Appointments

Before booking an appointment, did you know that a pharmacist can help with various conditions such as aches, pains, fever, colds, headaches, rashes, cystitis, head lice, diarrhea, sore throat, ring worm and heartburn.

No appointment is necessary. Many pharmacists have a confidential area and are open til late and at weekends. It may be worth looking at our self-referrals.

How to Book an Appointment

You can make an appointment in the following ways:

Our Appointment System Explained

At present we are continuing to book ‘on the day appointments’ only for GP’s/ANP’s.

We continually review our appointment system and, in response to patient comments, make minor changes from time to time. This has made a big improvement in the way appointments are being used for patients, staff and doctors.

Please be aware that many concerns can be dealt with by the nursing or patient services team rather than a doctor. Our patient services team have been instructed by the doctors to request important information about the reason for your call. This is to direct you to the appropriate clinician or service.

We make every effort to book your appointment with the clinican of your choice. However, doctors’ availability varies from week to week depending on clinical, educational and annual leave commitments and we therefore ask that you build up a relationship with more than one doctor.

To help the clinician keep to time if you have more than one problem to discuss please ensure you book a double appointment.

The Doctor may ask you to book a further appointment if all of your problems can not be resolved at your initial appointment. Please be aware that surgeries do occasionally run behind time. Clinicians do try to adhere to the time frames however, due to emergencies or complex issues that arise, this is not always possible.

Arriving for your appointment

Please allow sufficient time to park your vehicle, as the Health Centre car park can be very busy. Please use the automated check-in system to the left-hand side of the reception desk whenever possible to leave the patient services team available to help other patients.

Lateness

If you are late for your appointment by ten minutes or more then you will be asked by the Patient Services Team to rebook your appointment.

Pre-Bookable

Nurses appointments can be booked up to 4 weeks in advance.  These appointments enable you to book ahead when a review or routine appointment is required. These appointments enable you to book ahead when a review or routine appointment is required. To book an appointment convenient to yourself, either book online or telephone the practice. These appointments are spread throughout the day, to accommodate all patients. Due to the current situation appointment release times may vary. We are monitoring this regularly.

Extended Hours Surgeries

These surgeries may be particularly suitable for those who find it difficult to attend during normal surgery hours. Two days a week, on a Monday and Thursday, we offer late surgeries (between 18:30 and 20:00) at Westgate, Greenhill Health Centre. These appointments must be booked in advance.

We also offer Saturday morning appointments at Samuel Johnson Community Hospital, from 08:00 to 12:00, these appointments must be booked in advance. Please note that these appointments are with those doctors available on the day and not necessarily the doctor of your choice.

Appointments with practice nurses are also available during some of these surgeries. For more information, please contact the surgery.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners

The advanced nurse practitioner is a highly qualified and experienced nurse who has undertaken extensive training to be able to assess, investigate, diagnose and treat patients together with the ability to prescribe medications.

Telephone Consultations

If you have a ongoing problem that can be dealt with over the telephone we can offer an appointment with your usual doctor. These consultations are also useful for patients who are elderly or find it difficult to come to the surgery.

Text Reminder Service

At The Westgate Pracitce we offer a text reminder service.This service is used to remind patients of appointments booked and for communicating with patients. Any risk of the messages being intercepted is addressed by minimising the information sent. If you do not want to be included into this service then please contact the practice.

You can submit a Change of Personal Details form online.

Cancelling your appointment

Please contact the practice if you are unable to attend your appointment giving as much notice as possible. You can cancel your appointment by using our Cancel an Appointment form or by calling the surgery and using the cancellation option on the telephone.