Appointments

How to make an appointment

Appointments may be booked in several ways. We follow a total triage system where all eConsults, phone calls or in person requests are logged and triaged by a clinician within one working day, and booked appropriately depending on the need and severity of your condition. You may be given face to face or telephone appointments with appropriate clinicians. If non available at practice, we may book at the hub. If you did not hear from us within one working day, please contact the practice regarding the outcome.

Total triage system helps patients to have their problems resolved in a timely manner rather than some non-severe conditions seen quickly and a person with severer condition not being seen.  Triage system will prevent this and be fair to all our patients. This helps you and the practice equally.

Contact us with eConsult

You can contact a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional online using a website called eConsult.

By phone

You can call the reception on 020 8904 6442 for an appointment and you will be placed on the triage list.

In person

Only visit the surgery to book an appointment if you are unable to use eConsult or call the practice.  If you visit, you will be advised to use eConsult, but will complete the template and place you on the triage list.

Advance booking

Bookable up to 2 months ahead, these provide choice and flexibility as to when and by whom you are seen. You can use eConsult admin to request an appointment.

On the day (urgent only)

Every day a limited number of telephone appointments become available, enabling us to triage and book if needed. During the triage, the GP will make a decision whether yours is an issue that could be dealt with over the phone or if you need to be seen in our practice. If the latter is the case, they will book an appointment for you to be seen either by themselves at our Practice or GP at one of the Hubs.

At such short notice there is much less flexibility over the time of the appointment and choice of clinician.

Telephone consultations

You can book telephone appointments with our GPs, clinical pharmacist, physicians associate or nurses in advance for various issues such as ongoing medical problems, sick notes, medication changes, blood test results, investigation results and many other things to save time and your journey.

GP hub appointments

If your GP is fully booked, there are several GP hubs that also provide care for our patients.

All are open in the evenings on weekdays and on weekends. Please ask reception to refer you to the hub to avoid waiting in A&E/UCC or walk-in centre.

Missed appointments and DNA’s

Do you feel frustrated when you cannot get an appointment?

Every year wasted appointments cost NHS £162 million. This can cause serious delays in treatment for other patients. On average approximately 150 patients each month Did Not Attend (DNA) their appointment. This means the patient did not turn up for the appointment and did not contact the surgery in advance to cancel or change the appointment. This currently results in approximately 40 hours of wasted clinical time each month.

Please call ahead if you think you might be late or no longer want your appointment.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

To cancel your appointment:

• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• using the GP online system: Patient Access
• phone us on 020 8904 6442 during opening times
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

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 or face-to-face
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

Home visits

Home visits are for those patients who are housebound or undergoing end-of-life care and therefore cannot get to the practice. In the time taken for the doctor to do one home visit, he could see 5 to 6 patients at the surgery. For this reason it is in the doctor’s and the patient’s best interests that, whenever possible, an effort is made to get down to the surgery. This does sometimes mean patients having to wait a while, but efforts are made to see people as soon as they arrive if their condition so dictates.

Request for a home visit should be made before 10am, and the receptionist will need to be given a brief outline of the problem. Please ensure you give the receptionist your name, address and phone number. It is very important to inform the receptionist if you are not staying at your home.

The GP may phone you first to discuss your home visit request and from the information provided the doctor will then decide what action to take next.

Related information

Sick notes

Test results

Health A to Z