Urgent appointments
To request an urgent appointment for today or tomorrow (Monday to Friday):
- Please ring us on (01889 572057) (Option 1) to book an appointment.
- visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm
When you get in touch, we’ll ask for a brief description of the reason for your appointment.
We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
Routine appointments
To request a routine appointment in the next 7 days:
- phone us on 01889 572057, Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 6.30 pm
- visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
When you get in touch, we’ll ask for a brief description of the reason for your appointment.
We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
You can help us by:
- Being on time for your appointment
- Letting us know if you need to cancel
- Calling for a home visit or urgent appointment before 10.00 am
Your appointment
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- face to face at the surgery
- by telephone
- 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.
- Routine GP appointments can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance.
- A GP appointment is 10 minutes long; this time period is set nationally. The GP will need to listen to your problem; discuss treatment options with you; type their consultation notes; organise a prescription or referral, if required, all in the 10 minute period. If you have more than one, unconnected, problem, please do not be offended if the GP asks you to book a separate appointment. This is to ensure that their surgeries do not run late, and they do not keep patients waiting longer than necessary.
- GP appointments are always available to book via our online service, ‘Patient Access’. Please speak to any member of our Team, or email us on sandylanesurgery@staffs.nhs.uk if you would like us to organise registration with Patient Access. Once registered you will be able to book appointments online and order your repeat medication.
Urgent medical problems may require a same day appointment. If no further appointments are available or you need telephone advice, our reception team will ask the on call doctor to call you. You may be given telephone advice, offered an emergency appointment or advised to go to A&E. Please call us rather than coming to the practice if you have an urgent medical problem, as we do not offer a walk-in service.
If you have a life-threatening emergency, please call for an emergency ambulance by dialling 999.
Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Urgent Care Practitioner appointments
Our Advanced Nurse Practitioners appointments can also treat a wide range of common conditions and are qualified to prescribe medication and refer to other services.
Practice Pharmacist Appointments
Our Practice Pharmacists can deal with all issues regarding your medication. They are also able to monitor your blood pressure.
Nurse appointments should be booked for:
- Chronic health condition reviews: including Asthma and COPD, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, mental health and learning disabilities.
- Women’s health: Smear tests, vaginal swabs, contraceptive pill/HRTchecks
- All Children’s vaccines, Adult vaccinations and injections
- Dressings, compression bandages, stitch removal
Health Care Assistant appointments should be booked for:
- Blood tests (adults only)
- Some chronic health condition reviews (please ask when you book)
- Flu and pneumonia vaccines
- Blood pressure checks
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- using the GP online system – Patient Access.
- phone us on 01889 572057, Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 6.30 pm
- reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message
If you need help when we are closed
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.
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
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
Our doctors typically see four patients in the practice in the time it takes to do a single home visit.
For this reason, we ask our patients to come to the practice if at all possible. However, we can visit you at home if your condition means you cannot attend the practice.
When requesting the doctor to visit, be prepared to supply the Receptionist with the name, address, telephone number and brief details of the problem, as this helps the doctor assess the priority of the call.
Visit requests are passed to a GP who will initially telephone the patient to ascertain the best method of patient assessment.