Requests for appointments are taken either by telephone or online services. Please note the phone lines are extremely busy between 8.00am to 11.30am, for any non-urgent queries we do advise you to contact us after 11.30am.
A doctor or nurse is available by appointment. Appointment times are available between 8.30am and 6.00pm.
To make an appointment please contact the surgery that you are registered with - and do one of the following:
- telephone: Linkway: 0121 553 4000
- call our reception and we will be happy to help you
- book online with our secure internet booking site which is available 24 hours a day. Please see below for further information.
- you can also download the Systmone app where you can also book appointments and request repeat prescriptions. There is further information below to sign up for this.
For routine and advance bookings, you can ask for an appointment to see a doctor or nurse of your choice – please speak to the receptionist.
If your case is urgent (and by this we mean needing immediate advice or treatment), the receptionist will ask you for an idea of the problem so that we can deal with your request efficiently. If all face-to-face appointments have been booked for that day you will be offered a telephone appointment and one of our medical team will ring you back to assess the problem.
Please do not arrive more than 15 minutes before your appointment time. This will give you adequate time to book in at reception and will ensure we have a managed flow of patients in our waiting areas. If you are late for your appointment you may be asked to re-book.
If you are unable to keep your appointment, you must let us know. Patients who regularly fail to attend appointments may be removed from the practice list. To cancel an appointment please call the surgery you are registered with.
Extended Access
Practices are working in partnership to provide additional GP appointments between 6.30pm and 8.00pm during the week and also on a Saturdays. If you need access to an evening or Saturday non-urgent appointment, please call and speak to the receptionist at your registered practice during normal opening hours.
Your appointment may be with another practice in the area and may not be at your registered practice.
Book Appointments Online
We now offer the facility to book appointments and order repeat prescriptions online.
Before you can use this service you will need to come into reception to obtain your username and password.
systmonline.tpp
Web Booking
We have an internet service for our patients which gives them access to booking appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions and detailed or summary of your medical records. Please see our Online Services Leaflet or ask at reception for more details. The service is available 24 hours a day and is used via a security password. To use this service you click on this link systmonline.tpp. (You can also use the NHS App).
Touchscreen Self Check-In Facilities are available at all surgeries
To avoid the queue at the reception desk, patients can conveniently use the self-check-in system located in the reception area. This system notifies the staff of your arrival for your appointment with the nurse or doctor. If you need any assistance, please ask the reception staff.
Mobile Phone Text Reminders
Patients will receive a text reminder about their appointment on their mobile phone.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
If you can not make your appointment let us know as soon as you can so another patient can book the appointment time. You can cancel or change your appointment:
Local Pharmacist
Your local pharmacist may be able to offer help and prescribe some treatment or give advice for coughs, colds and other minor illnesses. These items bought over the counter are often cheaper than prescription charges.
Sick Children Needing Urgent Attention
The doctors are usually able to fit in these cases very quickly without a wait. We do this to relieve parental anxiety but would ask that the service is not abused. You will be offered the most appropriate appointment or a doctor will speak to you directly. All children under 5 will have a clinical assessment on the same day as requested.
Please inform the receptionist of the urgency of the situation.
Coping With Sick Children
Children are often unwell in the evenings and naturally this causes anxiety for parents. Fortunately, most children’s ailments are minor and commonly caused by viral infections. Viruses produce many different symptoms ranging from coughs, running noses, raised temperature, diarrhoea and vomiting etc.
Simple treatment using junior paracetamol and giving a child clear fluids will often help alleviate these symptoms. Earache at night is often distressing for a child and should be treated with paracetamol as directed and the child brought to the surgery first thing in the morning. Further advice on the management of children’s complaints can be given by your doctor or the health visitor.
Telephone Advice
If you require advice please ring the surgery you are registered with.
The receptionist may put you through to the doctor, if appropriate, or the doctor may phone you back when free.
Home Visits
Urgent (Acute)
Home visits are usually for housebound patients or for patients who are too ill to attend surgery. Please phone the surgery you are registered with before 10.30 am. The receptionist will ask for appropriate information - this helps the doctor to see the most urgent case first and plan visits efficiently.
The doctor may ring you back before visiting to check the urgency of the call.
Your visit may be refused if the doctor feels it is more appropriate for you to be seen at the surgery.
Non-Urgent
For all non-urgent home visits including routine visits to the elderly or medication reviews for the housebound, please inform the receptionist that the visit is non-urgent and give an idea of what the visit is for, so that it can be allocated to the most appropriate professional. It might not be a doctor that visits.
Emergencies Out Of Hours
If you need a doctor and the surgery is closed, our telephone message will give you a number to ring. Your request will then be assessed and dealt with by the duty doctor or the primary care surgery. We would ask our patients to be thoughtful about using the emergency call-out system and avoid using it for minor problems which could wait until the surgery is open.
Try the NHS App
You can now use the NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services and your GP account on your smartphone or tablet.
You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms and get instant advice, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record, access your Covid vaccination status and more.
If you already use online access you can continue to use it. You can use the NHS App as well.
For more information go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp
Interpreting Service
If you need an interpreter to help you during your consultation with the nurse or doctor please let our reception staff know when you book your appointment as the interpreter service needs 48 hours notice. We may not always be able to book an interpreter if your appointment is urgent and at short notice. In this case you may bring a member of your family or a friend who is able to translate for you.