Appointments

Urgent Appointments

Newhall Surgery clinicians will always endeavour to see you as soon as possible should you have an urgent medical need. We have appointments available every day for urgent matters.

To request an urgent appointment for today or tomorrow (Monday to Friday) during opening times:

On contacting the surgery we will ask a few questions about your urgent medical need so that we can signpost you or book you with the most appropriate clinician or service within an appropriate timeframe.

We have an on-call Doctor assigned each day to support urgent medical problems. With this is mind, you may not see the Doctor of your choice.

We do need your co-operation to ensure that medical emergencies are prioritised. Recently we have had increasing numbers of patients trying to access emergency appointments for routine issues. This prevents us from seeing genuine emergency cases. It is Newhall Surgery policy for the clinician to inform you of other services, treatment or appointment options that may be more appropriate if your problem is not deemed to be an emergency.

Routine Appointments

To request a routine appointment in advance during opening times:

  • phone us on 01283 217 092 after 10am or between 2pm and 6pm
  • use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) or SystmOnline to book an appointment, screening test or vaccination
  • visit the surgery

On contacting the surgery we will ask a few questions about your medical need so that we can signpost you or book you with the most appropriate clinician or service within an appropriate timeframe.

Online Services allow you to book or cancel appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access your medical record. To use this service you must have a secure registration log in and password.

Please try to book your appointments well in advance. Appointments can be booked weeks or months in advance for most clinicians. If the clinician has said “see me again in six weeks”, do not leave it six weeks before you try to book the appointment. Book it on your way out of the surgery or if they have provided you with a link to book online, please use this to book your appointment at a time convenient for you.

Routine appointments are 10 minutes long and the clinicians will endeavour to see you as near to your appointment time as possible. Some delay is inevitable given the variety of patient problems that may be seen during a surgery.

The doctors can only see one person for one problem in one 10 minute appointment. If you have multiple or complex problems, please request a double appointment.

We may offer you an appointment with other relevant services or clinicians dependent on your need. We have access to First Contact Physiotherapists, Mental Health Practitioners, Social Prescribers and more. We may also refer you to your local community pharmacy via Pharmacy First for minor ailments or minor conditions.

Nurse appointments

Nurse appointments are pre-bookable, if the appointment is for a Long Term Condition review (i.e. Diabetes, Asthma, COPD) or NHS Health Check, please tell the care navigation team and you will be given a longer appointment time.

The nursing team cover a wide variety of areas, the key areas are listed below:

  • Blood tests
  • Blood pressure checks
  • Contraception i.e. pill checks
  • Ear Syringing
  • ECGs
  • Immunisations and vaccinations
  • Long Term Condition review i.e. Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, Hypertension etc
  • NHS Health Checks
  • Smears
  • Spirometry
  • Travel advice and immunisations
  • Wound care i.e. dressings and removal of stitches/sutures

Self service sign-in

When you arrive at Newhall Surgery, why not save time and make life easier by using our self service sign-in facility.

The system uses touch screen technology making it very easy to answer the simple questions required. The screen is in large print so that it can be easily read and used.

Dental appointments

If you have an urgent dental problem, such as toothache or a dental abscess, we suggest you see a dentist not your GP.

If you have a regular dentist please contact them and arrange an urgent appointment. If they are closed there should be an answer phone message with the telephone number of the local dentist covering emergencies. If you have any trouble getting through, call 111 for advice.

Enhanced Access Appointments

Pre-booked appointments are available at evenings and weekends at Swadlincote Health Centre.

Please contact the surgery on 01283 217 092 to book an appointment with this service.

Your Appointment

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

  • by phone
  • face to face at the surgery
  • on a video call
  • by text or email

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

We offer a limited number of phone call-back appointments each day for routine issues that do not require a face to face appointment. For example for discussing test results, discussing referrals, or medical certificates.

A phone consultation will give the doctor time for more serious problems. If you have a mobile, the doctor can call you wherever you are, you don’t have to wait in. Please advise if you are not available at a certain time and we will do our upmost to call you when is convenient for both parties.

Missed Appointments / Cancelling Appointments

Every day many appointments are missed by people failing to attend. This is disappointing as those appointments could have been given to someone else, therefore easing the issues that Primary Care faces with appointment availability.

If you are unable to attend your appointment:

We operate an automated SMS text messaging reminder service for all appointments.

If you miss multiple appointments you will contacted by the practice to discuss the way forward.

The practice lose around 250 to 300 appointments a month with patients failing to attend for their appointment. Please help us to help you by cancelling your appointment.

If you need help when we are closed

Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.

NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.

Visit our local out of hours provider (DHU) located at Swadlincote Health Centre. 

If you need help with your appointment

Please tell us:

  • if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
  • 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

Home visits

If possible please try to call reception on 01283 217 092 (option 1) before 11.00am if you require a home visit.

Home visits are available on request for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability. If you need a home visit, please be prepared to give some details about the reason for the home visit when making the request.

A Doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by giving advice over the phone, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

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.

Visit recommended

  • Terminally ill
  • A truly bedbound patient in whom travel to the surgery by car would cause a deterioration in their medical condition

Visit not recommended

In most of the following cases a home visit would not be an appropriate use of a doctor’s time.

  • Common symptoms of childhood illness; fevers, cold, cough, earache, headache, diarrhoea/vomiting and most case of abdominal pain. These patients are usually well enough to travel by car. It is not necessarily harmful to take a child with a fever outside. These children may not be fit to travel by bus or walk, but car transport may be available from friends, relatives or taxi firms. It is not a doctor’s responsibility to arrange such transport
  • Adults with common problems; cough, sore throat, influenza, back pain and abdominal pains. These patients are also readily transportable to the surgery.  Common problems in the elderly such as mobility problems, joint pain and general malaise would also best be treated by consultation in the surgery

Related information

Health A to Z

Sick notes

Test results