APPOINTMENTS

Appointments may be booked through the normal procedure of ringing the surgery number, or by booking online, through "emis access".  If you choose to book online, you will need to create an account before you can access this service. You can do this by contacting the receptionist who will advise you of how to proceed. A proportion of appointments will be made available for  online booking.

Surgery appointments - surgeries take place throughout the day, from 8.30am until 5.30pm. We are currently striving to get the waiting time for an appointment down below 48 hours, and hope that you can be patient with us whilst we seek to achieve this. Please remember that if you wish to see a specific doctor, you may have to wait longer for your appointment.

Because of the very unpredictable nature of general practice, it is impossible to guarantee that you will always be seen at  the exact time of your appointment. However, we will endeavour to see you at the right time as much as possible. We can only do this with the help of our patients. Surgeries can often run late because of people either presenting with multiple problems, asking the doctor to see another family member who has no appointment, or because a patient turns up too late. All these factors can lead to a "knock-on" effect so that the following patients are kept waiting longer. Therefore, we ask that if you have a number of complaints, you inform the receptionist at the time of booking, and that you make an appointment for each person who needs to be seen. We also ask that you attend prior to your booked time, and notify the surgery if you feel you will be delayed. Anyone turning up late for an appointment without prior notice will not ordinarily be seen.



Telephone appointments - if you feel that you do not need to see a doctor or nurse face-to-face, but would like some advice about a medical matter,  you may wish to make a telephone appointment. You can book a telephone appointment in exactly the same way as a normal appointment, either online, or through the receptionist. SImply make your preference known, and make sure that we have a contact number to return the call. The doctor or nurse will then ring you at the booked time. Please bear in mind that the doctors and nurses may sometimes run late, and so you may not receive the call at exactly the booked time.

Routine blood tests, blood pressure checks, ear syringing, smoking cessation advice, contraception checks, and smear tests are all services which are provided by the practice nurses, and as such should not be booked with the doctors.