Urgent appointments
To request an urgent appointment for today (Monday to Friday) during opening times:
- phone us on 01242 602 307
We have a certain number of appointments each day for urgent problems that need attention on the same day. These are booked in timed order. We will always do our best to see you but there will be exceptional days when, due to staff sickness, or overwhelming demand we may have to triage your request via our duty doctor or ask you to wait until the next day or seek help from NHS 111 or the emergency departments if appropriate.
Our reception staff are trained and skilled and we have asked them to ask you for as much detail as possible about the problem you are seeking help with. They may well be able to direct you to a community service such as urgent eye care centre, community pharmacy who can help with minor ailments and infections including urinary tract, sinuses, skin, throat and ear, shingles.
Please do accept these if offered, you will be seen quicker, and it will help our medical staff focus on problems where only they can help.
You may be offered an urgent appointment with either a GP or a Physicians Associate (PA) who is skilled and trained to assess acute and urgent medical problems under the supervision of our GPs. The Physicians Associate will introduce themselves and their role and assess the problem and perform necessary examinations and tests.
The PA role is relatively new. Whilst they are not doctors, they are fully trained to assess medical problems and examine patients in the same way as a doctor would in order to make a diagnosis and plan necessary treatment or arrange hospital admission for you if needed. They may ask the supervising GP to review you or prescribe medications or tests for you.
Routine appointments
You can request a routine appointment 4 to 6 weeks in advance during opening times.
We will respond to requests within 7 working days.
You can also:
- phone us on 01242 602 307
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) or SystmOnline to book an appointment, screening test or vaccination
When you register with the surgery you will be given a named ‘usual GP’ as your point of contact, but you are welcome to see any GP in the practice and ask to change your usual GP if you wish. Please do try to stick with one GP for continuity benefit.
All our GP appointments are 10 minutes in length. If you have more than one problem, please book a double appointment.
We have appointments with our GPs and nurses available up to 4 to 6 weeks in advance. But they get booked very rapidly. We sometimes have to ask patients to complete an online form which your GP will receive and may be able to help you remotely or arrange a suitable appointment for you.
Please bear with us, we are constantly striving to fine the best way to help you, but current NHS funding makes it impossible to be able to provide enough appointments to go round. We are sorry we cannot provide the service we really want to and know you want and deserve.
Enhanced access
Across our PCN (Cheltenham Peripheral Primary Care Network) we offer enhanced access appointments offering Saturday and weeknight appointments. Winchcombe hosts some of these sessions every 5th week and every Thursday night. Please visit the enhanced access scheme page for further information.
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.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- using the GP online system: SystmOnline
- phone us on 01242 602 307 during opening times
If you need help when we are closed
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.
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 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
We provide a home visiting service for those patients who are too ill or too frail to attend the surgery. If you need a home visit please phone us before 10:30am (except in genuine emergencies) as this helps our doctors to plan their time efficiently.
For callers after this time it may not be possible to arrange a visit for that day.
Remember that the surgery is set up to assess patients and we have a much greater range of equipment available at the surgery, such as ECG machines, good lighting, resuscitation facilities and so on, than we can provide to patients in their homes. It may be impossible to examine someone properly at home.