Appointments

If you need to cancel an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so that it may be offered to someone else.

You can cancel your appointment via your NHS App, by responding to the text message reminder you receive or by calling the Surgery on 0203 667 1850.

Clinician appointments

All appointment requests are received via PATCHS. Our triage team will review your request and you will be contacted to arrange an appointment with the most appropriate Healthcare Professional.

When we have reached capacity for the day, if you require medical assistance, we would ask that you contact 111 or wait for the following day.

Our telephone system will automatically inform you if we have reached capacity and will advise that if you are calling about a medical concern for a child under the age of 5 or for a palliative care patient then we will be able to take your call.

Nurse appointments

Our nurses continue to work very hard supporting our patients with care including:

    • Long term condition management

    • Contraceptive advice

    • Smear tests

    • Wound management

    • Blood tests

    • ECG’s

In addition, our highly qualified Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Pharmacists are able to assess and manage most new conditions including being able to prescribe and make referrals

Nurse Practitioners

What we do for you:

    • Take responsibility for long term condition patients such as those with Asthma, COPD and Diabetes

    • Treat acute/minor illnesses particularly on the day

    • Prescribe and review medication

    • Evaluate treatment plans

    • Attend to wound care such as remove stitches and dressings

    • Our patient coordinator may suggest an appointment with a Nurse Practitioner rather than a GP where appropriate

Practice Pharmacists

What we do for you:

    • First point of call for any medication related queries for patients, pharmacies and care homes

    • Resolve day-to-day medicine issues

    • Consult with and treat patients directly

    • Help to manage long term conditions

    • Offer advice to those taking multiple medications

    • Manage medication shortages by suggesting suitable alternatives

    • No need for a referral from the GP, simply request an appointment to seek advise or discuss your medications

Musculoskeletal Specialists (MSK) – also known as First Contact Physiotherapists

What we do for you:

    • Assess and diagnose issues such as back and joint pain and arthritis

    • Triage, assess and offer treatment options

    • Provide expert advice on how to best manage patients’ conditions

    • Refer patients on to physiotherapists where necessary

    • No need for a referral from the GP

NOTE: We DO NOT perform physiotherapy ourselves

Physician Associate

What we do for you:

    • Take medical history from patients

    • Carry out physical examinations

    • Manage and treat patients and make referrals

    • Treat acute/minor illnesses particularly on the day

    • Provide patient health promotion and disease prevention advice

    • Our patient coordinator may suggest an appointment with a Physician Associate rather than a GP where appropriate

Social Prescribers

What we do for you:

    • Connect patients with non-medical support services such as day centres, charities, community and self support groups

    • Referral can be made by any clinician

You can also self-refer to this service by calling 0300 123 4044

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery as we have the proper equipment, examination facilities and most importantly clinicians have access to your full medical history and medications., we do appreciate this is not always possible. If you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10.30am, if possible.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or medically incapable of coming to the surgery. The GP will only visit you at home if they think your medical condition requires a visit and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed, you may receive a telephone call from a clinician to assess your request further.

We recognise that sometimes it is not easy to see us during working hours.

We work collaboratively with neighbouring practices as part of a Primary Care Network to provide additional appointments.

These appointments are available weekdays until 8pm and some Saturdays from 9.00am to 5.00pm. We offer these appointments alongside our existing practice appointments. Please contact the surgery to request an appointment via PATCHS and your request will be assessed and booked with the most appropriate clinician for your need.

Here are some tips to make the most of your appointment.

One problem per visit – The Healthcare Professional may not be able to deal with lots of problems in one visit.

Please make a separate appointment for each family member – A maximum of three appointments is permitted at any one time, including for yourself. If you require additional appointments for family members these must be arranged at another time.

Talk about the most important thing first – It is best to talk about the most important problem first, even if it is the most embarrassing or worrying, Write everything down before hand if necessary.

Is this your first visit to the practice?– Please bring a list of medication you are currently taking.

If you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask again – The Doctor can explain what has been said or any words you did not understand.

Ask a friend or family member to come with you – only if you would like.

Make sure you know what happens next – You may be asked to book a follow up appointment, be referred to a Consultant or require to attend for further tests.  Make sure you know if you need to do anything and write it down if necessary.

If you are late –  you may not been seen. Please allow plenty of time when traveling to the Practice, and if driving for parking your car.

