How to book appointments at the practice
Routine Appointments
We encourage our patients where possible, and when not urgent, to submit medical requests through our online request system Accurx. This means we can support access to patients that can only or need to speak to us on the phone.
If you cannot use Accurx or have been asked to call and book a routine appointment, please call the surgery on 01984 623471.
Our routine face to face GP appointments are 15 minutes long. A routine GP telephone appointment is 10 minutes long. The doctor may be able to discuss more than one problem with you per appointment, but this depends on the complexity of the issue. Please ask the Reception team for advice when booking your appointment if you have more than one problem you think may be complex.
Did you know that if we have your mobile number on your record, we can send you links direct to your phone to allow you to book appointments at a day and time of your choosing? We are increasingly using this service for inviting patients for routine annual monitoring (hypertension, diabetes, asthma/COPD annual reviews, smear tests and more).
Urgent Appointments
The practice provides a ‘triage-first’ service for urgent GP/Clinical Team appointments. This lets the practice identify and deal with concerns which are medically urgent on the day. This also provides more capacity to deal with urgent demand.
After being placed on the triage list by our Reception team, a member of the clinical team will call you back to discuss your problem. If they feel if it is appropriate and necessary for your care, they will offer you a face-to-face appointment, but they may also be able to help you with what you need from the phone call.
We can respond to more patients each day with this model and we can prioritise those patients with medically urgent needs regardless of the time they contact us.
For an urgent appointment, please call the surgery on 01984 623471. Our Reception team will ask for a brief description of your problem.
Frequently Asked Questions or Comments about Appointments
- I can’t ever see a GP
Any patient can request a routine appointment with a GP to discuss a problem. When contacting us, please mention that you would like a routine GP appointment and our Reception Team will help book you the next available appointment you can attend. The NHS and General Practice remain under a lot of pressure so you may have to wait a few weeks for a routine appointment (see below ‘Why do I have to wait for a GP appointment?’), but GP appointments are available on request. You can request a specific GP if you would like, but please note many GPs are part-time so you may have to wait longer if you wish to see someone specific.
For urgent on-the-day appointments, once you are placed on our triage list for the day you will be called back or seen by a member of our triage team. This team includes a GP and two Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) or Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs). If the GP on duty that day feels they need to speak to or see you then they will, but your problem will be investigated by the most appropriate member of the team. Nurse Practitioners and ACPs are highly qualified professionals who have completed extra training and academic qualifications to be able to undertake complex reviews of patients. An ANP or ACP will be educated to Master’s level or equivalent, with the skills and knowledge to allow them to expand their scope of practice to better meet the needs of the people they care for. A GP working alone would not be able to handle the volume of urgent calls we receive each day.
- Why do I have to wait for a GP appointment?
GP practices across the country are experiencing significant and growing strain with declining GP numbers and rising demand. The amount of calls we receive on the day has also risen significantly over the last three years meaning appointments are taken up sooner than in previous years. In 2023, GP Teams in Somerset delivered 3,600,868 appointments, an increase of 25% from 2019. This is the equivalent of each person in Somerset seeing their practice six times this year.
- I had a blood test, will I get a call with my results?
Due to clinical capacity, we are unable to contact patients routinely about normal blood test results and will only contact you if something requires further action/information/investigation. If you wish to know your blood test results, please check the NHS App in the first instance (results normally become available within 2-3 working days) or contact the surgery via Accurx or phone to ask for your results.
- Why might I get offered a different service when I call?
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- Pharmacy First (previously Community Pharmacy Consultation Service) – we can refer specific conditions to highly-qualified members of staff at your local pharmacy. They can discuss your issue with you and then offer medication if appropriate. You may find the Pharmacy can call you back about your issue before the surgery would be able to. Sone pharmacies also offer a walk-in service, so you don’t have to wait for a call and instead can go straight to them for help. If the Pharmacy cannot help you, they can then refer you back to the surgery with no action required from you and we will then get in contact with you.
- The surgery has a dedicated musculoskeletal (MSK) practitioner. He is a physiotherapist with additional training and expertise in the assessment and management of musculoskeletal conditions. He can assess patients with soft tissue, muscle and joint pain and decide on the most appropriate management pathway. This includes onward referrals for physiotherapy and secondary care specialists. You do not need to see a GP first to have an appointment with an MSK practitioner and our Reception team may offer you an MSK appointment as a first option if your issue involves muscle or joint pain.
- Mental Health Worker – our mental health worker can offer slightly longer appointments to support patients who need to talk to someone in depth about what they are experiencing. She can also book follow-up appointments so you don’t have to talk to someone different each time, as well as making referrals to mental health services to make sure you get the all the help and support you need.
- Health & Wellbeing Coach – Health coaches can support you with your wellbeing and health and can meet or call you semi-regularly to support you on your ongoing journey. We have two separate roles providing this support. We have a health coach from Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership at the surgery every Friday who can support people to access physical activity and healthy lifestyle change in order to promote and protect their health. We also have Health Coaching support available through the Neighbourhood Health Coaching Team who can support patients with improving mood and wellbeing, stopping smoking or drinking, as well as weight loss, and moving more.
- I never get to see the same GP
You can request a specific GP when you call to book a routine appointment, but please note many GPs are part-time so you may have to wait longer if you wish to see someone specific. We cannot take requests for specific doctors for urgent on-the-day calls as we only have one duty GP each day.