How to Make and Cancel an Appointment

Difficulties accessing appointments

If you are a carer you have a physical or mental health need that makes visiting our surgery difficult then please let us know so we can support you.  If you find waiting in the waiting room daunting or you need help making an appointment then please let us know.  We have systems in place to help support you.  If someone you care for is unable to see their name on the screen in the waiting room when they are called then just let our receptionists know. We can also send our letters in large type to patients who are partially sighted. If you feel you need more time with the nurse or doctor because you find it difficult to communicate or your problems are complex then please do ask for a double appointment.  At our practice we are committed to all our patients receiving equality of care  

We also have some specific advice for those with learning disabilities and for people who are carers

Receptionists will never offer clinical advice or triage; this new way of working is about offering you the choice to see more appropriate professionals in the practice team or even somewhere else. If they can deal with the problem directly, it will often be quicker and means you may not need to see the GP at all.   More Information...

Problems booking online appointments?

Use the Patient Services Support Centre before you call us.

Book On The Day Appointments

Morning book on the day appointments can be booked between 8:30am and 9.30am.  You will often be given a triage appointment first.  The only appointments bookable on the day in the afternoon are for life threatening conditions or babies.

Demand for on the day appointments is high.  Triage helps us give you the best appointment for your problem and enables us to help more patients in the day.  If you are happy to receive a triage call our receptionists will give you an expected time slot.

Improved Access Service

The Snodland Medical Practice is offering improved access to patients.

Pre-bookable GP appointments are hosted here on a rota system for patients who cannot attend the practice during the normal surgery hours.

Patients can be booked an appointment by contacting the practice during core opening hours.

This facility is provides pre-booked appointments ONLY and is delivered separately from normal services provided by the practice.

From the end may subject to government guidelines the surgery will be increasing face to face appointments. Patients will only be able to access the building  5 minutes before their appointment time, we also request you wear a mask and social distance.  Enquiries will still be dealt with at the window outside the reception.

The staff on duty do not have access to prescriptions and are unable to answer queries or book appointments.

NO EMERGENCIES WILL BE SEEN DURING IMPROVED ACCESS HOURS.

PATIENTS REQUIRING URGENT MEDICAL ADVICE SHOULD CALL 111

Telephone Consultations

For routine matters that don't require a face to face appointment, such as discussing test results or advice on medications, our doctors have telephone surgeries.  These can be booked up to 6 weeks in advance and some are available online.  The doctors make the calls after morning surgery so this can be delayed sometimes.

Telephone Surgery

We have a booked telephone surgery for the convenience of the patients who need to consult their GP but feel that a face to face encounter or physical examination is not needed. Examples would include advice on simple illnesses, results of investigations ordered by the doctor, medication advice, renewal of repeat prescriptions etc. Our practice nurses can also give telephone advice, please telephone the surgery and ask for an telephone triage slot.

These appointments can be booked in the same way as one would book a routine clinic appointment. The clinics are slotted at the end of the morning surgery and the GP/Practice nurse will give you a telephone call to carry out the consultation.

Please note:

• Please do not forget to leave your contact telephone number, even if it is ex-directory when booking the appointment.
• Mobile telephone numbers will be accepted.
• There can be a slight delay if the morning surgeries are running late due to unavoidable circumstances. Please be patient.

Receptionists

Our Receptionists will help you make the best use of the services whether calling by telephone or visiting the Surgery. Please remember that they have a difficult job to do and are working under protocols laid down by the doctors and the practice manager.  When telephoning to make an appointment the receptionist may ask for a few details. They have been trained to make these enquiries so that they can help you in the most appropriate way.

How you can help us

You can help us provide an efficient service by:

• Keeping appointments or giving as much notice as possible should you need to cancel. (you can leave a message on the answerphone to cancel an appointment, option 3) Please leave your name and date of birth, and say who you were going to see and on which date and time.
• If you need a long appointment let us know
• Make requests for routine visits before 10:30
• Keep us informed of changes of address, telephone numbers etc.
• Ask for immediate appointments only if it is urgent otherwise patients who have booked appointments will be delayed.