Zero tolerance – Please be respectful to other patients and staff when attending the Practice. Disruptive or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.

Note – Patients should see their Dentist for problems with teeth or gums. If you are not registered with a Dentist and have a dental emergency (pain, swelling, trauma or bleeding) please refer to the NHS guidance How to contact a Dentist.

What is PATCHS?

PATCHS is an online tool where patients are able to submit requests for appointment, medical advice and admin queries. Each requested received will be promptly assessed by a senior member of our GP-led team, and a response will be send to the patient on the same day.

How do I register with PATCHS?

You need to register only once with PATCHS. Create an account on the PATCHS Homepage if you do not currently have one.

What are the opening hours for submitting PATCHS request? Will PATCHS be available over weekends?

PATCHS requests will be open from 8.30am Monday to Friday. Once we reach maximum safe capacity to accept requests PATCHS will close for requests and advise the next time it will be open . PATCHS will not be open over weekends for clinical safety reasons.

I am unable to submit request online or do not have access to internet?

You can continue to call the surgery to request an appointment or ask any query you have. Our patient coordinators will ask you some questions and submit the request on your behalf.

Your request will be triaged and passed to the appropriate team for action. You will be responded to on the same day. Please ensure you give us as much information as possible and let us know when you are available. You have the ability to attach letters, photos etc that may assist the clinician with your request.

I have submitted a request but not heard back?

Please ensure you have completed all the questions and confirmed you are happy to send your request. Please be aware that the ‘Submit’ button is only to take you to the next question, and you need to complete the request in full before it will be sent. Any requests you have submitted will show in your Messages page, you will also receive an email confirmation that you have submitted a request. If you do not have either of these then you have not submitted a request to us.

How do I register Children?

You need to register yourself on the system first. Once this has been done, you will have to option to submit a request for yourself or someone else. If you select someone else, you can then enter your child’s details to submit a request on their behalf. Once you have completed this once, they will then be available for you to select when you next need to send something to us.

You can also do this by clicking on your name and selecting People I care for on the dropdown menu.

See here for further information: Adding and editing people you care for – PATCHS Support

Once your child is 16 they will need to register for their own account.

Yes, you can submit a request on behalf of a patient if you are a carer.

If you are registered at the surgery then please register yourself first and then submit a request on behalf of someone else, you can then add the person you care for to submit the request.

If you are not registered with us, please follow the steps to register with PATCHS and create an account as a Carer only.

I only have one email address for the family. Can I register all family members with PATCHS under 1 email address?

If you are registering yourself and family members under 16 you can create your account and add your children as someone you care for on your account.

If you are over 16 you would need to register with separate email accounts.

I only want to see a GP. I do not want to see any other healthcare professional. Can you guarantee a GP appointment to me?

Every appointment request will be assessed by our GP led team. Depending on the nature of request an appointment will be offered with the most suitable healthcare professional. An appointment with a GP will be offered if that is what you need.

How will you provide continuity of care with the new system. Will I see the same GP every time?

The new system will allow us to improve continuity of care. We aim to offer patients an appointment with the same GP when possible. As part of assessing the request our GP led team will review the notes to see which GP you usually see.

We request as part of submitting the request please let us know if there is any time you are not available. We will try our best to accommodate your request where possible.

Do I have to request my repeat prescriptions via PATCHS?

No, please continue to request your repeat prescriptions via the NHS App, Patient Access, Evergreen, via your pharmacy or in writing to the surgery. There is also a form on the website to request your repeat prescription.  PATCHS is only used for any queries you may have regarding your prescriptions.

Does PATCHS have its own App?

No, PATCHS is website based so does not have its own App. It can be accessed through the NHS App if you have registered this way.

Can I link PATCHS account to my NHS App?

Yes you can link your PATCHS account with NHS App. Click here for details (Registering for PATCHS with NHS login – PATCHS Support) This is not mandatory and is up to individual patients to decide if they want to link their PATCHS account to NHS App or not.

Where can I find more information on PATCHS?

PATCHS have their own support pages for patients if you need any help Patients – PATCHS Support

Do I need to reregister if I already have an account?

No, if you have already registered for the service then please continue to use your current log in.

There is no PATCHS link on the NHS app, to send a request you will need to go to the Advice button and submit a request. To send an admin request you need to go via the Messages tab at the bottom of your screen. See the PATCHS guide for help with this Contacting your practice via the NHS App – PATCHS Support