Please note when booking appointments on line you have the option to have this this face to face or via telephone. To advise the clinician, please state in text how you would like the appointment conducted
It is simple and quick to manage your appointments via our online service. Simply log in and select an option.
Use the NHS App
You will need to download the app and register for these services – you may also need to contact us for us to allow the App to access your records
NHS App
Owned and run by the NHS, the NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet — including prescriptions and appointments. You can also access your NHS account using the NHS website.
By Telephone
Please ring 01225 331616 (option 1) between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Please be aware that waiting times on the telephone are still very high due to unprecedented numbers of patients calling. Our staff are constantly doing their best to get through the queues in as quick a time as is safe. We ask you to be understanding of this and to please remain kind and courteous towards our staff.
You may be asked by reception for a very brief description of your problem. The receptionists are not prying – they simply need some basic information to signpost you to the most appropriate healthcare professional or service for your needs.
For life-threatening emergencies such as those below – RING 999
- Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
- Suspected stroke
- Suspected meningitis
- Anaphylaxis shock (severe allergic reaction)
- Heavy bleeding or deep lacerations
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness or completely unconscious
- Difficulty breathing or stopped breathing with a change in colour
- New seizure, fit or uncontrollable shaking
For immediately serious conditions such as the following, GO TO THE Emergency Department (A&E) IMMEDIATELY
- A fever and lethargic (drowsy) child
- A feverish and floppy (unresponsive) infant
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden, severe abdominal pain
- Accidental or intentional overdose of medication
- Trauma (including falls) and possible broken bones or road traffic accident
Be Cautious about Cancer – Your GP wants to know if you have any of these symptoms
Your GP wants to know if you have any of these symptoms
These symptoms may be harmless but can be caused by cancer or other conditions, so contact your GP to discuss them. Quick assessment means faster reassurance if all is well. If there is a problem, an earlier diagnosis means a better chance of a full recovery.
Better outcomes with
Earlier assessment of:
Change in bowel/bladder function
A mouth ulcer or skin problem which isn’t healing
Unexpected bleeding/discharge (eg bowel/vagina/nose)
Thickness/lump in a breast/nipple/elsewhere
Indigestion – severe and persistent/swallowing difficulty
Ongoing cough/hoarseness
Unusual appearance of a mole/wart
Symptoms of unexplained weight loss/bloating/extreme fatigue/excessive night sweats/unexplained pain
TELL YOUR GP ABOUT ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS
Can another Healthcare Professional help?
We employ a large range of fully trained, competent, health care professionals to ensure you receive appropriate and timely care. It may be that a Doctor is not the most appropriate person to see. When you contact us to book an appointment the Doctors have agreed that it is both appropriate and necessary for the administrative team to ask for a brief description of the problem to signpost you to the best member of the team to help you.
You may use our self-care room to check your height, weight and blood pressure, without the need to see a healthcare professional. You will need to speak to the Receptionist at the front desk to obtain a free token to use in the machine. Please kindly submit one of the results printout from the machine to the Reception so that the information can be added to your records.
Minor Illness Nurse
The minor illness nurse will consult with patients who feel they need to be seen on the same day. They are qualified to treat minor conditions, such as chest infections, tonsillitis, sore ears, allergic reactions etc. Appointments will be telephone in the first instance and you will be brought up to the surgery if the problem cannot be dealt with over the phone or by video call
Nursing Team Appointments
Our Practice nurses offer a range of services to our patients including long term condition reviews, cervical smears, immunisations, wound care, ECGs, phlebotomy etc
Clinical Pharmacist
Our clinical Pharmacist also undertakes some reviews including medicines and may suggest home Blood Pressure monitoring or having blood taken to keep you well. She uses both telephone and face-to-face consultations.
