Urgent appointments
If you feel that you need to see a doctor for an on the day matter, we will take your details and will be able to either allocate an appointment with a practice nurse (if appropriate) or will arrange for help from a duty doctor.
To request an urgent appointment for today or tomorrow (Monday to Friday) during opening times:
- phone us on 01603 415519
Your request will be assessed by the doctor and will result in advice being relayed to you by either a phone call from the duty doctor or an appointment made with a doctor or nurse.
Allocation of urgent appointments with either a doctor or nurse is entirely at the duty doctor’s discretion and will be based on their assessment of your current condition and needs. These appointments are 10 minutes long and are therefore designed to deal with the reason you called and not for secondary problems or any long term/chronic conditions. These will require a routine appointment.
The receptionists cannot predict which on call duty doctor will contact you as they organise their own workload. Urgent medical conditions will always take precedence over other matters and therefore the timescale in handling your enquiry will reflect the priority of the problem.
If you are contacting on behalf of someone else (over 16 years old) we will need to have their consent to discuss any matters with you. Patients should contact the practice themselves where possible.
The receptionists have been asked by the GP partners to ask patients for details of the reason they need to be seen. This is to enable the receptionist to direct patients to the correct clinician and the appropriate appointment.
Routine appointments
For routine and non-urgent matters we encourage advance booking with the doctor of your choice. These appointments book up quickly so we kindly ask that if you are unable to keep an appointment.
You can request a routine appointment in advance during opening times.
We will respond to requests within 2 working days.
You can also:
- phone us on 01603 415519
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) or SystmOnline to book an appointment, screening test or vaccination
When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.
We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you.
Telephone advice – Non-urgent matters
If you think that your non-urgent problem could be resolved by talking to a doctor on the telephone, please request a telephone appointment with the doctor of your choice. These appointments are limited in number so you may have to wait a few days before an appointment becomes available.
If you would like to speak to a nurse for advice:
- use our nurse or healthcare assistant appointment request form and we will respond within 4 working hours
Patients not recently seen
- Patients over 16 years and under 75 years who have not seen a clinician in the previous three years may request a consultation
- Patients over 75 years who have not seen a clinician in the previous 12 months may request a consultation
Enhanced access
Very limited pre-bookable appointments are available from 7am on Monday and 7:30am on Wednesday and Thursday. Please be aware that reception still opens at 8am.
Your appointment
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face at the surgery
Appointments by phone can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
A very significant amount of valuable time is wasted by patients failing to attend their appointments. This delays or obstructs other patients in need from getting medical assistance and we therefore take a very dim view of such patients.
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- use the GP online system: SystmOnline
- fill out a cancel an appointment online form
- email nwicb.ocmp@nhs.net
- phone us on 01603 415519 if your appointment is within 24 hours
If a patient fails to attend for more than one consultation in a 3 month period, it is practice policy to bring this to their attention in writing in order to avoid it happening again.
If in spite of this, a patient repeatedly fails to attend without informing us, we will write to them and may need to assume that they no longer wish to remain on our list. We will then submit a request to the health authority for the patient to be removed. This gives patients 28 days to register at an alternative practice. However, we will still be able to treat the patient for any urgent matters until the 28 day limit has expired.
If you need help when we are closed
If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.
NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
If you need help with your appointment
Should you need any help at an appointment e.g. a chaperone, an interpreter, a hearing loop, a low level desk, a private area or any other general assistance, please let us know when requesting your appointment.
Please tell us:
- if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
- if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs
Home visits
These are intended only for patients who are unable, due to their medical condition, to attend the practice. Where possible, a home visit should be requested by phoning the surgery before 10am on the day of the visit.
It is possible that the duty doctor of the day will contact you by phone prior to the visit in order to assess the urgency of the visit.
Home visits are entirely at the discretion of the duty doctor.