Appointment Timescales – On the Day, Routine and Home Visits
On the Day: On the day appointments are for those who are most unwell and vulnerable and who may need hospital treatment if not managed today. For minor injuries such as sprains, strains or suspected fractures, please contact a Minor Injuries Unit at St Georges or Wharfedale where they have the appropriate equipment (like X-rays) to treat you.
Routine: We aim to make the majority of routine appointments available to book within a week. There are a fixed number each day. There are some routine appointments available at the weekend via the Extended Access Hub.
Home Visits:
If you think that you need a doctor to come and visit you, please call as early in the day as possible and before 11.00 am. The doctor may call you back to discuss the problem.
We offer home visits to patients who are receiving care at the end of life or who are unable to leave their home. The definition of “housebound” we use is:
“A patient who is deemed to be housebound when they are unable to leave their home environment through a physical or psychological illness.”
A patient is not considered housebound if he or she is able to leave their house with minimal assistance or support to visit public or social recreational public services (including shopping) or attend other healthcare settings.
Minimal assistance would be described as a person who can leave their own home and travel to a clinic appointment in a vehicle such as a personal car, taxi or public transport adapted or not adapted for their use and with or without the use of a wheelchair either by themselves or with an escort.”
How to Book Appointments
Online Consultation:
- Complete the form.
- The form is reviewed by the most appropriate person.
- We will contact you with the next steps which could be to book an appointment if necessary.
If we receive your request by 12 pm you can expect a same-day response. If received after 12 pm, we get back to you by the end of the next working day.
Calling the Practice – 0113 221 4700
- The receptionists have a limited number of appointments they can directly book. These are suitable for people who are able to wait for an available appointment over the coming days to weeks.
- If you need an appointment sooner the reception team will take your details and a doctor will ring you back to assess your needs. We would recommend you complete an online consultation form as the response is often much quicker and you do not have to wait in the queue on the phone or wait by the phone for a callback.
- We will aim to ring you back the same day.
- If you need a face to face appointment the Doctor will book you with the most suitable clinician at an agreed opportunity.
- That could be the same day or over the coming days and weeks, dependent on what is clinically appropriate.
- Sometimes the Doctor may be able to book you directly with a more suitable colleague like a nurse for blood tests, or another therapist or pharmacist.
The telephones are busiest between 8:00 -9:30 am. If you are calling for something that is not specific to treatment on the day, such as Fit Note requests, test results or anther administrative enquiry, please call after 9:30am to help us respond quickly to those with urgent care needs.
Right to See a Practitioner of Your Choice
You have the right to see the Practitioner of your choice and you can request to book with them. If you require a same-day appointment and your chosen practitioner is already fully booked you will be offered an appointment with another practitioner.
Practice Nurses
In a number of cases, it might be worth considering an appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor. Practice nurses are qualified to deal with many conditions and you may be seen more quickly.
Cancellations, missed appointments and late arrivals
If you cannot attend your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so the slot can be given to someone else. This applies even if your appointment is a phone appointment. You can cancel by texting CANCEL in reply to your appointment reminder text or by calling the surgery.
Missed appointments are a wasted resource and reduce the time available to patients. If you miss more than three appointments in a 12-month period, without letting us know, this could lead to your removal from our practice list.
If you arrive late but still within your appointment slot, we will do our best to see you. However, we may ask you to rebook to make sure that other patients are not delayed.
If the doctor or nurse telephones you for an appointment and you do not answer, they will try once more, leaving at least a 20 minute gap. If they are unable to reach you a second time then you will need to book another appointment.
Login to Book Your Appointment
Appointments for routine blood tests are available to book online.