Appointment System
Appointments can be made by telephone, online (if you have registered via Patient Access) or by calling in at the reception desk (urgent appointments cannot be made at the reception desk). You can pre-book your routine appointment up to 4 weeks in advance.
You may request to see a particular doctor and we will try our best to accommodate you, but at busy times you may have to see another doctor, particularly if your problem is urgent.
We always try to minimise the waiting time for you and, whilst we try to see you at the appointed time, some patients’ appointments may take longer than the time allocated, so please be patient if there is some delay.
We ask that you attend your appointment on time. If you are more than 5 minutes late our clinicians will be unable to see you and another appointment will need to be arranged.
Telephone Triage
In an attempt to improve access to appointments, we are trying out a new system. We are offering a daily telephone triage appointment service. You will be signposted first by one of our care navigators who will ask for an indication of your problem. This will enable our staff to direct you to the most appropriate clinician. Please do not be offended by this request. Anything you tell our staff is kept strictly confidential, but this information will enable us to help you to be seen more quickly.
Please ask the reception staff for further advice on the appropriate appointment for you.
Self-Check in System
We have a patient self check in system on the wall for patient convenience to save queuing at the reception desk. It is self explanatory but do not hesitate to ask a receptionist if you need some help or guidance.
Home Visits
Ideally, all patients should be seen in the surgery, where we have access to facilities. Should you need to see a doctor quickly and are able to come to the surgery; an urgent appointment will be arranged. However, should you be housebound or too ill to attend the surgery, a home visit may be requested by telephoning the surgery before 10:30.
The receptionist will need to ask your name, address and telephone number along with brief details of the problem. The GP will then contact you to discuss your problem and you may be referred to the Acute Care Team.
Please ask for a home visit only if it is really necessary. Lack of transport or looking after other children is not a valid reason.
Cancellations
If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible so that we may offer the appointment to another patient.
You can contact us to cancel your appointment by:
Calling: (0191) 281 1610 between 8:30am and 6pm.
Texting Service (MJOG): If you have received a text message reminder and you are no longer able to attend your appointment, please reply with “CANCEL” and your appointment will be cancelled out.
