Appointments

Urgent appointments

To request an urgent appointment for today (Monday to Friday):

  • phone us on 01773 822386, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
  • visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm

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.

Routine appointments

To request a routine appointment:

  • phone us on 01773 822386, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
  • visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm

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.

Your appointment

All consultations are run on an appointment system. Appointments can be made either in person, by telephone via our Online Consult feature. Some appointments are available on the same day and some are available to be pre-booked in advance. All urgent appointments in the first instance are triaged by the GP. The GP will arrange a face to face appointment if they feel it is necessary.

We will endeavour to give patients an appointment with the doctor of their choosing but sometimes this may not be possible, the earliest appointment with an alternative GP would then be offered instead.

For matters of an urgent nature, a duty doctor will be available all day.

Please inform the receptionist if you are unable to get upstairs to see a doctor or a nurse. We would then make arrangements for you to be seen in a downstairs room.

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

  • by phone
  • 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.

Practice nurses are qualified registered nurses. They can help with health issues such as family planning, healthy living advice, blood pressure checks and dressings. The practice nurses run clinics for long-term health conditions such as asthma or diabetes, childhood immunisations, wound care, ear syringing,  cervical smears, travel vaccinations and contraceptive injections as well as several other services.
 
Healthcare assistants support practice nurses with their daily work and they may act as a chaperone when a patient or doctor requests one.
 
Our very capable HCAs have undergone training to enable them to review wounds and dressing changes post operatively, remove sutures, take blood pressure, assist with minor surgery and contraception, ear syringing, perform ECGs and they can carry out health checks that do not involve medication
Reception will be able to book you in for a telephone consultation, phone the surgery on the usual number.
 
Please be aware that the receptionists cannot give an exact time when the clinician will return your call.
 
Please note that our online consult feature is also available for general medical queries and medical advice.
Our receptionists have an extremely busy job. Try to help them to help you.

The GPs have requested that the reception team ask a series of questions, this enables us to direct your call to the most suitable clinician.

This is also relevant when a home visit is being requested.

Pharmacy First

Visit your local pharmacy first for seven minor conditions

You can now pop down to your local pharmacy for help with seven minor conditions which would previously have required a GP appointment.

As experts in medicines and managing minor illnesses, pharmacists have been backed by Government and the NHS to provide a new NHS ‘Pharmacy First’ service. Most pharmacies in Belper have signed up to support people in certain age groups seeking help for a variety of conditions.

These conditions are: 

ConditonAge
Sinusitisfor children and adults aged 12 years and over
Sore throatfor children and adults aged 5 years and over
Earache (Acute otitis media)for children aged 1 to 17 years
Infected insect bitefor children and adults aged 1 year and over
Impetigofor children and adults aged 1 year and over
Shinglesfor adults aged 18 years and over
Uncomplicated urinary tract infectionsfor women aged 16 to 64 years

If you have symptoms that suggest you may have one of these conditions, you can now walk into a pharmacy and be offered a consultation with the pharmacist. Under the new service pharmacists can provide advice and, if clinically necessary, will offer an NHS medicine to treat it (NHS prescription charge apply if you normally pay for medicines supplied on prescription). Should the pharmacy team be unable to help, you will be directed to your GP surgery or A&E as appropriate.

By thinking ‘Pharmacy First’, you may find it easier and quicker to get the help you need and skip the telephone queue with your GP surgery.

Find out more about pharmacies by going to NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/pharmacies/.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

To cancel your appointment:

  • use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
  • phone us on 01773 822386 option 5 to leave a message, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm

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
  • if you need an interpreter
  • if you have any other access or communication needs

Home visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 11:00 if you require a home visit as visits are completed after morning surgery and before afternoon surgery starts.You will be asked to provide a contact telephone number and some brief details as to the reason for your request. The Duty Clinician will contact you by phone to discuss your concerns.

Following discussion it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance. The clinician may still ask you to attend surgery if appropriate or required for certain examinations/tests that necessitate a clinical environment.

Home visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the surgery.

GP Training

Our practice is approved to train fully qualified doctors who wish to specialise in general practice. Our GP registrars will have had 2-4 years of experience as a qualified hospital doctor working in various specialities. They consult patients on their own, under the mentorship.

We have two GP registrars at the practice.
We are also a designated teaching practice for medical students. If a student is sitting in with a doctor or nurse, at the time of your appointment, our receptionist will advise you of this and you will be given the opportunity of seeing the doctor or nurse alone.

Occasionally patients with specific problems may be asked to attend for their medical history to be taken and also examination by the medical student. This is, of course, purely voluntary but our doctors and students are very grateful for your help.
Because we are a teaching practice, on occasions you may be asked to allow a video to be made of your consultation.

This will not happen without your consent.

Examinations will not be recorded.

You may ask for the consultation to be deleted if you change your mind

The video will be for teaching purposes only between doctors and will be deleted anyway shortly afterwards.

If you decline to be videoed, it will make no difference to your appointment or the availability of the appointment.

Please ask if you require further details.