Appointments

How to book an appointment

We have a 24 hour automated telephone system which enables you to book, cancel, check or change an appointment. To use this system you will need to provide the Date of Birth and Telephone number we have on file.

You can make an appointment with a doctor or nurse by either ringing the practice on 0191 477 2243 or at the reception desk during opening hours. The standard appointment time is 10 minutes, please tell the receptionist if you require a longer appointment or if you require an Interpreter.

You are able to express a preference for a particular practitioner but please be aware this may mean you have to wait a few days for an appointment.

Our Appointments Explained

There are four types of appointments:

• Pre Bookable/Advance – these can usually be booked upto 6 weeks in advance and tend to be early morning and late evening. These appointments are usually offered when your health problem is ongoing or non-urgent. They are ideal if you wish to see a particular doctor.
• Same Day/Night before – a selection of appointments are released each evening at 8:00pm for the following day, these are available to book using the automated telephone system. The remainder of these appointments are released at 8:30am each morning for 3 appointments the same day, we do try our best to fit as many patients in as we can. These appointments tend to be used for new illnesses/conditions that are more urgent.
• Telephone – doctors and nurses are often able to provide advice to patients on the telephone. Please ask the receptionist who will give you an approximate time that the doctor or nurse will call you.
• Long Term condition management – we monitor patients who have long term conditions on a regular basis at specialist clinics. Patients with these conditions will be sent a letter inviting them to make an appointment.

Demand for same day appointments varies from day to day, often we are unable to offer all patients an appointment who ask for one. There are options available to you in the instance, please see “What to do when the Practice is closed” section.

We also offer online appointment booking. If you are interested in this service please download an App such as the NHS app or Patient Access or ask the reception team.

Life Threatening Emergencies

For real life-threatening emergences such as those below: RING 999

• Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
• Suspected stroke
• Suspected meningitis
• Anaphylactic shock (severe allergy)
• 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 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

I need a sick/fit note

We can offer you a fit/sick note in most instances if you have already been seen by another health service:

• A&E
• Out Patient
• Walk-in Clinics

Please raise your request in eConsult