How our appointment system works

All appointment requests are now triaged via eConsult. Triaging patients as they do in A&E allows us to prioritise patients clinical need and ensures you are treated by the most appropriate clinician, at the most appropriate time. Those who have the greatest clinical need as determined by a GP will be prioritised over those whose clinical need, not want, is most clinically urgent. Econsults gathers information, asking a lot of questions, to help the GPs to decide which patients have the greatest clinical need. Without this information the GPs would not be able to triage effectively and efficiently, which would result in us managing less patients on a daily basis and our average appointment waiting times going back to 2 to 3 weeks as they were before we implemented this system. This means that you may want an appointment tomorrow, however if your clinical need, as determined by a GP, is less than somebody else’s you might need to wait a few days longer.

We will respond by text, phone, email, video or face to face consultation, whichever is the most appropriate. If you are unable to submit an eConsult then please call us and our Care Navigators  will take the details of your issue and submit an Econsult form on your behalf. Calling us may take longer than submitting an eConsult.

For minor illnesses please visit your pharmacy who can usually help with the below:

• Back-ache, sprains and strains

• Colds

• Conjunctivitis

• Constipation

• Coughs

• Diarrhoea

• Earache

• Haemorrhoids

• Hay fever

• Head lice

• Headache and fever

• Heartburn and indigestion

• Insect bites and stings

• Mild eczema and dermatitis

• Minor fungal skin infections

• Mouth ulcers

• Nappy rash

• Sore throat

• Teething

• Threadworm

• Thrush

Benefits

• Convenient: No need to make an appointment

• Advice: Pharmacist can refer you to a GP if necessary

• Flexible: Many pharmacies are open at the weekend

For accidents, please go to your nearest walk in centre, as we are not an urgent care centre and they can provide more appropriate care for you.

For life threatening emergencies and serious accidents dial 999.