Can I choose which GP I talk to?

For emergency appointments this is not possible as it will depend which GP is on-call for that day. For non-emergency appointments you can let us know if you have a preference and our care co-ordination team will do their best to accommodate this for you. Where a GP is arranging a follow-up appointment for you where it is important that continuity is maintained they will let our care co-ordinator team know this for when they contact you to book your next appointment.

How do I get the best from my appointment?

When contacting us please:

• Ask for a double appointment if you have a problem that you know is likely to take some time.
• Try not to store up multiple medical problems for one appointment.
• Cancel any appointments that you do not need.
• Make a separate appointment for each person you need to talk about.

What if I miss the telephone call from the doctor?

The doctor will try and contact you on the telephone number you have given us twice with at least 20 minutes between each call. If you miss both calls you will need to contact us to re-arrange your appointment.

Does it matter what time I telephone the surgery?

For emergency problems please try and contact us at 8am on the day. For non-emergency problems it doesn't matter when you contact us and whether you phone us or use the form, our team will review your information and contact you regarding the next steps within two working days.

How do you know that you have enough appointments?

We continually monitor the number of doctor and nurse appointments that the practice offers and benchmark ourselves against national averages to ensure that we have enough capacity in the system.

I have a specific communication need, how can you help?

The Accessible Information Standard aims to ensure that patients (or their carers) who have a disability or sensory loss receive information they can access and understand, for example in large print, braille or via email, and professional communication support if they need it, for example from a British Sign Language interpreter.

This applies to patients and their carers who have information and / or communication needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss. It also applies to parents and carers of patients / service users who have such information and / or communication needs, where appropriate.

Individuals most likely to be affected by the Standard include people who are blind or deaf, who have some hearing and / or visual loss, people who are deaf blind and people with a learning disability. However, this list is not exhaustive.

If you feel that this applies to you or someone in your care please let the patient services teams at our surgeries know.