BOOKING APPOINTMENTS - YOUR CHOICES
Who should I see?
We try to keep our GP appointments for patients with more complex or serious health problems.
Before you book an appointment to see a doctor please consider whether an appointment with a practice nurse might be appropriate. They can help you with a wide range of medical problems.
Our receptionists can help you decide which is the right person for you to see.
Ways To Book
ON-LINE Appointment booking
This is the easiest way to book your appointment to see a doctor.
If you are not yet registered to do this we have a form for you to complete. Please speak to a receptionist who can help you get this set up.
Once you have logged on to your own account you will see the doctors who are available on each day and the appointment times available to you with your chosen doctor. Simply click here to book your appointment.
We currently do not have nurse apointments online.
TELEPHONE Appointment Booking
The telephone lines are open from 8.30am and close at 6pm. Your call will be placed in a queue.
You need to chose Option 2 when you are connected.
Currently due to Covid-19 all appointments are an initial telephone triage which could be with the doctor or a nurse.
Please note: As part of their role, reception staff will ask you for some brief information about why you have called on the day. Confidentiality is always maintained. It is vitally important that we have some information to understand best how we can help you. Not all patients need to see a doctor and the call could be for example, an admin task or something our nurses could deal with.
The phones are generally very busy especially first thing in the morning,and you may experience some delay getting through. We do try to get you seen by your prefered doctor or nurse but this depends on your availbility and theirs.
eConsult
We are now offering access through eConsult. eConsult allows you to get in touch with the doctors or administration staff at Newburn Surgery by simply filling in a form on our website. You will see the banner pop up on our front page when you visit our website.
HOME Visits - please telephone before 10.45am
Home visits are available for housebound patients who never leaves their home or those people who are so unwell they cannot travel to the surgery.
The receptionist will ask why you want a visit - this is to help the doctor assess the urgency of the visit and to plan their routes. The doctor may telephone you for further information. If it is an emergency please state this clearly.
URGENT Appointments
Each day we have appointments available for both routine and urgent appointments. Urgent appointments are for those patients who have an urgent medical problem where you cannot wait for a routine appointment.
If you call for an urgent appointment the reception staff will ask you a series of questions to establish the urgency.
CANCELLING Appointments
We are pround of the fact you can book to see a doctor or nurse with us without too much delay. We can do even better if you cancel your appointment if it is no longer required or you cannot now attend at that time.
If you are registered for online services you can simply login and cancel your appointment, otherwise, please call the surgery and reception will do this for you.
Our patient group asked us to prepare this briefing note to your attention in the hope that it will save you time and frustration.
Further Important Information
Text Message Reminders
Patients tell us that text reminders for appointments are very helpful and they also help us to reduce wasted appointments. We will also periodically use text messaging to pass specific information to you.
If you give us your mobile phone number we will assume you are content to receive text messages. However, you have the right to opt out of receiving texts and all you need to do is tell reception staff you do not wish to receive them.
Please remember to tell us if you change your mobile
Arriving for your Appointments
We have an automated check in screen which is at the end of the reception desk. You will hopefully find this quick and easy to use but reception staff will help you if needed.
Please do arrive in good time. One common cause of surgeries running late is the late arrival of patients. Patients arriving late may be seen, but this will be at the discretion of the doctor or nurse and you may have to wait until there is a gap in surgery so as not to inconvenience other patients.
Your Accessibility Needs
We know it is important we communicate well with our patients.
Staff at Newburn want to make sure you can read and understand the information we send you. If you find it hard to read our letters or if you need someone to support you at appointments, please let us know.
Let us know if you need information in braille, large print or easy read. We want to know if you need a British Sign Language interpreter or advocate. We want to know if we can support you to lipread or use a hearing aid or communication tool.
We will update your records so everyone knows your preferences.
Chaperones
We are committed to providing a safe comfortable environment for both our patients and staff.
All patients are entitled to have a chaperone to be present during any consultation or examination. This might be a family member, friend or a trained member of our practice team. Should you wish us to provide a chaperone for your entire consultation then please let us know at the time of booking your appointment.
During certain consultations and examinations the healthcare professional that you are seeing might also require a chaperone to be present, which will be explained to you at the time. This chaperone will be another member of our practice team.
Updated Jan 2020
