Appointments

How to make an appointment

Appointments may be booked in several ways:

Contact us with eConsult

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

By phone

Patients can book an appointment by calling reception on 020 8904 3883.

Advance booking

Bookable up to 2 months in advance, this provides a choice and flexibility as to when and by whom you are seen.

If these appointments are filled on a particular day that you require, the receptionist will look for an acceptable alternative.

A number of theses appointments are going to be available to book online.

On the day

Everyday, starting at 9am, a limited number of appointments become available. All patient queries are triaged and then based on the severity of the situation, appointments are booked with an allocated member of staff: GPs, ANP, pharmacist, inhouse physiotherapist, HCAs and social pescriber.

All emergency cases will be dealt with on the day.

General/ Routine appointments will be booked in advance of 1-2 weeks.

If the matter can be dealt with over the phone, then you may not be seen face to face.

Appointments (phone and face to face) are also available with Hub GPs.

Please note that by calling with at very short notice, there is less flexibility over the time of the appointment and the choice of clinician.

Telephone consultations

You are able to book telephone appointments with our GPs, ANP or nurses in advance for various issues such as:

• Ongoing medical problems
• Medication changes
• Investigation results

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.

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

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

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 3883 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