Appointments

• Phone us 01233 730190  (Mon - Fri 08.00 - 18.30)
• Use our eConsult service  (Mon - Fri 08.30 - 12.00)
• Register for our Patient Online Service. This will allow you to book or cancel appointments, as well as order repeat prescriptions, at a time convenient to you.

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.  

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Phone us on 01233 730190 (Mon-Fri 08.00-18.30)

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow the appointment to be offered to another patient. 

If you persistently fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend your appointments, you may removed from the Practice list.

Request an urgent appointment for today

If you require an urgent on the day appointment, the receptionist will ask you for a brief description of your problem and book an appointment with the most appropriate clinican, or signpost you to a suitable service.

In an emergency, patients are advised to attend A&E or call 999.

Request a routine appointment in the next 14 days

Routine appointments for non-urgent matters can be booked with a GP two weeks in advance.

Please remember that appointments are for one person and one problem only. If you feel your consultation may be lengthy, ask the receptionist for a double appointment when you book.

If you would like to speak with a doctor or nurse to discuss a medical condition or ask advice, we do offer a telephone consultation service.  

Patients who are registered at Hamstreet Surgery can now book an appointment on selected weekday evenings. 

Home visits are available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability, and should be requested between 8.00am and 10.00am to allow time for the doctors to travel after the morning clinic. Emergency visits will be dealt with at any time.

The doctor may telephone you for more information and may request that you attend the surgery if that is deemed more appropriate.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the surgery. Lack of transport is not a reason to request a home visit.

A GP can refer you to the community nursing team for a home visit if you are housebound and require nursing assessment or care.

Please tell us:

• If there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to see or speak to
• 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
• If you would like a trained chaparone present during your consultation or medical examination

If you have a minor illness that cannot be treated at home using over-the-counter treatments, you can book an appointment with one of our Minor Illness Nurses. These appointments are suitable for anyone over one years of age with any of the following symptoms:

• Ear pain / discharge (possible ear infections)
• Sore throat (possible tonsillitis)
• Cough
• Urine infection/cystitis
• Cold and flu like illness
• Rashes (inlcuding chicken pox)
• Cellulitis
• Cold sores
• Vaginal discharge
• Insect bites
• Muscle sprains (but not suspected fractures)

Conditions covered by the service are as follows:

• Sudden or recent reduction in vision
• Red eye or eye lid
• Pain and/or discomfort in the eyes, around the eye area or temples
• Recent onset or sudden increase of flashes and/or floaters (appears like a fly, black specks or a cobweb moving across your vision)
• Mild trauma, such as a scratch, to the outer surface of the eye or lid
• Suspected foreign body in the eye
• Dry eye
• Significant recent discharge from or watering of the eye
• Trichiasis (in-growing eyelashes)

If you are unsure whether your symptoms qualify, please contact one of the approved opticians who can offer help and advice.

Did you know that lots of pharmacies are open until late and at weekends? You don’t need an appointment – you can just walk in.

Pharmacy teams can give advice on a range of common conditions and minor injuries, such as sore throat, flu, morning after pill, earache, cystitis, skin rashes, or a cough and cold symptoms. Please contact a pharmacist for advice.

Get the right treatment when you need it

NHS services are very busy. It's important to come forward with any health concerns but you can help ease the pressure by choosing the right service. 

Knowing the right place to go can help you get the treatment you need faster. Please choose wisely and help us help you.

In the last few weeks there have been several directives released by the NHS, some are guidance, and some are mandated.  Here we explain what the recently mandated changes to the GP contract means for patients accessing their General Practice. These recent changes were not agreed by the profession and have not been accompanied by additional funding to support increased capacity.

When a patient contacts a practice, what should they now expect?

A patient can expect a response based on an assessment of their need and the finite capacity within General Practice.  The contract now states that following a patient contact (in-person, phone or on-line) the General Practice must take steps to provide an ‘appropriate response’ the same day or the next day if contact is after 6.30pm.

 An ‘appropriate response’ includes one of the below options:-

• Invite the patient for an appointment (in-person / phone) at a time which is appropriate and reasonable having regard to all circumstances.
• Provide appropriate advice to the patient – this could include emailing / texting advice or signpost to on-line resources.
• Invite the patient to make use of appropriate services - this could include where suitable directing patients to community pharmacies, urgent treatment centres or A&E departments.
• Communicating with the patient:-
• asking for further information to make an adequate assessment
• if suitable the practice can let the patient know they will receive further information about their options at a future date

Following patient contact can my General Practice ask me to seek help from another service?

The latest changes make it clearer that an appropriate response to a patient query can include signposting patients to other sources of help that may include attending a pharmacy for advice, refer to self-care advice on a website or even suggest attendance at an urgent treatment centre, A&E or referral to the Community Pharmacy Consultation Service

Does my GP or other member of the GP team have to see me within 2 weeks?

There is no mandated requirement for General Practices to offer appointments within 14 days. There is an aspiration payment that practices working in groups called Primary Care Networks (PCNs) can work towards an offer of appointments in 2 weeks. The new contract can allow for much longer waiting times for routine appointments as long as the patient is made aware of the likely waiting time.