Appointments
Availability
The waiting time for a routine GP appointment is usually around two weeks which is inline with the national average, though there are busier times of the year when this may not be the case. If you wish to see a particular doctor, the waiting time is likely to be longer. You can check when the next available appointment is online, if you have patient access. Contact reception if you want to set up online access.
The average waiting time for a nurse treatment room appointment is 3 days but may be longer for a nurse specialist appointment.
How far ahead can I book an appointment?
You can contact the surgery for a routine appointment with a GP of your choice, bookable 4 -6 weeks in advance by phone, in person or online.
Nursing appointments are available for booking by phone, in person or online 8 - 10 weeks ahead. INR appointments for patients on Warfarin are available to be booked on line.
Are appointments available all day?
Appointments are available each day from 8.00am to 8.00pm Monday to Friday with both doctors and nurses. In order to leave the phone lines available for those patients who do not have internet access or for people requiring urgent assistance we would encourage you to book your appointment on line.
What if my problem is more urgent and I need to be seen sooner?
If you think that your medical problem requires attention sooner than than the next available routine appointment please advise the receptionist who will arrange for one of the Triage Team to contact you. If you are uncertain as to the urgency of your problem the Triage Team will advise you when they speak to you.This may be a doctor, nurse, paramedic or clinical pharmacist.
Alternatively, some Telephone Triage appointments will be available for booking on line. The arrangements for call back from the Triage Team will be dealt with in the same way as above.
In order to help us deal with priority problems on the same day, we would ask patients to call before 11.00am if at all possible. We cannot guarantee a same day appointment for calls taken after this time unless it is deemed by the clinical team to be a medical emergency.
Will the receptionist need to know what is wrong with me?
In order to ensure the most appropriate practitioner deals with your care you will be asked for a brief description of your problem. We apologize if this seems intrusive but it ensures that you get the best possible care by seeing the most appropriate team member. Due to call volume at busy times, please be courteous to people waiting to talk to the receptionist by keeping your call brief.
Please ensure that your contact details are kept up to date and that you keep your phone lines open and available.
How long are the different appointments?
We have recently changed our GP appointment timings to 10 minutes in line with national practice, consequently please be courteous to both the doctor and other patients waiting by not expecting to deal with multiple complex problems in one appointment. The GP will deal with the most important problem and ask you to re-book another appointment if necessary. From the recent patient survey, patient feedback indicated that they found waiting times were sometimes unacceptably long. Sometimes this cannot be avoided due to medical emergencies, however the doctors will endeavour to keep to time with your help.
TEXT Reminders
If you wish to receive an SMS TEXT reminder of your appointment please speak to the receptionists to check that we have your correct Mobile number. An automated Text will be sent to your phone when the appointment is booked and a reminder is sent 24hrs before the appointment date.
Extended Opening Hours
We realise that for those patients working away from the area booking a convenient time to see the doctor during the week may be difficult. We, therefore, provide an evening clinic each weekday until 8.00pm Monday to Friday for GP and some nurse appointments. We are also open all day from 8am and provide GP and Nurse appointments over the lunchtime period to facilitate patients who work locally and may find this time more convenient.
Saturday Mornings
We are open for Saturday clinics once every 7 weeks, but can offer weekend appointments at the other clinics that are hosting the sessions when we are not. Please contact the surgery for more information.
Urgent problems should be seen by the out-of-hours service via NHS 111 based at Frimley Park Hospital.
Telephone Advice
Should you wish to speak to a doctor by telephone, please let the receptionist know and they will arrange for the doctor dealing with your treatment to phone you. Please note that it is often difficult for a doctor who has not been involved in your care to advise you for example regarding test results. In these circumstances it is preferable that you wait to speak to the GP you have been seeing with this problem.
We provide a number of timed telephone appointments per doctor each day for patients who may find it easier to speak to their doctor over the phone, particularly if you work away from the locality. Again please can you ensure we have your up to date contact details and keep your phone lines open and available.
Practice Nurses
For many problems it is more appropriate to book an appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor for example contraception or chronic illnesses such as Diabetes or Asthma.
Cancellations
If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.
If you receive appointment reminders via SMS Text messages you can cancel your appointment by clicking reply and texting Cancel.