Booking an Appointment
Clinics are staggered during the day and appointments are offered between 08:00 and 18:30. If you are registered for online services then some appointments are available to book online.
To arrange an appointment please submit an e Consult, telephone the surgery on 01264 351144 or visit reception.
If you need medical assistance outside of our core hours (08:00 to 18:30 Monday to Friday) you should contact 111 or visit NHS 111 online.
All consultations are by appointment – we are not able to provide a walk in service.
Routine GP Appointments
Our reception team have been asked by the clinical team to determine the reason for your appointment. This is to help ensure you are booked with the right person within the right time frame or to re-direct you to a more appropriate service such as the Minor Injuries Unit, a pharmacist, a physio etc. if appropriate.
GP appointments are 15 minutes long. A 15 minute appointment will typically give time for one clinical issue to be discussed. If you wish to discuss multiple items, please request a longer appointment. This is to help provide you with a safer, less rushed consultation.
Routine GP appointments are available up to 4-6 weeks in advance, you will be booked with your allocated or ‘named’ GP wherever possible to provide good continuity of care.
We operate a ‘phone first’ system. Any request for a routine GP appointment will be booked as an initial telephone call into the next available appointment slot with your registered GP. This will either be ‘morning’ (8-12.30pm) or ‘afternoon’ (1-5pm). Please always let us know if there is a preferred time window in which to try and reach you.
If a face to face appointment is required or requested, this will be always be offered and a time and date can be agreed directly between you and your GP. This is usually available the same day as your phone call or at a time that is more convenient to you.
We do offer some directly bookable face to face appointments with our GP registrars. These doctors are fully qualified but are still undertaking additional training to become GPs. They do not hold a list of registered patients so are available to all patients. The GP registrars tend to be with us for 6 months at a time before moving on.
Nursing Appointments
We have a team of nurses with different skills and rooms with different equipment, as such it is important that we match your need to the most appropriate staff member and equipment.
Children under 16 years of age should be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Urgent/Same Day ‘Duty Team’ Appointments
All requests for same day emergency appointments are triaged by the ‘duty’ team. Your name will be placed onto the triage list and you will be called back to assess your condition.
For patients requesting an emergency appointment, we must know the reason for your request. This information helps the team to prioritise patients on clinical need and in some cases may be critical in saving your life.
If deemed necessary you will be required to come into the surgery the same day for further evaluation of your symptoms. Please note that sick notes and on-going longer term problems will not be discussed during a triage call.
Triage calls are bookable only on the day of the surgery. Lines open at 8am.
There is a limit to the number of calls that can be safely completed each day, this is variable and depends on staffing levels. If we cannot call you back before 6.30pm due to high demand, we will inform you of this, the 111 service is able to provide assistance outside of our opening hours when needed.
Urgent problems will always be seen the same day, but not necessarily by your own doctor. Please do not abuse this facility.
Home Visits
Home visits will only be offered to registered housebound patients or those who are receiving palliative care. If you require a home visit please contact the practice before 11am, visits take place after morning surgery, usually between 12 – 2pm.
Mid Hampshire Healthcare Extended Access Service
Through the MHH service, we are able to offer appointments every evening from 5pm to 8pm and on Saturdays for registered patients. Appointments are available with a GP, Practice Nurse, Healthcare Assistant, Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Mental Health adviser. The clinician will have access to your own GP records (with your permission) and will be able to organise blood tests, X-rays and referrals in the same way that the AMC team can. A copy of the consultation will go back into your medical record. GP appointments are 15 minutes in length.
To book, please call the practice or submit an eConsult during our usual opening hours. Please note: appointments are not available to temporary residents. For more details go to: Enhanced Access Hubs (midhampshirehealthcare.co.uk)
eConsult
This online facility will guide you to the most appropriate service and will route your symptom questionnaire and comments to your GP. The surgery will contact you by 18:30pm the next working day either via email, SMS or phone call.
Beat the reception phone queue and try an eConsult next time you need an appointment.
Phlebotomy
Appointments for blood tests are available at the practice on Wednesday mornings. These are bookable online or via reception. You must have been informed by a staff member that a blood test is required/due before attending. Alternatively there is a service run by Andover Hospital which offers appointments Monday to Saturday.
Phlebotomy (Blood Tests) :: Hampshire Hospitals
First Contact Physiotherapy
The First Contact Physiotherapy model (FCP) is an alternative to GP appointments for musculoskeletal (MSK) problems. It means that, instead of seeing a GP about a new muscle, joint or back problem, you will be given an appointment with a senior physiotherapist. So your first contact will be with the physiotherapist, not the doctor.
The aim of your appointment with the physiotherapist is to give you early advice on how to manage your MSK problem and they will also ensure that you are referred for further treatment in the outpatient department if this is required. They can also refer you to see a doctor in your practice or Secondary Care (hospital specialist) if needed. In most cases people just need the one appointment.
It is estimated that 85% of patients going to see their GP with MSK problems can be safely and effectively seen by a physiotherapist straight away, without having to be referred by their GP.
These conditions, which could be better dealt with by the MSK physiotherapy team, make up about a third of all GP consultations, this model therefore frees up GP time and ensures other patients can be assessed sooner.