NHS App
Download the NHS App, or open the NHS website in a web browser, to set up and log in to your NHS account. Owned and run by the NHS, your NHS account is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services online, including appointments, prescriptions and health record.
Booking by Telephone
You can book an appointment with anyone by telephoning your usual surgery:
- Red House Surgery – 01923 855606
- Park Street Surgery – 01727 876076
- Gateways Surgery – 01923 857146
Please note that at busy times we receive a huge volume of calls and may not be able to answer your call straight away. If you are having trouble getting through, we recommend booking your appointment online, if this is possible.
Your Appointment at the Practice
- You can book an appointment with anyone at the surgery reception
- We run an appointment system at the Practice. GP appointments are normally scheduled at 10 minute intervals and can be booked up to one month in advance
- Please make one appointment for each member of the family who needs to be seen
- We try to keep to time but please be patient if someone before you takes longer than planned
- If you have more than one problem to discuss or need more than 10 minutes, you should request a double appointment (20 minutes). If this cannot be done, the GP may ask you to choose the most important problem to deal with in the time available
- Appointments with our nurses and other health professionals may be longer, depending on the nature of the appointment. These appointments cannot be booked online.
Opening Times
The Red House Surgery is open at the following times:
- Monday to Friday 8:00am to 6:30pm
- Closed Saturday and Sunday
The telephone lines and reception desk are open on weekdays from 8:30am to 1:30pm and 2:00pm to 6:00pm.
Please note: We are closed for lunch between 1:30pm – 2:00pm
If you have an appointment outside of these times you will need to use the intercom at the main entrance to gain entry to the building.
Please note that the car park at the Red House is private. Limited disabled parking is available. All other parking bays are for doctors and staff only. Please do not park in the car park, as overcrowding can be a serious problem if a doctor needs to leave in an emergency or if an ambulance is required.
Park Street Surgery is open at the following times:
- Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 4:30pm
- Friday 8:30am – 6:00pm
- Closed Saturday and Sunday
The telephone lines and reception desk are open on weekdays during the hours shown above apart from 1:30pm to 2:00pm daily when we are closed for lunch.
Please note: We are closed for lunch between 1:30pm – 2.00pm
Gateways Surgery is open at the following times:
- Monday to Friday 8:30am – 6:00pm
- Closed Saturday and Sunday
The telephone lines and reception desk are open on weekdays from 8:30am to 1:00pm and 1:30pm to 6:00pm.
Please note: We are closed for lunch between 1:00pm – 1:30pm
Can another Healthcare Professional help?
Before booking an appointment it is worth making sure that you are seeing the most appropriate medical professional for your needs. The admin staff will ask you for a reason for the call to help direct your problem.
When booking an appointment with a GP, please see your “Usual GP”, who is the named accountable GP responsible for your overall care at the practice. If your GP is not available you will be seen by a Locum GP or depending on your medical query you may be best suited to see an Nurse, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Health Care Assistant, Pharmacist, First Contact Physiotherapist, Paramedic, Clinical Pharmacist, Mental Health Worker, Social Prescriber, Community Pharmacist, Optician, Dentist or other Healthcare Professional rather than a GP.
Do you need to see the GP?
Sometimes the GP is not the most appropriate Healthcare Professional to deal with your ailment. Please see the information on see a Doctor or Healthcare Professional, which might help you decide whether a GP appointment is truly necessary or whether it might be better for you to see a Nurse, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Health Care Assistant, Pharmacist, First Contact Physiotherapist, Paramedic, Clinical Pharmacist, Mental Health Worker, Social Prescriber, Community Pharmacist, Optician, Dentist or other Healthcare Professional. You can even self-refer for some services without seeing your GP.
For real life-threatening emergencies such as those below – RING 999
- Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
- Suspected stroke
- Suspected meningitis
- Anaphylactic shock (severe allergy)
- Heavy bleeding or deep lacerations
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness or completely unconscious
- Difficulty breathing or stopped breathing with a change in colour
- New seizure, fit or uncontrollable shaking
For immediately serious conditions such as the following, GO TO Emergency Department (A&E) IMMEDIATELY
- A fever and lethargic (drowsy) child
- A feverish and floppy (unresponsive) infant
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden, severe abdominal pain
- Accidental or intentional overdose of medication
- Trauma (including falls) and possible broken bones or road traffic accident
Urgent Appointments
If you feel you have a problem that is medically urgent, it will be reviewed on the same day and you will be booked with an appropriate clinician, this will not always be with the GP.
