Urgent appointments
If you feel you have a condition that needs urgent attention and need to see a doctor the same day, we operate a triage system.
To request an urgent appointment for today:
- phone us on Moore Health Centre 01451 820 242 or Westwoods Surgery 01451 860 247
The surgery and the receptionist will ask for a brief description of your symptoms which will enable the doctor or paramedic to prioritise calls.
A GP or paramedic will then call you back. They will talk to you about the problem you are having and decide with you the most appropriate course of action. This may mean coming to the surgery to see a GP or nurse, using some medication you already have at home or collecting a prescription from us or the chemist. In some cases they may ask you to provide a sample or attend the surgery for a blood test. Urgent appointments cannot be booked online.
We respectfully ask that you consider carefully whether your problem is urgent.
Routine appointments
You can request a routine appointment in advance during opening times.
We will respond to requests within 2 working days.
You can also:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) or Patient Access to book an appointment, screening test or vaccination
- phone us on Moore Health Centre 01451 820 242 or Westwoods Surgery 01451 860 247
When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.
We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you.
The length of a GP appointment is 15 minutes, a nurse appointment 15 minutes and a HCA appointment 10 minutes.
If you have several issues to discuss, please book a double appointment.
Telephone appointments
Telephone appointments can be booked with the doctors if you prefer to receive a call instead of attending the surgery. At other times, they may be busy and interruptions during surgery are upsetting for both doctors and patients. For this reason, staff have been asked not to disturb consultations with non-urgent telephone calls.
Doctor appointments
Patients may see the doctor of their choice subject to availability. On occasions a fully qualified and experienced locum GP may be in attendance.
For illnesses that are not life threatening you should arrange a routine appointment. These appointments with the GP are longer than an on the day emergency appointment and can be booked in advance. They are normally available within a few days and are the preferred way of seeing a doctor as they are able to spend more time with you.
Pharmacy first
Pharmacy first minor ailments is a service being offered by community pharmacies. It means that you can get advice and NHS funded medicines for common, less serious illnesses from a community pharmacist, without having to make an appointment with your GP to obtain a prescription or visit a hospital.
Enhanced access
The practice offers pre-booked late evening GP and nurse appointments as follows:
- Moore Health Centre – alternate Mondays from 6:30pm to 9pm.
- Westwoods Surgery – alternate Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
Your appointment
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.
Text reminder service
We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.
To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.
Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, phone numbers and email address.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
If you are unable to keep an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible, this may enable someone else to be seen.
To cancel your appointment:
- complete our cancel an appointment online form
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- use the GP online system: Patient Access
- phone us on Moore Health Centre 01451 820 242 or Westwoods Surgery 01451 860 247 during opening times
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 notify the receptionists if:
- there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
- you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
- require an interpreter to attend with you
- you have any other access or communication needs
Home visits
Please help us by coming to the surgery whenever possible, as facilities here are far better for examination and treatment.
If you feel too ill or frail to attend the surgery and a home visit is needed, we ask you, whenever possible, to call the surgery on, Moore Health Centre 01451 820 242 or Westwoods Surgery 01451 860 247, before 10am so that the doctors can plan their visits efficiently.
We would respectively ask patients to remember that a GP cannot visit for social reasons, e.g. lack of transport.
As the practice area is so large, it is not possible for patients to choose which doctor will visit them.