For doctors appointments

We are encouraging patients to book appointments on the day and you should be able to book an appointment on the day you need it. It will not always be possible to offer an appointment with the doctor of your choice, however you will be offered an alternative doctor.

We do appreciate that you may need to book in advance because of work/school commitments. So, we have introduced commuter appointments.

These can be booked up to 10 days in advance. Please do not use these if you do not work/go to school.

These appointments are before 9am and after 5pm.

There is also a limited amount of pre bookable appointments at other times, these can also be booked up to 5 days in advance.

We appreciate that at times you may only want a bit of advice and not need an appointment, so we have introduced telephone consultations. You will be given an expected time that the doctor will call you back.

Late evening surgeries

We have also introduced late evening surgeries: Monday,Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 6pm - 8pm and Wednesday afternoon 3pm - 5pm. These surgeries are for booked appointments only no emergency or walk in appointments. The surgery will continue to close at the usual time and only patients with appointments will be admitted once we have closed. If you have an emergency then call NHS Direct for advice, 0845 4647 or Harmoni our out of hours Doctor on 0845 602 6292

URGENT CARE SERVICE

 

For patients at this practice

 

Held at the

Brocklebank Health Centre

Garratt Lane

 

9am to 5pm on Saturdays

9am to 1pm on Sundays

 

·        Urgent care only

·        A single GP who will NOT have your medical records available.

·        This is NOT Accident and Emergency.

(Use St George’s or Chelsea and Westminster)

·        Walk in for appointment, on the day only or ring 0845 602 6292.

·        Repeat prescriptions NOT available.

·        When Urgent Care Service is closed ring 0845 602 6292 for advice.

 

 

For nurses appointments

You can now only book up to 1 month in advance or on the day only.

We have received very positive and encouraging feedback about our improvements and really appreciate your continued support.

Triage

We have introduced some nurse triage appointments, as some minor illnesses do not need to be treated by a doctor. Our experienced nurses will be able to deal with most problems and if they cannot you will be seen by a doctor.

Urgent Appointments

We do not have emergency/ urgent appointments. If your condition necessitates you seeing a doctor, you will be offered the next available appointment on the day you call. If there are no appointments left for the day, details will be taken from you by the reception staff and passed to a doctor and you will be contacted at the end of their surgery.

You have to be aware that the doctor may not think your condition is urgent.

This is what may happen:

If the doctor considers you need to be seen on the day you will be offered an appointment to fit in with the already full surgery.
The doctor may give instructions to be passed to you by a member of staff or they may issue a prescription.
You will be asked to make an appointment in the usual way.
They may even feel a home visit is necessary.
Please remember if you are given an urgent appointment, it will be shorter than a routine appointment. 

Alternatively you can telephone:

NHS Direct, a 24 hour nurse led advice line is available on:

0845 4647

or

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

NHS DIRECT

NHS Direct is a new 24-hour telephone help line. The helpline is led by nurses who can help reassure you and give you telephone advice and health information. Anyone can ring NHS Direct, at any time, for health advice.

If you feel that there is something wrong with you or someone you are calling about, a NHS Direct nurse will be able to help you and:

Tell you whether the symptoms can be managed safely at home and advise you on what to do to treat yourself or the person you are worried about.

Advise you if you do need to seek further help from a medical professional and direct you to the right service. The nurse will advise whether you need to contact your family doctor or go to your local hospital's accident and emergency (casualty) department. In an emergency the nurse can also transfer you directly to the 999 service.
NHS Direct is staffed by experienced nurses who are specially trained to give advice over the phone. They will ask you a series of questions, which will help them decide how serious your problem is.

NHS Direct is part of the NHS and works alongside existing health services. It extends the role of the Health Service providing you with instant access to a qualified nurse who can advise you on the most efficient and effective way to manage your symptoms.

If you want to contact the surgery directly either to make an appointment, for a prescription or test, or just for their advice, you should still do so.