Frequently Asked Questions: Appointments

Please visit our appointments page. Please ensure you have read the information about what happens with your request as well as reviewing whether a self-referral option exists or an alternative service (such as a pharmacy or minor injury unit) would be more appropriate to deal with your problem.

A detailed description of how our service works is available on our appointments page 

Time frames for a response differ depending on the nature of your problem and whether it is urgent or routine. A detailed description of this is available on our appointment page

For problems requiring same day attention you will be contacted by one of our acute team. For non-urgent problems an appointment will be booked with the most appropriate member of the team to deal with your issue. This will be either a GP, practice nurse, pharmacist, mental health nurse or paramedic. For more details about this please visit our appointments page.

The NHS, including GP practices, is under a lot of pressure, which makes it hard to provide the level of service we want for our patients. Reviewing or 'triaging' requests helps us prioritise urgent needs for same-day or next-day appointments. It also helps us to make sure people with less urgent issues get an appointment within the national target of 2 weeks.

A lot of patient questions or problems don't actually need a GP appointment. Our team can often give you simple advice or direct you to an alternative staff member who can help. For example, pharmacists can help with medication, and social prescribers are great for social problems. These team members have the specialist knowledge needed to address your query more effectively.

This approach also helps us make sure you can see the same GP whenever possible, which is important for ongoing care.

Yes! We are more than happy for patients to change their appointment to a face-to-face if they would prefer this. The GP triaging your request may recommend a phone call as they think your issue is unlikely to need a clinical examination. Many people prefer telephone calls as they don’t have to take time off work or arrange childcare to attend their appointment. If you would prefer a face to face appointment then contact us online and ask for your appointment to be changed and our receptionists will send you a confirmation text. Alternatively please call the surgery on 01865 597023. Letting us know your preference for a call or a face to face when you submit your appointment request helps us to get this right.

If you have been scheduled for a face-to-face appointment, it indicates that the GP believes an examination may be necessary, such as for abdominal pain or a lump. In such cases, we kindly ask that you attend the appointment as you will only need a further appointment arranging if an examination is deemed necessary during a telephone call. If you would prefer a telephone consultation however and do not anticipate needing an examination, please request the change online or by phone, and our receptionists will confirm the change via text message.

We understand the convenience of scheduling specific times for phone calls. However, at present, we can only allocate time slots for morning, afternoon, or evening calls.

GP time is under significant pressure, and various factors can affect the timing of phone calls. Some patients may not answer initially, others may miss their appointments, and clinical needs may cause appointments to run over or be shorter than anticipated. Additionally, urgent issues may arise unexpectedly, further impacting call timings. Flexibility in call scheduling allows us to manage our workload more effectively. We appreciate your patience, understanding, and support in this matter.

Having your phone readily available during the half-day or your appointment is helpful. If this is not possible, please indicate so in your online request for care.

Rest assured; we make a minimum of two call attempts. If you miss the first call, we will try again later before considering it a missed appointment.

Please read the cancel or change appointments section on our appointments page

Please let us know which GP you’d like to see when you request your appointment and we will do our best to accommodate this. We appreciate that continuity is very important for some patients and if appointments are available with your preferred GP you will be booked in to see them. Unfortunately we may not always be able to accommodate these requests as there may be no available appointments with this GP (for example if they are on annual leave) or the wait to see them may be over 2 weeks. If this is the case you will be offered an appointment with a different GP. If you’d prefer not to have this appointment and to see your usual GP please contact us. If appointments are available with them this will be arranged but please note the waiting time may be over 2 weeks. If there are no appointments available with your usual GP we will let you know so that you can decide to keep your original appointment or contact us another time when appointments with your usual GP are available.

Yes but please bear in mind that appointment waits for different GPs will vary. You may have been offered an appointment with a different GP as there may be no appointments with your usual GP (for example if they are on annual leave) or the wait to see your usual GP may be over 2 weeks. If you prefer to wait longer to see your usual GP then please contact us. If appointments are available with them this will be arranged. If there are no appointments available with your usual GP we will let you know so that you can decide to keep your original appointment or contact us another time when appointments with your usual GP are available.

Yes, absolutely. If you received a text with advice about how to manage your problem, this means the GP who has reviewed your request thinks this is a safe and effective way of managing your problem. We recommend you follow their advice and if your problem does not improve to contact us again.

If, however, you would still like to discuss your problem please contact us and mention that you received a text but would like an appointment. This will then be arranged for you.

See our page on test results

Please visit the home visit section of our appointments page

If you require an interpreter please let us know when you request your appointment and this will be arranged for you. The service we use is provided by Language Line.

Learn more about Language Line

Yes. We offer extended access appointments with GPs, nurses, healthcare assistants, paramedics or pharmacists. We run extended access clinics on two evenings a week as well as Saturdays.

For more information please visit our opening hours page

If you need medical assistance during the times we are closed then please see the out of hours section of our Appointments page

Please telephone the practice on 01865 597023 and the reception team will be happy to assist you.

For us to know how to deal with your request effectively it is essential that we have a good understanding of it. The more information we have the more likely you will be directed to the right member of the team to deal with your issue in a safe and timely manner.  Our reception team are trained in care navigation and are committed to the highest standards of communication and confidentiality.

The reception team will no longer be booking appointments directly without them being triaged by a clinician. All methods of completing the triage forms, either online, in person or over the phone will be assessed equally.

Please be assured that anything you discuss with a receptionist will be treated with absolute privacy and respect. All staff within the Hedena Health team, including receptionists, sign a confidentiality agreement, meaning anything you discuss with them is not shared inappropriately. The more information you tell our receptionists the more likely it is that you can get the help you need from the most appropriate member of the team in a safe and timely manner.

Yes, you can submit the form on behalf of the patient (although please write on the form that you are doing so) and can put the contact number that we should either contact the patient or their representative on. Please note that due to patient confidentiality we cannot discuss anything about one of our patients unless they have explicitly given permission for us to do so.

You can still use the contact form if you don’t have a mobile phone, you just need access to the internet such as on a computer or tablet device. You do need to provide a contact number of some kind but this could be a landline if you don’t have a mobile phone. Alternative methods of contacting the surgery or by calling 01865 597023 or by attending Bury Knowle or Barton surgery in person and speaking to one of our receptionists. Please see our contact us page for more information.

If you would like to develop and improve your digital skills to become more confident using the internet or mobile devices there are a number of free courses available to help. There are also services that can provide free mobile data packages and refurbished mobile devices if this is a barrier to you accessing healthcare. For more information please see our Digital Skills and Accessibility page

For those with access to a mobile phone or internet, our online form will be a more convenient way to contact the practice, which should free up our phone lines for those who really need them such as the elderly or those who are particularly vulnerable. If you or your relative cannot use the form please contact us or visit Bury Knowle or Barton surgery and speak to one of our receptionists.

If you would like to develop and improve your digital skills to become more confident using the internet or mobile devices there are a number of free courses available to help. There are also services that can provide free mobile data packages and refurbished mobile devices if this is a barrier to you accessing healthcare. For more information please see our Digital Skills and Accessibility page

Please see our section on pharmacy first on our appointments page

Please read our Disability Access page for more information about reasonable adjustments.