If you feel you have a medically urgent problem, please telephone your usual surgery (urgent appointments cannot be booked online). You should only ask for an urgent appointment if you genuinely cannot wait until the next available regular appointment.
SMS Text Message Reminder Service
If we have your mobile phone number in our records we will send you a text message reminder of your appointment 24 hours beforehand. If you wish to opt out of this service please let us know.
Please help us
Cancelling an Appointment
If you cannot make an appointment, it is important to let us know as soon as possible and preferably with at least 24 hours notice. We can then offer the appointment slot to another patient. Please note that appointments with nurses and HCAs cannot be booked online and must be booked by telephone or in person.
Missed appointments cost the NHS a vast amount of money each year and affect the level of service we can provide.
Patients who consistently fail to attend or cancel their appointments may be asked to register with another practice.
You can cancel an appointment:
- By telephoning the surgery.
- If you receive a text message reminder, reply to cancel.
- Online via the NHS App
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.
Additional information
Accessibility & Privacy
Surgery Accessibility
Park Street and Gateways Surgeries are both fully accessible to wheelchairs and there is ample parking available outside.
The Red House Surgery has limited disabled parking. The rest of the parking bays are for staff only. There is parking available opposite the surgery and in the large car park at the rear of the shops.
The Red House Surgery building is accessible to wheelchairs.
Chaperone Facility
You are welcome to bring a chaperone to accompany you to your appointment. If you would like a chaperone but have no one to accompany you, we can arrange for a member of staff to act as a chaperone for you. Please ask at reception upon your arrival. (Please refer to our Chaperone Policy for further information).
Privacy at the Surgery
All consultations with health professionals at the surgery take place in private consultation rooms. During your consultation you will not be disturbed by other members of staff except in exceptional circumstances.
As we are a training practice, on occasions our GPs may be accompanied by a GP Registrar. GP Registrars are fully-qualified doctors who are training to become General Practitioners. As part of this training they spend some time shadowing a GP during their consultations.
You will be informed beforehand if the GP you are seeing is being accompanied by a Registrar, and you will be asked whether or not you would be happy for them to be present. If you do not want the Registrar present, they will leave for the duration of your consultation.
When visiting the surgery you may also need to discuss some confidential matters with our receptionists or administration staff. If you wish, you may request to have this discussion in private rather than at the reception desk. Please let the reception staff know, and a suitable area will be found.
Can I bring someone to accompany me to the Appointment?
We are generally very happy for patients to bring with them a carer, relative or even a friend. This often helps, particularly when they know you well and it allows them to tell us any observations they would make about you, which can help us in undertaking our assessment. Ultimately this will lead us more quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and therefore help you more.
Also, having someone with you means they can prompt you to ask questions that you may have forgotten, and after the appointment they can help in reminding you what was discussed.
Occasionally we might ask for them to leave but this would be unusual.
If you require interpretation services please contact us in advance of you appointment and we will arrange this.
Chaperone Policy
We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.
You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.
Giving Consent for Treatment
You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.
Your valid consent (agreement to the course of action) is needed for the treatment that’s offered to you before any physical examinations or treatment can be given. If you haven’t given your consent, you can accept or refuse treatment that’s offered to you.
It’s important to be involved in decisions about your treatment and to be given information to help you choose the right treatment. When making treatment choices, you’ll often discuss the options with your doctor or another healthcare professional.
If you have a suspected infectious disease
Please inform reception if you suspect an infectious disease, as this will enable us to deal with it appropriately during your visit to protect you, other patients and staff.
Interpreter
If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the receptionist and this will be arranged.
Private Medical Examinations
Medical examinations for special purposes such as pre-employment, fitness to travel, elderly drivers, fitness to undertake sports etc, will require longer than a routine appointment.
These examinations do not form part of NHS Services, you will be charged for any such examination. Please check the fee chargeable when you require to arrange any such examination.