Appointments

 

For non-urgent issues, please follow the guidelines below and choose the right service. An appointment may not be necessary.

This will help us to be more efficient by making an appointment available to you when you need it the most.

Book an Appointment

Check your condition first

Many conditions can be dealt with without the need to see your GP.

 

You can try a local pharmacy for advice about a range of conditions and we also have lots of self help information. Please try this advice before contacting the Practice.

The NHS Symptom Checker will also give you advice on who to see 

Community Pharmacist Consultation Service

We are now offering same day appointments with your community pharmacist for the treatment of minor illnesses and conditions

There are many advantages of this new service. For example, community pharmacies are open longer hours than GP surgeries. They can offer you the same outcome at a time and place that is more convenient for you. It can be done over the telephone, in person or through a video consultation. Moreover, if the pharmacist thinks you need to see the GP or other health professional, they can help arrange an urgent appointment for you

This great new service frees up GP appointments of those people with more complex symptoms

How do I access this service?

This is a referral service that is available to you by calling your GP practice. The receptionist will ask you some questions in order to determine whether the service is suitable for your condition. Once the triage has been completed, they will they refer you to the pharmacy. The pharmacist will the contact you the same day to begin your consultation and your treatment 

Referrals need to be made before 16:00 to ensure same day treatment, so please keep this in mind. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.

How can your pharmacy help?

GP Appointments: On the day and routine

Ways To Book

  • eConsult: Please submit an Online consultation to request an appointment with a Doctor or Advanced Nurse Practitioner (available Monday - Friday 8:00am to 6:30pm)
  • Your eConsult will be reviewed by a GP and if urgent, you will be contacted on the same day. Otherwise, you will receive a response withing 2 working days.
  • If you are unable to complete an eConsult, our reception team can help you by completing the form for you, either over the phone by calling 0117 9162226, or at the front desk.
  • Please note - if you need a GP appointment for a child under 6 months you will need to call the surgery as usual on 0117 9162226

Appointments with a Nurse (Treatment Room)

To book an appointment with a Nurse in the Treatment Room (for blood tests, dressings, Annual Reviews for Diabetes, CHD, Asthma, COPD etc):

  • Telephone: 0117 9162226 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 6:30pm)
  • In person at reception Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6:30pm

Been Off Work?

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible.

If you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice, you may request a home visit. 

To do so you must call reception on 0117 9162226 before 10:30am.

Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls. A doctor will always ring you or a carer to assess the situation and check that you are suitable for a home visit

The visit will be carried out between the morning and afternoon clinics - we cannot provide a specific time.

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.

Life Threatening - Go to A&E

Call 999 or go to A&E now if:

 
  • you or someone you know needs immediate help
  • you have seriously harmed yourself - for example, by taking a drug overdose

A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a medical emergency.

Find your nearest A&E

Missed Appointments – DNAs

Shirehampton Group Practice experiences a large number of  missed appointments, also referred to as a DNA (did not attend) where the patient does not attend their appointment and does not contact the surgery in advance to cancel or change it. The effect of this is:

  • An increase in waiting time for appointments
  • Frustration for both staff and patients
  • Costs the NHS billions of pounds per year
  • Prevents someone else who is sick to be seen sooner

Please remember to cancel your appointment if you can no longer make it so that it can be offered to someone else.

How to Cancel an Appointment

If you are cancelling an appointment, please telephone us on 0117 9162226. Our automatic cancellation service is available 24 hours a day, or you can choose to speak to a receptionist during opening hours (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 6:30pm).

Alternatively you can cancel your appointment using Patient Access or The NHS App if you are signed up to one of these services. If you are not currently signed up please ask at reception about these services.

We also offer a text service which reminds patients about appointments and offers the facility to cancel appointments if necessary.

Chaperones

If you would like a chaperone to be present during any part of your consultation including intimate examinations, then please inform your doctor.

In the event of the practice being unable to provide a chaperone at that time, you will be given the option of rebooking your examination for a subsequent date.