Appointments at Bridge Street

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We know all GP surgeries are slightly different, and that the NHS also differs from systems overseas, so we have created this page to help you access the right appointment for your needs.

Every patient registered at Bridge Street is allocated their own GP. Your 'usual' GP receives all of your correspondence from the hospital or other agencies and deals with all of your test results. They will therefore 'know' you, to a certain extent, even if you do not know them. Where possible, we ask you to see your own GP, so that we can offer you the best continuity of care - although we appreciate this may not always be possible. Reception can always tell you the name of your own GP, or you can see this information yourself if you have accessed SystmOne online.

Routine appointments

If you wish to discuss test results; ongoing or chronic problems (any medical issue that started weeks or months previously); or minor or non-urgent problems please request a routine appointment with your own GP, or one of our salaried or registrar GP colleagues if you are not able to wait for your own GP, or don't feel the need to speak to them specifically.

We ask that you initially consult with your GP by phone
Reception will offer you a time slot for the phone consultation and you should expect to be called within an hour of this time.
A standard appointment is ten minutes and we ask that you bring one problem to each appointment, to allow us to do your concerns justice.
Your GP will always arrange to bring you into the practice if you need any examinations or investigations.

Minor illness

Our nurses are trained to assist adults with minor illnesses, including organising antibiotics or other medication where this is needed. Please ask for a face-to-face or phone nurse appointment if you are suffering from symptoms of a sore throat, ear infection or urinary tract infection (UTI). Please note this service is only for adults; if your child is unwell you will need to speak to the duty doctor.

Please note that we do not accept urine samples for testing unless your doctor or nurse has asked you to bring a sample in.

Urgent problems

If you have an urgent medical issue that you are worried may deteriorate on that same day if not looked into further, then please ask for a duty doctor appointment. The doctors take turns to run the duty doctor surgery, which is for urgent medical problems only. Please only use these appointments for this purpose.

The duty doctor is not best placed to help you with a long-running or ongoing issue as their time is particularly limited and they will not be familiar with your background or notes.
The duty doctor may request further information via text message to ensure you are being matched with the best professional to help you.
The duty doctor surgeries can get extremely busy and we try hard to keep them free enough to allow the doctors to deal with serious illness and potential emergencies.
Please note duty doctor appointments are usually initially by phone and we do not offer a specific time slot for these appointments.
Please ensure you have given an accurate UK phone number, and that you leave your phone on and within reach during the day. The doctor will try you several times.

Accidents and emergencies

If you have just had an accident and are concerned you may have sustained a significant injury, for example a fracture or head injury, please attend A&E.

If you are experiencing chest pain, severe shortness of breath, new limb or facial weakness or altered consciousness; or the symptoms of an emergency problem such as a severe asthma attack or sepsis, please go directly to A&E, or call 999 if the situation is life-threatening.

When we are closed

The out-of-hours service which helps with out-of-hours medical issues in England is reached via 111. Please do not contact them when Bridge Street is open, as they will simply redirect you to the practice.

We do have the facility to offer some extended access appointments through our membership of our Primary Care Network. These appointments are primarily for routine care and are available outside our usual hours of 8.00 - 6.00 pm. There are also some Saturday appointments. These appointments are staffed by clinicians from the Primary Care Network. Please ask reception to check availability for you.

Mental health crisis

111 option 2 is the contact for the crisis mental health team for help in a mental health crisis, for example if you are feeling very mentally unwell, or suicidal. They will speak to you initially on the phone and together will help you make a plan for what to do next.

Joint and muscle problems

We are fortunate to have an NHS physio holding clinics at Bridge Street, Guy Weatherhead. Please ask reception for a phone appointment with the physio in the first instance, so he can ensure you receive the appropriate care.

Medication reviews and long-term condition reviews

For long-term conditions such as COPD, hypertension and heart failure we ask you to see the nurse or healthcare assistant every year for a check-up and where indicated, blood tests. Please book the appropriate long-term condition review with the nursing team for this purpose.

All patients on regular medication should receive an annual medication review. If your tests are normal and your medications are very straightforward your GP may be able to do this without speaking with you, otherwise we ask that you book a routine medication review with your own GP or our pharmacist.

Medication queries

Please book a phone appointment with our pharmacist, Mr Sumit Acharya, if you have any questions or concerns about your medication. Mr Acharya also carries out medication reviews for the practice.

Online reviews

We are endeavouring to make access and medication reviews easier and safer for all patients by offering you the facility to carry out your annual review for some common conditions online - please see links below.

Asthma Review Form

HRT Review Form

Contraceptive Pill Form