Every morning we have an open surgery that is held between 8:30am and 10:30am. Patient’s will need to call between these times to request an “on the day” appointment. These appointments are for problems which cannot wait for a routine appointment. You may ask to be seen face to face, or a telephone call or video consultation can be booked if you prefer.
If we cannot accommodate your request, you will be signposted to other services who can help, such as local pharmacies or NHS111
Further information and advice is available at STOP THINK CHOOSE
Evening Appointments
On Tuesday evenings we are able to offer appointments with the nursing team until 8pm. We cannot offer blood tests this late as the samples will not get to the lab in time for analysing
Appointments for Blood Tests
We are no longer able to do blood tests which have not been requested by one of our clinicians. If you have been asked at an Outpatients Hospital Appointment to have a blood test, please attend the appropriate department.
Online Appointments
Patients are now able to make and cancel appointments online via patient access. If you wish to use this service please follow the link below. (If you haven’t got an account already, you can either phone or email the surgery to request and online service form.)
Home Visits
If you are housebound and cannot get to the surgery, to request a home visit please call the surgery before 11:30am. Home visits are at the discretion of the doctors, so please give the receptionist as much detail as possible when making the request and ensure you leave a contact telephone number.
Please be aware that if you live outside the catchment area we are unable to visit you and urge you to register with a GP covering your area.
Chaperones
You may request a suitably trained chaperone for any procedure, test or examination. Friends and family are not permitted to act as chaperones. Both male and female clinicians work in the practice, if you have a preference please ensure you mention this when booking an appointment.
Please note:
We have more than 3400 registered patients and recognise that sometimes getting an appointment may not be easy, but we do offer various alternatives, from the daily open surgery, to pre-booked afternoon surgery. This includes telephone consultations, along with nurses appointments after hours on Tuesdays. Please do not blame the receptionists if your ideal time is not available. They can only offer what is available and will always do their best to assist you.
When a patient fails to attend a pre-booked appointment it prevents someone else being seen. If patients frequently fail to turn up or give enough cancellation notice (24 hours) they may be asked to register elsewhere
When the surgery is closed…
Out Of Hours Cover
Patient care is transferred to IC24 on weekday mornings from 8.00am to 8.30am and weekday evenings from 6.00pm-6.30pm – to telephone between these times please contact IC24 on 0845 1450121.
Between the hours of 6.30pm and 8.00am weekdays, all day weekends and on Bank Holidays patient care is transferred to NHS 111, and patients can obtain assistance by telephoning 111.
These services are for medical problems, which require immediate attention, and cannot wait until the surgery opens, and must not be confused with an extension of The Orchard Surgery hours after closure.
