• Use FootFall to request a routine appointment
• For non-urgent medical issues, such as problems which have been ongoing for months or years
• Management of long-term conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma and diabetes
• Discussing referrals, paperwork or advice from specialists
• Typically offered 2 or 3 weeks in advance and offer more choice of clinician and timings

• Use FootFall to request an urgent appointment
• For situations that can't wait, such as a new illness or a worrying new development in an existing condition
• Offered on the same or next day 
• Typically 10 minutes long, for addressing one issue only
• Availability is limited by capacity on the day: we encourage you to contact us as early as possible to request one 
• Triaged by a GP to ensure that urgent appointments go to those who most need them

If you have booked a telephone consultation, you will be given a time slot when the clinician will call you. We do our best to call at the scheduled time of the appointment, but due to the nature of clinical work it is not possible to guarantee an exact time: therefore as as a general rule, you can expect a call within a 1-hour window. Please keep your phone on, audible and close by so you can answer it promptly when it rings. 

If a clinician is unable to reach you on the first attempt, they will typically try to call you again within 1 hour, and/or send you a message to keep you updated. Clinicians will call up to a maximum of three times: if they are unable to reach you after reasonable efforts to do so, your appointment will be missed and you will need to rebook for another time if the appointment is still necessary.

When booking a telephone appointment, please inform us which phone number you would like to be called on and if there are specific times you are unavailable. Please also ensure you keep your contact details up to date on our system, such as if you move house. These measures will help us to avoid unnecessarily wasting appointments.

Please attend your face-to-face appointment on time. If you are more than 10 minutes late, you may not be seen: this decision will be at the discretion of the clinician you are due to see. If you are running late but still planning to attend, please inform reception as soon as possible by telephone on 0207 722 4135.

If you miss an on-the-day appointment, and did not make reasonable attempts to inform us, you will not be able to rearrange it until the next working day (except in the event of a medical emergency that requires immediate attention).

People who persistently miss appointments may be sent a warning letter, and removed from our patient list if this continues.

NHS 111 can direct you to the best place to get help if you cannot contact your GP during the day, or when your GP is closed (out-of-hours). You can get help from NHS 111:

• by using 111 online
• in the NHS App
• by calling 111 from your phone

Depending on what you need, 111 might advise you to:

• call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency
• go to an urgent treatment centre
• see an evening or weekend GP (out-of-hours GP)
• book a callback from a nurse
• get urgent specialist support, for dental or mental health problems
• contact your own GP surgery
• see a pharmacist for help with a minor illness
• look after yourself safely at home

It is important that you inform our reception staff as soon as possible if you are unable to attend your appointment, as this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the practice that you are unable to attend, you may be sent a message or letter informing you that you have missed your appointment. People who persistently miss appointments may then be sent a warning letter, and removed from our patient list if this continues.

You can also complete an appointment cancellation request form via our online platform Footfall. This can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance. (excluding weekends and public holidays). You can also cancel your appointment by replying to a text message confirmation, if you have received one.

If you find it difficult to complete the online form yourself, or don’t have internet access, don’t worry: our reception team can still help you over the phone or when you walk in. They will complete an online form on your behalf, with your input. They may need to ask you a few more questions to do this. This information is securely saved to your medical record.

·         allocate you an urgent (same-day) appointment

·         allocate you a routine appointment in the next 1-3 weeks

·         phone you briefly to request some more information, or ask another member of staff to do so

·         communicate directly with you by text message or email

·         action your request without an appointment, such as by issuing a prescription or making a referral if this is appropriate

There are occasions when patients need to be assessed by a clinician in a way that involves an intimate examination, such as breast, rectal or genital examinations.

We will typically offer a trained chaperone for such examinations, to support the patient and help put them at ease as best as possible. If you would like a chaperone to be present during your examination, please do not hesitate to ask. We try our best to provide a chaperone whenever this is needed. Occasionally this might not be possible to provide immediately, and you might have to return for the examination to be carried out at a different time.

If you require an interpreter, please inform reception at the time of booking so that we can allocate an appropriate amount of time for the appointment.

We use DALS telephone interpreting service; unfortunately we do not have capacity to arrange face-to-face interpreters at the practice.

You are welcome to bring a friend or family member with you to translate at your appointment; however this can create problems particularly when discussing personal, sensitive or confidential issues. In such situations, the clinician may decide to use a professional interpreter instead.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about upcoming appointments.

To opt into this service, you will need to register by completing a consent form.