Appointments
How do I make an appointment?
The practice is offering in person and telephone appointments when booking an appointment the receptionist will ask details to signpost you to the most suitable appointment.
TELEPHONE APPOINTMENTS
WE ARE CURRENTLY FINDING THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF APPOINTMENTS ARE WASTED DUE TO PATIENTS NOT ANSWERING WHEN THE GP CALLS. PLEASE BE AWARE THE GP WILL TRY TWICE TO CALL YOU FOR THE APPOINTMENT, BUT IF THERE IS NO ANSWER OR THE ENGAGED TONE THE GP WILL NOT KEEP TRYING. IF YOU CALL BACK AFTER MISSING 2 CALLS THE APPOINTMENT WILL NEED RE-BOOKING AS THE APPOINTMENT CANNOT BE RE-ADDED THAT DAY UNLESS CLINICALLY URGENT.
THE TELEPHONE LINES ARE VERY BUSY AT PRESENT DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, IT MAY TAKE LONGER FOR US TO ANSWER CALLS, APOLOGIES
Telephone from 8.00 a.m. on 01482 862733 (option 1) or call at reception and the receptionist will offer you the first routine appointment which could be within the next 3 weeks. Booking ahead is more appropriate for non-urgent issues and gives a better chance of seeing your preferred GP. Alternatively, you may be seen earlier by seeing another doctor if they have free appointments.
Please note our doors open at 07.30 for the first appointment at 07.30 hrs, the receptionist is available from 8am for booking appointments.
Online Appointment booking
When patients book their own appointment using the app, the appointment will be at the surgery in person.
You are now able to book appointments online. You will need a password obtained from the surgery to access this service. You need to bring in photo ID to obtain a password for the online service for verification purposes.
When booking please put a brief description of your ailment, as we may be able to fast track your appointment.
Telephone Consultations / Appointments
We offer telephone appointments where appropriate for patients who wish to discuss their symptoms over the telephone with a doctor. This may still lead to an appointment being booked if the doctor feels it is necessary.
IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL A WEEKEND APPOINTMENT
Call the Improving Access HUB on 01482 458 262 between the hours of Fridays 6.30pm-8pm, Saturdays & Sundays 8.30am-12.30pm.
What happens if all the appointments are booked for that day?
The receptionist will take the patient's name, details and contact telephone number and the duty doctor will call the patient back. If the doctor feels it is necessary for the patient to be seen an appointment time will be given.
Your responsibility to us
To attend punctually, cancel if you are unable to attend and not to request an urgent appointment for routine matters. Please note that the doctors' appointments are booked in 10 minute intervals to allow equal access for all patients. For this reason the doctor will usually only be able to deal with ONE issue per consultation.
As a rule, if you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, the doctor will not be able to see you. The next person will already be waiting and it is not fair to make all subsequent appointments run late.
The car park is owned by the landlord and therefore out of our control. It is used by three separate organisations and each is independent of the other therefore there is very limited parking. There is however alternative paid parking on Norwood, North Bar Within and Saturday Market. Patients wishing to use the car park to attend an appointment are requested to give plenty of time to park as a space may not become available for quite some time.
General advice
Our receptionist will be happy to help you with whatever query you may have. Please phone our main telephone number for this.
Out of Area Scheme
We are able to offer urgent face to face appointments for patients who live locally but are registered with a GP practice in one of the national 'Choice of GP Practice' pilot sites (London, Manchester and Nottingham).