All Doctor, Physician Associate and Nurse Practitioner appointments are 12 minutes. The practice works on a one problem one appointment basis. If you would like to discuss more than one problem, please inform the receptionist you require an extended appointment if availale.
When booking an appointment, we ask that you give the receptionist as much information as possible to ensure you are booked with the most appropriate healthcare professional.
Northfield and Field Road Surgery has implemented the “Care Navigation Training Programme” and we have trained our receptionists and clerical staff; this will help them to help patients identify the most appropriate place for their care.
You will notice your receptionist asking you for a brief outline of your problem when you call to make an appointment.
Through this specialist care navigation training, the receptionists can offer you more choice on who the best healthcare Clinician may be in the practice and also help direct you to get to the right care fast. Receptionists will never offer clinical advice or triage; this new way of working is about offering the choice to see other specialists in the practice team. If they have the expertise to deal with the problem; it will often be quicker, and you may not need to see the GP each time.
For example, medication queries could be managed by our Medication/Prescription Team on Option 1, and you may not be aware of this if you haven’t visited the practice in a while.
By working this way, it helps to free up time for GPs to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions that can only be managed by the GP. More importantly though, it means people are seen by the Clinician that is best placed to manage your clinical problem. The choice is always yours though and you will never be refused a GP appointment, but we hope that next time you contact your GP and speak with the receptionist you will see the value of seeing another health Clinician if they are able to help
The practice has a strict do not attend policy. We ask that all patients contact the surgery as soon as possible to cancel an appointment. Please beware that failure to attend three or more appointments could result in you being removed from the practice list.
Notice
You can now book doctor appointments online via the NHS App or SystemOnline
NHS App
You can download the NHS app in which you can prove your covid vaccination status, book and manage appointments, order repeat prescriptions, manage referrals and view your summary care record. All identification checks are completed within the app without having to contact or attend your surgery.
The NHS app can be downloaded free from Apple's App Store and Google Play Store. Read more information about the NHS app.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
If you can not make your appointment let us know as soon as you can so another patient can book the appointment time. You can cancel your appointment by:
Home Visits
Please contact the practice before 11am if you wish to request a home visit.
Home visits are for patients who are housebound, for medical reasons only, and are unable to attend the surgery and are at the discretion of the doctor.
Do remember that the facilities for medical care are much better at the surgery than can be offered at your home.
If you need help when we are closed
- Use NHS 111 online (111.nhs.uk) or call 111. 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.
- Out of hours information
- If it’s a life-threatening emergency call 999.