Appointments
How to Book Appointments
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- We have generally disabled online appointment booking via Systmonline and the NHSApp. This is so patients can be appropriately care-navigated to the most appropriate clinician or service.
- We do however have certain online appointments available which currently are just for ladies who have had a smear invitation or seasonal clinics such as flu clinics where booking links will be text to eligible patients.
- Where you are able, if you need an appointment with a doctor, you will be asked to complete an online form detailing your appointment request. This online form is available using this link: Online Access or via your NHS App login. If you are unable to use either of these options, please ring the surgery and our reception staff will happily complete this for you.
- The Duty Doctor will clinically triage appointment requests and you will be offered the most appropriate appointment based on clinical need.
- The online request portal is closed from 12 noon - if you think your appointment request is urgent for that day, please ring and speak with a receptionist who will help you with the request. Alternatively, please use the online access link above the following working day.
- You can call the practice as normal from 8 am in the morning Monday to Friday to request an appointment with a nurse or healthcare assistant.
- Extended Access - You may be offered an appointment for a Saturday or Sunday mornings 9:00 - 14:00 There are routine appointments for GPs and Nurses available but you still need to make an appointment by completing the online request.
Hospital Expedite Letters
Millions of outpatient appointments and treatments have been delayed in NHS hospitals during the pandemic. When patients contact the hospital, they are sometimes told to ask their GP for an ‘expedite letter’. This is frustrating for you and for us, and we cannot guarantee that this will result in your appointment being brought forward.
Only the hospital can compare your needs with those of other patients on their waiting list and they will action your request accordingly. Due to hospital contract changes in 2017, hospitals are now obliged to respond to any queries you might have about your care, in very much the same way that we, as GPs, respond to patients with queries about the care provided by ourselves, Accordingly, hospital matters should not fall to your GP practice to resolve.
If your appointment has been delayed, please contact your hospital consultant’s secretary for any updates. If you are waiting for your first appointment with a consultant and have not heard for a long time, please contact the hospital’s outpatient booking office through the hospital switchboard in the first instance and then the hospital consultant secretary.
If you want to inform a hospital of a change in your symptoms, you may use the templates below when contacting the hospital. One is for patients waiting for a first appointment with a specialist, the second is for patients waiting for a follow-up appointment, treatment, or operation. You should post your letter to either Outpatient Appointments (for first appointments) or your consultant’s secretary (for follow-up care).
If you have been unable to contact outpatients or the secretary, please contact the hospital PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)-contact details can be found on the hospital website.
Home Visits
Patients are requested, where possible, to telephone before 11am if a home visit is required that day.
We would request that, apart from the genuinely housebound, all other patients attend the surgery rather than request a home visit because of the extra time home visiting takes. On average four to five patients can be seen in surgery in the time it takes to do a single house call. In addition, the care that can be offered due to the lack of adequate lighting, examination facilities and equipment means that you may not receive as good a service as the doctor may be able to offer if you came to the surgery.
Please note that the doctor may telephone you rather than visit you if this is medically appropriate and may ask one of our very professional and experienced clinicians to visit you if clinically appropriate - this includes our paramedic clinician.
Ultimately it is the doctors right to decide whether or not a visit is appropriate for a particular set of circumstances.
Extended Access
Saturday and Sunday Morning Face to Face Appointments for GPS and Nurses
There are now Saturday morning routine appointments from 09:00 – 14:00 available through our extended access service at:
- Wetherby Health Centre, Hallfield Lane, Wetherby, LS22 6JS - Saturdays only
This increased availability is an extension of the services offered by your practice and is provided by a range of local clinicians including GPs, nurses and health care assistants.
Please note, this is not a walk-in service – you still need to make an appointment via your own GP practice or by calling the extended access team on 0113 221 3540
Extended Access appointments are for routine general practice issues and not for urgent care. If your practice is closed and you are unwell please call NHS 111.
Click here for a Video link with more information.
Cancel an Appointment
It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. Each year thousands of appointments within the whole NHS are wasted due to patients not attending or cancelling their appointment. For us locally, please do not waste an appointment that another patient could use.
Let us know by ringing us as soon as you can to cancel an appointment.
If you have the NHS App or log in details for Systmonline access, remember you can cancel your appointment through there rather than having to ring us.
Late For Your Appointment
Please attend your appointment on time, if you are late you may not be seen. If you are not seen you will not be able to rearrange your appointment until the next working day-except in the event of an medical emergency that requires immediate attention.
Interpreter
If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the receptionist and he /she will arrange this for you.
Text Reminder Service
We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.
To have this service you will need to let our receptionist know to give consent or register by completing a consent form.
Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and /or email address.