Appointments

1. Call or get help online now using NHS 111
2. Get fast help from a Pharmacist
3. Book an appointment online
4. Book an appointment on the telephone 01785 850 226
5. How to cancel an Appointment.

Your pharmacist can help with various conditions such as minor cuts, sprains, aches, colds, headaches, rashes, cystitis. Pharmacist help, including a local pharmacy search tool.

If you cannot keep your appointment with the Doctor or Nurse, please respond to your text reminder and this will automatically cancel your appointment. Alternatively you can telephone the Practice and speak to a Receptionist who can cancel it for you.

It is really important to let us know if you need to cancel, because it enables us to offer your appointment to someone else.

We kindly ask that all patients try and stick to our ‘One Problem Per Consultation’ policy. The main reason for this request is for clinical safety.

We know that getting an appointment with the doctor is sometimes difficult and that some patients ‘save’ their problems and present them to the doctor at the same time, with or without a list. We also know that the clinician may run late. All of this increases the tendency for patients to present multiple problems to their doctor at one consultation.

Each appointment is only 10 minutes long. Ten minutes really is not a lot of time, even for just one problem, for example if it is a face to face appointment:

• 1 minute to get to doctor’s room and sit down or if it's a telephone consultation time to get through on the telephone
• 3 minutes to tell a history
• 3 to 4 minutes to undertake a targeted examination
• 2 minutes to explain, advise and treat.

There is no time left of the ten minutes to write up notes, fill out forms, dictate referrals or speak to other team members for advice.

Presenting the clinician with multiple problems means that there is a real increased risk that mistakes will be made and things to be missed as the clinician may be inclined to rush, particularly if other patients are waiting.

One of Primary Care’s main purposes is to detect serious disease early. Presenting multiple problems to the clinician, not all of which may be serious, increases the difficulty of this task, it is like finding the ‘needle in a haystack’.

Doctors cannot see huge numbers of patients with multiple problems and continue to practice safely and effectively. A stressed doctor will struggle to be a good and safe doctor.

We do consider that GP appointments are a limited resource and we would kindly ask that such a service be used with care and consideration.

Therefore please do not be offended when the doctor asks you to rebook for your other problems. We are working in your best interests in order to keep you safe.

We would always encourage patients to book double appointments if there are multiple problems that need discussing.

Please also see Getting the Most out of a Consultation.