Appointments

Appointments may be made by telephoning 08444 778 780, or by visiting the health centre, between 8:00am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday. This number also gives you access to our automated telephone system which is available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week and enables you to make, check, change or cancel your appointments. (Please listen to the entire message for all options.)

Please tell the receptionist if your problem is urgent. Emergencies always take priority over routine booked appointments.

Our normal or routine appointments are for 10 minutes; please tell the receptionist if you require a longer appointment. You are free to see any of our doctors no matter which doctor’s name is on your medical card, but we do encourage you to always see the same doctor where possible. This will enable the doctor to get to know you better and will help him / her to provide you with the best possible health care.

Urgent Consultations

There is an 'Urgent Priority' clinic which takes place Monday to Friday at 11:30am for patients having an urgent medical problem that cannot wait until the following day. This consultation will be for five minutes only and can be with either a nurse or a doctor. IT IS INTENDED FOR URGENT MEDICAL PROBLEMS ONLY.
Your consultation may not be with your usual doctor and you will have to wait as patients are seen on a ‘first come first served’ basis. You are requested to phone in the morning before attending the clinic as urgent consultation appointments may be available for the same day.

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10am if you require a home visit.

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.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

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.

Test Results

If your doctor asks you to bring a specimen for laboratory testing, it must arrive at the Health Centre by 11:30am. Always ensure that you have the correct container for your specimen and that it is properly labelled. Suitable containers are available from reception.

Specimens in inappropriate containers such as baby food containers or jam jars will not be accepted. Neither will containers that have leaked or are not securely fastened. This may cause a delay in the treatment of your problem. Our staff are instructed not to transfer samples from one container to another. If in doubt as to the suitability of your container please ask at reception before you bring your sample. Your container must also be labelled with your name and date of birth before you hand it in.

If you have been requested to contact the health centre for the results of a test, please phone after 10:00am to speak to a receptionist.