We are aware that our telephone lines have been busier than usual recently and we are looking at ways to reduce this.

Our preferred method of patients contacting the practice is now via the online eConsult service.

eConsult is a form-based online consultation & triage platform that collects your medical or administrative requests and sends this through to the Health Centre to triage and decide on the right care for you.

By submitting an eConsult, we can ensure that every patient gets the right care by the right health care professional, saving appointments for those that need them.

The eConsult service is available Monday to Friday from 05:00 – 17:00 and will be responded to by the end of the next working day. Our aim is to complete these same-day, however dependent upon demand, this is not always possible. eConsult also allows you to request administrative support, such as fit notes and many more.

We understand that this request route has clear advantages and disadvantages for different patients. For many patients, phoning is preferred especially for those patients who are elderly or vulnerable, but we understand how difficult phoning the practice can be for the hearing impaired or for those whose first language is not English.

We understand that using an online form to request care is not for everyone and that some of our patients do not have access to the internet or lack confidence in using this route. Our reception team are happy to help you with this by providing guidance, understanding and reassurance in completing an eConsult.

In addition to eConsult, we are trialling opening a small number of telephone appointments which can be booked online using Patient Access. These appointments will be released in small quantities whilst we review their effectiveness, therefore please do not expect these to be available at all times.

Using these alternative methods of communication and booking appointments will reduce the waiting time on the telephone for those who cannot use online services and specifically need to telephone us.

Thank you for your continued patience.