Appointments

How to get the best out of our appointment system

You’ll find lots of very useful information in our February 2024 News letter which can be found here

Urgent appointments

To request an urgent appointment for today or tomorrow (Monday to Friday):

• phone us on 01253 204690, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm

What should you do if you are ill and need an appointment with the doctor quickly?

If you need to see your doctor urgently please telephone the surgery as soon after 8.00am as possible. The earlier in the day the better so we have more time to liaise with our Community and Hospital Colleagues if this is necessary.

Be up front about why you need the appointment. This will help our staff to triage your appointment appropriately, and most of the time, will be all you need to do.

Detailed information can be found here.

Routine appointments

To request a routine appointment in the next 7 days:

• use our appointment request form, Monday to Friday 7am to 4pm. We will respond within 4 hours during opening times
• phone us on 01253 204690, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) to book a screening test or vaccination

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Your appointment

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery
• on a video call
• by text or email

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

To cancel your appointment:

• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• using the GP online system – Patient Access
• phone us on 01253 204690, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm and follow the menu instructions, you won’t need to queue to speak to a receptionist as this is an automated service.

If you need help when we are closed

If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.

NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.

Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

If you need help with your appointment

Please tell us:

• if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
• if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

Home visits

Doctors can see several patients in surgery in the time it takes to see one patient at home. For this reason please only request home visits if you are too ill to come to the Surgery.  We will continue to visit patients at home where their medical condition prevents them from visiting the surgery. If you need the Doctor to visit you at home please telephone 01253 204690  BEFORE 10.00am and give the Receptionist as much information as possible. This helps the Doctor to plan his visits so that the most urgent calls are made first. The doctor may telephone you to assess the urgency of your request, they may ask a community nurse to call and assess you, you may also be asked to attend the surgery.

Safe working

BMA have recommended a safe level of patient contacts per day in order for a GP to deliver safe care is not more than 25 contacts per day. ‘At Your Service’, published by the Policy Exchange and forwarded by Sajid Javid, states that 28 patient contacts per day is safe.

Present contacts per day by GPs in England are significantly in excess of this. “At Your Service” highlights that GPs are seeing on average 37 or more patients per day. In order to move towards safe working for our GP’s and ACP’s, our Care Navigators will direct any excess demand beyond safe levels to NHS 111, extended access hubs, or other providers.

This means that at the point we have reached capacity and all our GP/ACP appointments are fully booked for that day our care navigators will direct you to an alternate service. This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but in order to comply with direction from NHSE and to ensure we provide a safe level of care.

Hospital waiting list information

Can my GP ask the Hospital to see me quicker?

Our staff are here to help you however, they cannot assist with checking where you are on the hospital waiting list for a consultant appointment or investigations, or checking what time your hospital appointment is. General Practice staff are not employed by secondary care and have no access to their appointment systems.

We are aware that for some specialties the waiting list is long. The Practice and our staff have no control over this national concern and we direct you to the information below.

Sadly, some of our staff have been verbally abused in recent weeks because of waiting times. Please be advised that any form of abuse to our dedicated team will result in the abuser receiving a zero tolerance letter. Further abuse of our staff will result in the abusers removal from our registered list of patients.

A link to current national waiting times is here for your convenience. This links to national waiting lists, if your referral has been made to a provider other than Blackpool Teaching Hospital.

The link to waiting times for some specialties at Blackpool Teaching Hospital is here If your specialty is not listed please contact the hospital directly. Their telephone number is 01253 300000

Evening and Weekend Appointments

Both face-to-face and virtual evening and weekend appointments are available with GPs, practice nurses and other healthcare professionals for routine pre-booked services.

The Fylde Coast NHS is committed to improving access to primary care services. This includes making appointments available at times that are convenient to patients.

If you:

• find it difficult to attend an appointment during the working day;
• are a busy parent with small children;
• or rely on working carers to take you to appointments;

then this service is here to support you.

About the service

The Fylde Coast NHS has arranged for additional appointments to be provided outside of normal GP practice hours by the Fylde Coast Integrated Urgent Care Service.

The service offers pre-bookable and same-day routine primary care appointments with a range of clinicians including GPs, nurses and health care assistants.

Please be aware that this is not a walk-in service – you must have an appointment.

The service employs local clinicians from the Fylde Coast, where possible.

(Opening hours may be subject to change)

Appointments

An appointment must have been booked in advance of visiting the service.

• When your GP practice is open
  To book an appointment, contact your GP practice.
• When your GP practice is closed
  Appointments may also be booked when the service in Blackpool, Fleetwood, Freckleton, Garstang and Over Wyre is open, by calling 01253 952950.

Appointments are for pre-bookable and same-day routine and not for urgent care. If urgent care is required please call NHS111 for advice.

When you book an appointment the practice will ask you for consent to share your detailed GP record with the clinician providing the care.

Should you need to cancel your appointment please contact your GP practice. If your GP practice is closed, please call 01253 952950 to cancel.

Where to go

Blackpool:

Whitegate Health Centre
150 Whitegate Drive
Blackpool
FY3 9ES

Freckleton:

Freckleton Health Centre
Douglas Drive
Freckleton
PR4 1RY

Over Wyre:

Over Wyre Medical Centre
Wilkinson Way
Preesall
FY6 0FA

Fleetwood:

Fleetwood Health and Wellbeing Centre
Dock Street
Fleetwood
FY7 6HP

Garstang:

Garstang Medical Practice
Kepple Lane
Garstang
PR3 1PB