Appointments

Urgent appointments

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Routine appointments

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Your appointment

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

• By phone
• Face to face at the surgery
• On a video call
• By text or email

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

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

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

If you are housebound and need an appointment, we will do a home visit. We will phone you first to understand what you need.

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

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your doctor will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed.

Referrals

Once you have seen a doctor within the practice, should further investigations be required the doctor will refer you to the appropriate service within the NHS. 

The doctor will request the secretaries prepare the referral which can take up to five days, however if the referral is of urgent nature the request will be escalated.  The referral once approved by the doctor will be sent to the appropriate service whether this be in the community of the hospital. 

The majorityof referrals to hospital specialist  teams and sent to the Referral Support Service (RSS). Their role is to review the referral to ensure it is being sent to the correct service within the NHS and that sufficient detail has been applied to the referral.

At this point, the RSS are then responsible for contacting the patient directly either by phone or letter. Patients have a choice of which hospital they would like to attend for their appointment and usually offered a choice of dates. You are able to change your appointment on two occasions, any other changes or “Did not attend” will mean you will be discharged and a new referral has to be made. Please be mindful of the NHS costs associated with you having to be re-referred. Further information about the RSS can be found here

Once your referral has been relayed to the RSS the practice has no way of knowing how long it will be before you are contacted.

Patients can contact the RSS directly after 5 workings day of seeing the doctor. Patients can then discuss directly the progress of their referral. 

RRS patient contact number:   0300 4430120

Medical Secretaries

Telephone Number: 01376 347100 Option 6

The secretarial team are available from 08:30 until 16:30.