Appointments Information

How to Make an Appointment

Appointments may be booked in several ways:

Online

EConsult – patients can complete the form to contact their us.  Find the most suitable pathway for your problem, giving us as much detail as possible to allow the clinical team to assess accurately. On receipt of the form, we will triage the form and if required contact you by phone or video or bring you in for a face to face consultation. We may also book your with our practice pharmacist, physiotherapist or other team member relevant to your condition. The eConsult service can be access via your NHS app or by clicking the button below.

eConsult

By Phone

Patients can book an appointment by calling reception on 020 8578 1244.

In Person

Patients can visit the surgery and book an appointment with the receptionist. Patients are asked to call the practice to book an appointment if they are able to do so – we want to keep our staff and patients safe and at the least risk of exposure to Covid 19 and calling via phone reduces this risk.

Appointment Types

We offer different appointments at this surgery and reception can advise on the most suitable one for your needs:

Routine appointments and Clinics

Pre-bookable for up to 4 weeks ahead. Please review our Surgery Clinics to see if the practice offers your appointment type, and duration of appointment needed

Same day emergency appointments

For urgent matters only  – please ring the surgery as early in the day as possible.

Nursing, HCA and Phlebotomy appointments

Please ring the surgery to book these on 02085781244

Weekend and evening appointments

To assist our patients we have a Saturday morning clinic specifically for our patients located at Elmbank Surgery. We can book you into to see a nurse or GP – please mention to the receptionist that a weekend appointment is your preference. Currently the GP appointments are all telephone appointments.

Evening appointments  Monday to Friday 6.30pm – 8.00pm. These are available for all Ealing patients at 3 surgeries located across the borough. Please let the reception staff know if an evening appointment is your preference and we can book this for you. Currently these are all telephone appointments.

Emergencies

What is an Emergency?

Whatever the time of day, if you or someone else experiences the symptoms below and you feel it is serious and could be life threatening, so cannot wait, go to the nearest Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department or call 999.

Symptoms include:

  • Chest pain
  • Severe abdominal pain
  • Vomiting blood
  • Black stools
  • Breathlessness
  • Non-blanching rashes (the glass test)
  • Possible anaphylactic shock (swelling of mouth and throat)

Emergencies will be dealt with as a priority.

A&E

The nearest A&E department is at Ealing Hospital, however you can also use the NHS Choices search tool, to find the nearest A&E to you.

Paediatrics A&E

Please be aware that the Ealing Hospital A&E cannot treat children. The below hospitals have Paediatrics A&E:

NHS 111 Urgent Care Services

Call 111 if you need medical help fast, but it’s not life-threatening. For example, if you;

  • Think you need to go to hospital
  • Don’t know who to call for medical help
  • Don’t have a GP to call
  • Need medical advice or reassurance about what to do next

Cancelling Your Appointment

We do understand that sometimes you may forget your appointment, or that other important life incidents happen and that you sometimes no longer need the appointment. We do ask that if you cannot attend your appointment, please cancel it or notify the practice why you did not attend at your earliest convenience.

We have a large number of people who do not attend their appointments every single week leading to wasted doctor and nurse time, leading to delays in you being able to get an appointment.

You can telephone us on 020 8578 1244, cancel via Systm Online or your NHS account, or come in and speak to Reception.

Please let us know well in advance if you cannot make your appointment so that it may be allocated to another patient.

Home Visits

It is clinically better for you to be seen at the surgery where we have better facilities, diagnostic aids and lighting to assess you. We work closely with Ealing Community Transport to bring patients to the surgery where possible.

Home visits are ONLY for housebound patients and for those too ill to attend the surgery. Home visits are not for those who do not have transport. We do not do routine home visits – we will visit only if there is a medical issue that does not allow the patient to get to the surgery.

If you need a home visit please contact the surgery as early as possible in the morning, before 10:00, and give one of our receptionists details. A member of our team will call you back for more information and confirm whether a home visit is appropriate depending on the urgency of your needs.

Making the Best of Your Appointment

  • Prepare your thoughts and problems in advance by writing down your problem e.g: When your symptoms started, how they have changed.
  • Do a urine sample if you have pain passing urine or lower abdominal pain.
  • Do not try to add another person in on your consultation. Let reception know you need another appointment for this individual or prioritise who needs the appointment more.
  • Be honest with the us. It is important to tell us the main reason you are there at the start of the consultation. If you are embarrassed, don’t be, we are there to help and won’t be shocked.
  • If you have more than one problem please let reception know and they will try and get you a longer appointment if possible. Otherwise, let your doctor know at the beginning of your consultation. They may be able to deal with more than one problem if they are related. However, your doctor may make you another appointment for your other problems, especially if they are new or complex problems.
  • If you have any special needs please inform reception in advance so we can prepare the appointment for you first time (e.g. need an interpreter, visual impairment, hearing impairment, prefer male/female doctor etc..)
  • If you know you have difficulty understanding or explaining things, bring someone you trust with you or if you require an advocate, see the NHS choices advocacy services for further guidance.
  • Dress accordingly for possible examination. Loose clothing is best and remove any layers in advance.
  • Please let reception know if you would like a chaperone.

A consultation is about sharing in decisions about your care and goals. To make a good consultation you should let your doctor know about your goals, hopes, fears and expectations. This is why doctors ask you for YOUR thoughts. At the end of a consultation you should know:

  • What is your main problem?
  • What do you need to do about it?
  • What to do if it does not get any better?

Missed Appointments

Missed appointments cost the NHS millions of pounds a year. They are also a big reason why getting an appointment is so difficult at many GP surgeries. Here at Eastmead Surgery we have a policy of writing to patients who have missed 2 appointments in a year and if there are further missed appointments, known as a DNA (Did Not Attend), within the year we will consider removing you from our list.

Useful Links
NHS Choices – Get the most from a doctor’s appointments