Making an appointment
All request for an appointment are triaged by the clinical team. You can submit an appointment request for triage in the following ways:
- by contacting us online and completing an online patient triage form. This is the best way to request an appointment and saves patients time waiting on the telephone
- for those patients unable to complete the online form, there is the option to call the surgery on 01752 842281 during opening hours. Please be aware that due to the volume of calls we receive each day, there may be a wait on the telephone
Requests for appointments are triaged into those that are urgent and those that are routine.
Please be aware that we book appointments up to 4 weeks in advance, so if you need to see your doctor for a non-urgent issue, there may be a wait.
Please use the patient check-in screen in the waiting room to check in for your appointment when you arrive.
Nurse appointments
There is a wide range of medical problems that the nurse team are able to see patients about. Some of the following are examples of the conditions that are within our practice nurses training and competence to deal with:
- Vaccinations and Immunisations including overseas travel advice
- Removal of stitches
- Cervical smears
- Repeat prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy
- Dressings
Some nurses are trained to run the minor illness clinics, seeing patients who may be experiencing:
- Chest infections
- Sore throats
- Rashes
- Asthma and COPD reviews
- Diabetes
All of the nurses are able to give advice about all aspects of family planning and are happy to see you for routine review of the oral contraceptive pill.
There are some conditions that you may have felt more appropriate to see a GP about in the past. Some of the nurses have extended their expertise to deal with these problems and you may like to consider seeing the nurse about minor and/or acute illness.
Some examples are listed below:
- “Thrush”
- Scabies
- Conjunctivitis (sticky eyes)
- Impetigo
- Sore throat
- Cystitis
- Earache
- Rashes
Healthcare assistants
Our healthcare assistants undertake:
- Phlebotomy
- New patient and patient health checks
- Health promotion
- Dressings
- Blood pressure checks
- Assisting at minor operations
- Chaperoning
Improved access
We are now able to offer GP appointments during the evenings. This will make it easier for you to access a doctor appointment between 6:30pm and 8pm, on various weekdays.
LIVI provide our improved access offer and you can download the LIVI app via www.livi.co.uk.
The aim of this national scheme is to help people who may find it difficult to see a healthcare professional during the traditional surgery opening hours.
We are also working closely with the pharmacies in Saltash to offer appointments for minor ailments. Our patient care co-ordinators will be able to offer and book you an appointment at a pharmacy if this is clinically appropriate.
How to book an improved access appointment
The doctors have face to face and telephone appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The nurses and health care assistants run an extended access clinic on alternate Wednesdays.
Everyone in England will benefit from access to general practice appointments in the evenings and weekends at a time that is most convenient to them. This is part of a national drive to help improve access to general practice and get the best possible outcomes for patients. Further information is available at www.england.nhs.uk.
Your appointment
Please use the patient check-in screen in reception to check in for 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
Please let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to make your appointment.
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- use the GP online system: SystmOnline
- phone us on 01752 842281 during opening times
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
If you are poorly and think you need a home visit please phone 01752 842281 and choose option 3 between 8:30am and 10am.
Home visits are only for the housebound and seriously ill. We cannot undertake home visits for reasons of convenience, lack of transport or simply because a patient is in a residential care home. You may think a home visit by a GP is best for patient care. However, while home visits are convenient for the patient, they actually offer a poorer standard of care compared to surgery consultations. Seeing a patient at the surgery has the advantage of better examination arrangements and treatment facilities. In addition we are able to see a greater number of patients at the surgery in the time it takes to do a visit so it is a much more efficient use of time. If you cannot manage the trip under your own steam there is usually someone around with a car who can help you, a taxi is an alternative.
Please give as much information as you can to the Visit Desk. The information will be triaged by a doctor who will decide if a visit is necessary.
REMEMBER you do not have an automatic right to a home visit.
Under their terms of working, GPs are required to consider home visits for medical reasons only.
| Appropriate | Not appropriate |
| Bedbound | No transport of money |
| Terminally ill | Children, young people and anyone who is mobile |
| Would result in serious harm if moved | Social reasons or for convenience |