When booking your appointment
We operate a Total Triage system for all appointment requests, which means every patient must complete a short form before an appointment can be offered. This form provides our team with the information needed to understand your symptoms or concerns and to direct you to the most appropriate doctor, nurse, or healthcare professional. It is quicker and easier to complete this form online through the Paco GP Digital Front Door, and we encourage all patients who can go online to use this option.
If you are unable to complete the appointment request form online, our reception and telephone team will ask you the same questions and complete the form with you. This ensures your request is handled fairly and consistently, and that we can safely assess your needs.
Please be assured that our reception and telephone staff are fully trained in this process and, like all members of our team, are bound by strict confidentiality. All information you provide is treated respectfully and securely. If you are speaking to a member of our team in person and would prefer privacy, you can ask to move to a more discreet area away from the reception desk.
On the Day Appointment Requests
We will use the information you provide in your Paco GP Digital Front Door appointment request form to decide which doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional is best placed to help you. Please note that the most appropriate healthcare professional or service may not be based within our practice, and you may be signposted or referred to another service, such as the walk-in centre or an NHS community clinic, if this is the most suitable option for your needs.
If your request is assessed as more of an urgent nature and needs to be seen on the same day, a member of our team will attempt to contact you by telephone to offer an appointment time. We will make two attempts to call you. If we are unable to reach you, we will send an SMS or email with a link to book a same-day appointment, which will be time-limited.
If no suitable appointments are available and your request is still considered urgent, your request may be passed to our on-call clinician, who may be able to help you.
Our on-call service operates between 1:00pm and 6:30pm, Monday to Friday.
The on-call clinician will contact you to carry out clinical triage, which may result in one of the following:
- Booking you into a future appointment if appropriate
- Completing your request remotely (telephone or video consultation)
- Inviting you to attend the practice the same day for a face-to-face assessment
Routine Appointment Request
We will use the information you provide in your Paco GP Digital Front Door appointment request form to decide which doctor, nurse, or healthcare professional is best placed to help you with your routine concern. This ensures you are directed to the most appropriate person or service, which may sometimes be outside the practice if another NHS service is more suitable.
Routine requests do not require same-day assessment. Once we have reviewed your form, you will be contacted within 3 working days with the outcome. This may include:
- A routine telephone appointment
- A routine face-to-face appointment
- A message or advice from a clinician
- A referral to another NHS service
- Guidance on self-care
- Support from our clinical or administrative teams
If you are offered a routine appointment, we will send you an SMS or email with a link to book your appointment. This link may be time-limited, so please book as soon as possible to secure your slot.
We will only telephone you if you do not have a mobile number, cannot receive SMS, or if email is not available.
Your appointment
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face
- via video call
- by text or email (e.g., a remote consultation)
Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner. Please note, our clinicians will only make two attempts to call you via phone and/or video call and if they cannot connect with you then we will treat this attempt as a Did Not Attend (DNA).
All on the day face-to-face appointments are 10 minutes in duration.
All routine face-to-face appointments are 15 minutes in duration.
All telephone and video appointments are 10 minutes in duration.
If you feel that you may need more time to discuss your issues then please ask for an extended time period/appointment when submitting your appointment request.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- phone us on 0151 902 0025, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
- reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message
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 need or would like a chaperone
- if you have any other access or communication needs
Home visits
We provide a home visit service Monday to Friday, between 8am and 630pm.
If you are housebound and need an appointment you will need to request a home visit via our Paco GP Digital Front Door; if you are unable to do this please contact us by phone on 0151 902 0025. To help us plan our day effectively, where possible, please ensure you either submit your online request or call us as soon after 8am as possible and before 11am.
You will be asked to provide as much information as possible to help our clinicians to triage your request. A clinician will then contact you by phone to understand your needs and the outcome will be one of the following:
- Complete your request remotely (either over the telephone and/or video)
- Indicate a time that day to come and see you in your home.
- Book you in for a future date for a home visit with themselves or a different health professional.
- Refer you to an external service (e.g., District Nurses)
If you need help when we are closed
Routine Appointments
There are appointments available between 6:30pm and 8pm, Monday to Friday and between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays. These appointments are referred to as enhanced access appointments and are available across various locations in Knowsley. If we have no appointments available but your clinician would like you to be seen face-to-face, you may be offered an Enhanced Access appointment elsewhere in the Borough to ensure you can be seen.
Urgent
If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111. NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.
Emergency
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.