Appointments

From Monday, 4th November, we’re updating our appointment booking system to make it easier for patients to access the right care when they need it. We hope these changes to our appointment system will help reduce waiting times for routine appointments while ensuring you receive timely care.

On the day appointments

If you need an appointment on the same day, please call us directly on 0161 755 9870. A member of our Care Navigation Team will assess availability and book you into an appointment if possible. Once all on-the-day appointments have been taken, our team will offer the next available routine appointment or direct you to another appropriate same-day service, which may include NHS 111 or the Pharmacy First service https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/advice-and-information/2024-04-01/what-can-pharmacy-first-scheme-do-me

When you contact us, our Care Navigation Team will gather information to understand your needs and match you with the most suitable health professional. You may sometimes be directed to a practitioner better suited to your concern, such as a Clinical Pharmacist, First Contact Physiotherapist, or another specialised professional.

Routine appointments

To request a routine appointment:

• use our appointment request form, Monday to Friday 8am to 12pm
• phone us on 0161 755 9870, Monday to Friday from 8am to 12pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 12pm
• 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.

Pharmacy First Service
For a range of minor conditions, you can also visit your local pharmacy through the Pharmacy First service, where pharmacists can offer advice and, when clinically appropriate, provide NHS medicines (including antibiotics) for:

1. Sinusitis – for children and adults aged 12 years and over;
2. Sore throat – for children and adults aged 5 years and over;
3. Earache (Acute otitis media) – for children aged 1 to 17 years;
4. Infected insect bites – for children and adults aged 1 year and over;
5. Impetigo – for children and adults aged 1 year and over;
6. Shingles – for adults aged 18 years and over;
7. Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) – for women aged 16 to 64 years.

Your appointment

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

• by phone – calls from a GP will now be timed and they will aim to call you as close to the time given as possible.
• 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.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

To cancel your appointment:

• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• using the GP online system – Patient Access
• Use our 24 hour ‘check and cancel service’ by calling the practice on 0161 755 9870
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

If you arrive late for your appointment we cannot guarantee that you will be seen and you may need to book another appointment.

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 have any other access or communication needs

Home visits

Our GP Practice is keen to ensure that we make the best use of our clinical staff, allowing them to provide the most appropriate care to those most in need of it. For the vast majority of patients, attending an appointment at the Practice is the best option for them and for the Practice staff. 

You may think that a home visit by a family doctor (GP) is best for patient care. However, while home visits are convenient for the patient, they actually offer a poorer standard of care compared to surgery consultations.

This is because of:

• poor facilities – for example, soft beds, poor lighting or lack of hygiene
• inefficiency – the doctor could see four to six other equally needy patients in the time taken for one home visit
• patient records, which are required to provide appropriate and safe care, are not immediately available; and
• patient chaperones, who are required to be present for some examinations, are not always available.

We have noticed that many patients are requesting visits that are inappropriate or unnecessary. This has a negative impact on other aspects of our service. Calling the doctor out unnecessarily takes the doctor away from patients who may have a greater clinical need. Most of the consultations during home visits could easily and safely be carried out in the surgery. 

Where home visits are not appropriate

Please note this list only includes some examples, and is not exhaustive.

• Children, young people or anyone who is mobile.
• Lack of money or transport. This is not a medical responsibility. It is up to the patient to organise transport.
• Lack of childcare or been drinking alcohol and not able to drive. This is not a medical responsibility.
• Can’t get out due to bad weather. Remember that medical staff are also affected by snow, ice or bad weather.
• Timed visits between hairdressing and shopping appointments. Patients who are clearly mobile are taking doctors and nurses away from patients with greater need.
• Feeling well, but need a check over to make sure everything is all right. Our priority is seeing those patients who are unwell.
• Other help may be more appropriate – for example, if you think you are having a heart attack or a stroke, please ring 999.

Some myths about home visits

If you think you may need a home visit

If you are poorly and think you need an urgent same day visit, please call us before 10.30am on the day.

• If you are mobile (own legs, using walking aids, wheelchair or scooter), we kindly ask that you see us in the surgery.
• The triage nurse or doctor will always consider your request and ensure you are seen by the most appropriate health care professional in the most appropriate location.
• An Emergency Hospital admission may be organised for the patient via the ambulance service without first seeing the patient, in cases where their medical condition make that course of action appropriate.

If we visit you at home and feel that your request was inappropriate, we may inform you so that you use our services more appropriately in the future. Please do not be offended, as we have a duty to use our resources effectively for the safety and benefit of all patients.

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Remember: you do not have an automatic right to a home visit

Under their terms of working, GPs are required to consider home visits for medical reasons only. If you think you require a home visit, please call the surgery before 10.30am. All home visit requests will be medically assessed to check if a visit is appropriate.
Always provide a current landline/mobile number so that the Doctor or Nurse can contact you.