Online Appointment System
SystmOnline
Urgent Appointments
The on-call Doctor is available to help with any emergencies. He/She will see patients whose problem is a medical emergency which cannot wait until the following day.
Please be aware that the on-call Doctor is extremely busy, as his/her duties also comprise telephone advice calls, urgent prescription requests and emergency home visits.
Non-Urgent Appointments
Telephone Appointments System
If possible please avoid telephoning before 11:00 unless you want an appointment or a home visit that day.
We have several lines and the call handlers cannot always answer immediately. When the line is ringing please hold on as the calls are answered in rotation.
When you call the Surgery the receptionist will ask you for a brief summary of your need for an appointment and will arrange one of the following:
- A telephone appointment with a Clinician.
- A face to face appointment with a Clinician.
- A call back to you from a Doctor.
Online Appointments System with text reminder
This is an easy and simple way to arrange an appointment. We now have a range of different appointment types with the Nurses and Health Care Assistants available to book into.
The Surgery encourages all patients to sign up for our online system.
To sign up at the Surgery you must produce photographic identification such as your passport; driving license or a bus pass to reception. You will then be issued a personalised online log in and a password which should only be used by you to access the system.
If you find it difficult to come to the Surgery you may be able to sign up to the system over the telephone. Please call the Surgery and ask to sign up over the telephone and you will be put through to one of our administrators who will, in most cases, be able to complete the procedure for you after asking a few security questions.
This is a very straight forward process and will allow you to make (or cancel) an appointment 24 hours a day.
If you have made an Online appointment you will receive a text reminder on your mobile phone. (Please remember, when signing up to this system, to check that the Surgery has your up to date mobile number).
Non-urgent advice: Please Note
Patients have the right to choose which GP they wish to see – but this may incur a longer wait for an appointment.
The length of each appointment is 10 minutes for a telephone appointment and 15 minutes for a face to face appointments. Please book more than one appointment if your troubles are more complex. Please cancel if you are unable to attend as appointments are always needed by other patients. Dial our main number and select the cancellation option. You will not have to wait in the appointment queue.
Surgeries are allocated to each doctor in line with their partnership share.
In addition some doctors undertake a special clinic e.g. minor operations, diabetes and baby clinic.
Please see the Practice Staff / Doctors Page for full information concerning our Doctors times at the Surgery and their special interests etc.
Cancellations
We operate a very strict policy on missed appointments and you may be asked to leave Northgate Surgery if you miss Three appointments without letting us know.
To cancel an appointment, please telephone the main number and select the option to cancel an appointment – you will not have to wait in the queue.