Clinics and Timetable

How our Appointment System works

Appointments may be made either by phone, or in person at the reception desk, whenever the reception is open (08.00-18.30 on weekdays, from 07.15 on Thursdays or until 20.00 on Mondays).

Please note that the telephone lines are open from 08.30 – 18.30 Monday – Friday.

We have developed an appointment system which aims to allow booking up to 2 weeks in advance for a GP and 4 weeks in advance for a Nurse. We also aim to see all patients the same day (in the morning) if they feel that for urgent medical reasons this is necessary.

Due to increasing workload and financial pressures on the health service, appointment waiting times have become more problematic in both hospital and general practice.

Making an appointment with a Doctor

Appointments may be made to see all the Doctors up to 2 weeks in advance. Most appointments are free to book in advance, but on certain days which are likely to be busy, for example Mondays or after bank holidays, a proportion of appointments may be held back to be available to be booked on that day only. Each appointment is for 10 minutes with the Doctor and for one medical problem only. If your first choice Doctor is fully booked on the day you request, you will be offered slots with alternative Doctors.

If you think you have a complex problem that will take more than 10 minutes to deal with, please make this clear at reception when booking. Please note only one patient can be seen per appointment.

A range of doctor appointments are now available on-line via the EMIS Access on-line system, see the link on the home page.

Extended hours appointments are also available on Monday mornings from 07.15 or Monday evenings 18.30-20.00

Urgent Cases

If you request an appointment on the same day, once all the slots have been booked , the Receptionist first will offer you the next available routine appointment on another day. If, however, you state that you have an urgent problem that must be seen that same day, the receptionist will offer you a brief extra slot to see a Doctor, or alternatively you will be offered a phone call to discuss your problem if this is appropriate. You may be asked to attend at the end of all the routine appointments, or possibly before a routine surgery begins.

In this situation you may not have a choice which Doctor you see, it is possible that you may need to wait for a prolonged period after arrival depending on demand, and it is expected that only your urgent problem will be discussed.

Advanced Nurse Prescribers

We have two Advanced Nurse Practitioners  who work alongside the doctors, running a “minor illness” medical clinic of their own and can see many medical problems. In most cases they are able to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. . Examples of “minor illness” suitable for the clinic are :

  • sore throat, cough, chest infections
  • acute asthma, hayfever
  • vomiting, diarrhoea
  • skin problems, infections, rashes, insect bites
  • emergency contraception
  • backache
  • eye infections

Their cases are supervised by one of the Doctors, who can also be asked to see you if they have any doubts.

Emergencies

The medical problems presenting to us are unpredictable, and if patients are seriously ill a Doctor will see them as soon as possible, which may mean non-urgent patients must wait. Occasionally a Doctor may need to leave the building in the middle of a surgery to visit a sick patient at home.

In this event we ask people to bear with us.

Alternatives to appointments

On many occasions we find that a problem can be dealt with by a telephone conversation. Please consider asking to speak to the Doctor on the phone if you have any problem that you don’t think requires a physical examination.

A good time to phone is 0845 -0900 , or after 1130 on any morning. The Doctor can call you back if necessary. Afternoons can be very busy as there are fewer doctors available for phone calls than in the mornings.

Appointments with the Nurses

Nurses’ appointments can be booked up to a month in advance. However, not all Nurses can perform all tasks, and appointments vary in length depending on what the problem or task is. You may therefore be asked by the Receptionist what the purpose of your visit is

Extended hours

From the end of 2008, appointments have been available on Monday Morning before 08.00 and Monday evenings after 18.30.

These slots are intended to be especially for patients who cannot make appointments at normal times.

Nursing Clinics

The nursing team are available for:

  • NHS Health Checks  (Aged 40 – 74 year old )
  • Stop smoking clinic
  • Blood pressure check and hypertension management
  • Minor injury treatment
  • Some minor surgical procedures
  • Asthma, diabetes and coronary heart disease checks
  • Blood tests
  • Care of wounds, dressings, stitch removal
  • Cervical smear tests
  • Immunisations
  • Ear syringing (see minor illness advice)

Minor Injuries

Minor injuries, especially those that may require sutures or X-raying are now dealt with at the Minor Injury Centre at the West Gate Centre, 21 West Walk in Yate (for further details, follow this link).

Other Services

For a full list of our other services, please click the link here