First Contact Physiotherapist
Our FCP has expertise in the assessment and management of musculoskeletal conditions. You can book an appointment directly with our physiotherapist via the reception, without the need to see a doctor first
Social Prescriber
Provides patient with non medical needs and has extensive knowledge of the support services that are available within the local community
Your appointment at the Practice
- Please make one appointment for each member of the family who needs to be seen
- We try to keep to time but please be patient if someone before you takes longer than planned
- Appointments are normally ten minute slots, so if you have a complicated problem, or more than one problem, please ask for a longer appointment
- It is Practice Policy to allow patients to choose whichever Doctor they wish to attend in the Practice
Ways of accessing appointments
Routine Appointments
Routine GP and nurse appointments are booked two to four weeks in advance. You will be able to choose whether you have your appointment in person or via the telephone.
Emergencies
If the emergency is life-threatening please phone 999 immediately
- We run a Walk in and Wait service Monday to Friday 08:00 to 10:30 (excluding bank holidays)
- In addition to the Walk in and Wait service, we have a Duty Doctor available every weekday afternoon until 18:00 (excluding bank holidays) for any urgent clinical issues that arise later in the day
- If you are uncertain as to whether your condition needs to be seen urgently, then phone 111, free.
- The surgery is open Monday to Friday 08:00 to 18:00, excluding bank holidays. To access GP services when we are closed, please call 111.
- If you have had an accident or have suffered an injury or think you might have broken a bone, then please attend the Accident and Emergency department at the Royal United Hospitals Bath, Combe Park, Bath, BA1 3NG
Blood Tests
Blood tests are available after the Clinical staff have requested this most mornings with our Health Care Assistants.
Telephone appointment
If you arrange a telephone appointment, please keep your phone with you and note that we may not be able to ring you back if you miss the call.
Enhanced Access – Bath Independent Primary Care Network
From the 1st of October 2022 Bath Independents PCN will be providing Enhanced Opening Hours. This involves providing appointments during normal surgery hours and extended opening at one of the local area surgeries on a rotational basis (Batheaston, Fairfield Park and Widcombe Surgery). The opening hours will be Monday-Friday 8am-8pm and Saturdays 9-5pm.
How to book an Enhanced Access Appointment
Telephone your registered surgery as usual. The surgery will offer you an appointment based on what is available. If you choose an Enhanced Access Appointment, the reception staff will tell you where the clinic is being held and the times available. If this is convenient an appointment will be booked for you.
Attending an Enhanced Access Appointment
The Improved Access Clinics are staffed by GPs and other clinicians from the surgeries, you may not always see the clinician of your choice due to availability. Please attend 5 minutes before your appointment, If you are late you may not be seen.
After Your Appointment
If you have any further concerns or feel you need to be seen again, please contact your own GP surgery to arrange to see your own GP.
Who to Contact
Your first point of contact should always be your own GP surgery who will be able to assist you.
Medical Records
Your medical record will, with your consent, be available to the GP/ANP that sees you, to ensure that they have the information they need to give you the best possible care. Notes of your appointment will be sent back to your own GP practice to ensure that your record is up to date. An appointment with this service will be just like an appointment at your own GP practice.
Additional information
Can I bring someone to accompany me to the Appointment?
We are generally very happy for patients to bring with them a carer, relative or even a friend. This often helps, particularly when they know you well and it allows them to tell us any observations they would make about you, which can help us in undertaking our assessment. Ultimately this will lead us more quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and therefore help you more.
Also, having someone with you means they can prompt you to ask questions that you may have forgotten, and after the appointment they can help in reminding you what was discussed.
Occasionally we might ask for them to leave but this would be unusual.
If you require interpretation services please contact us in advance of you appointment and we will arrange this.
Chaperone
You are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure and this would be a specially trained member of staff. If you would like the practice to provide a chaperone, please try to request this in advance so that arrangements can be made and avoid the need for the appointment to be rescheduled.
Your healthcare professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations. This impartial observer will be a practice nurse or health care assistant who is familiar with the procedure and be available to reassure and raise any concerns on your behalf.
You are free to decline any examination or chose an alternative examiner or chaperone.
If you have a suspected infectious disease
Please inform reception if you suspect an infectious disease, as this will enable us to deal with it appropriately during your visit to protect you, other patients and staff.
Giving Consent for Treatment
It’s important to be involved in decisions about your treatment and to be given information to help you choose the right treatment. When making treatment choices, you’ll often discuss the options with your doctor or another healthcare professional.
You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.