasks including taking blood for blood tests, blood pressure checks and doing ECG's.

Seeing a nurse practitioner or ECP

You may be offered an appointment to see a nurse practitioner or an emergency care practitioner (ECP). These are highly qualified members of the team who have expertise in diagnosing and treating acute illness. Nurse practitioners are also involved in the care of patients with chronic diseases, especially diabetes and heart disease.

Although these members of staff are not doctors we have great confidence in their skills and they will refer to a GP if necessary. They often have more time available than the GP and their background in nursing or as paramedics brings very helpful experience.

Consulting times vary but patients are seen by appointment. ECP's are also involved in seeing patients at home where necessary.


Urgent or serious medical problems

If you have a medical problem that you think may be serious or genuinely urgent then please make this clear to the receptionist and we will fit you in even if the usual appointments for the day are already taken.