Appointments

Urgent appointments

To request an urgent appointment for today or tomorrow (Monday to Friday):

• use our appointment request form
• using the GP online system – Patient Access
• phone us on 0113 230 5055, Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Routine appointments

To request a routine appointment in the next 7 days:

• use our appointment request form
• using the GP online system – Patient Access
• phone us on 0113 230 5055, Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm
• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) to book a screening test or vaccination

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Your appointment

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery
• on a video call
• by text or email

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

We have appointments available to book in advance: for up-to 3 weeks.

The reception/triage team is fully trained and is there to help you. Please remember that they can only offer you what is available.

The doctor only has 10 minutes per patient and can only deal with one issue during this appointment.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

Figures from NHS England suggest that more than 12 million GP appointments are missed each year in the UK costing in excess of £162 million.

If you find you are unable to attend a pre-booked appointment, please let us know.

To cancel your appointment:

• via PATCHS
• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• using the GP online system – Patient Access
• phone us on 0113 230 5055, Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

If you fail to cancel booked appointments and do not attend on three occasions you will be sent a letter informing you of our intention to remove you from our list should this happen again.  

If you need help when we are closed

If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.

NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.

Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

If you need help with your appointment

Please tell us:

• if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
• if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

Care Navigation

What is Care Navigation?  When you feel ill and you ring your GP practice, you want to see someone as soon as possible to help make you feel better.  

Sometimes, the GP (doctor) might not be best person to see. It could be the GP practice pharmacist, the physiotherapist, a mental health worker or a practice nurse. In some cases, your GP practice might not be the best place at all and it could be a community pharmacy or optician that is more appropriate. 

For this reason, our receptionists (also known as care navigators) have been trained to help make sure you see the right person depending on your medical problem. They may ask you some very brief questions about your symptoms but will not try to diagnose you or offer medical advice.

You can help by providing some information so they can offer you an appointment as quickly as possible with the right person in your GP practice. This may be with your GP or another member of the practice team.

Any information you share with a care navigator will remain confidential.  

Telephone Consultations

Some consultations are suitable for a telephone appointment. Please discuss this with one of our Patient Services Advisors who will be able to determine whether this is appropriate.

Our appointments telephone line is open from 08:00 until 18:00 Monday to Friday. At the busiest times (i.e. from 08:00 – 10:00) we have a team of Patient Services Advisors taking calls for bookings but if the matter is routine you should ring after 10:00.

When asking for an appointment, you may request any doctor of your choice. It may not always be possible for you to see a particular doctor at a time of your choosing but we will offer you the next available appointment with that doctor.

Some of our doctors have additional languages and can speak Tamil, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, German, French and Italian. Please ask the receptionist if you require a consultation in any of the languages above.

Home visits

Home visits are for patients who are either permanently or temporarily housebound (i.e. they are unable to leave the house).  You can request a home visit before 10.30 by telephoning the main appointments number 0113 230 5055 or using PATCHS.

The Doctor will telephone you to discuss your needs and then allocate the most appropriate person to visit you if they feel it is necessary.

If you are registered as an Out of Area Patient, who are not entitled to receive a home visit from the Practice, you should contact NHS 111 and inform them you are an out of area patient requiring a home visit.