Appointments

Configure Appointment Details

Urgent Appointments

To request an urgent appointment, Monday to Friday:

  • Phone us on 01706 397 600 from 8am.
  • Visit the surgery and speak to a receptionist from 8am to 6pm

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse, health professional or external service to help you.

A seperate appointment is necessary for each member of the family

You can book an appointment with any of the doctors.  However you may not be able to see the doctor of your choice if your appointment is booked at short notice.

Routine appointments

To request a routine appointment:

  • Complete our online form detailing your concerns on Patchs*
  • Phone us on 01706 397 600, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
  • Visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm

Routine appointments are usually for 10 minutes. If you feel your problem may require longer than this, please inform the receptionist at the time of booking.

*Please note you will need to register for this so please speak to our reception staff.  You will need a form of ID to register.  Once registered you can then book an appointment this way.

Home Visits

There is always a doctor available for emergencies. If you need a doctor urgently, please telephone 01706 397600 . Do explain to the receptionist the nature of the problem, so that emergencies may be given priority.

Home visits are for patients who are too ill or infirm to attend at the surgery.

Home visits take up more of the doctor's time, therefore please do not ask the doctor to call unless the patient is genuinely too ill to come to the surgery. Lack of transport, inconvenience or minor ailments are not reasons for a home visit. If possible, home visits should be requested BEFORE 11AM so that the doctor's day may be planned effectively.

In an emergency telephone 01706 397600 any time of day or night. A recorded message will give you the number of the out-of-hours service.

 

Contact Us Online using Patchs

You can contact us online using this form.  Here you can ask us about any non-urgent queries, and any symptoms that you feel can be assessed via online consultation. The practice endeavours to respond to you within 48 hours, though typically it will be within the same working day.

Appointment System

The practice operates an appointment system. These appointments are generally 10 minutes long. 

Please note that due to feedback from patients and the recent unprecedented demand for same day appointments the appointment system recently changed. The majority of appointments are now only available to book on the same day.

To make an appointment telephone reception on 01706 397600 or book an appointment online via the link at the top of this page.

The Practice can arrange for an interpreter if required; please make your needs known to reception when making an appointment.

Evening and Weekend Appointments

Would you like an appointment in the evening or at the weekend when we are closed ?

Routine evening and weekend appointments are also available. These appointments are held at other local locations or local practices and may be with a different clinician than usual. This clinician will have access to your health records and will be able to treat you in the same way as we would.

You can access these appointments by contacting reception in the usual way.

 

Cancelling or Changing an Appointment

 If you cannot attend your appointments for any reason please let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer the appointment to someone else.

You can telephone the practice, reply 'CANCEL' to your reminder text, use the NHS App or complete our appointment cancellation notification request form to cancel an appointment. The cancellation form can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance (excluding weekends and public holidays). 

Due to an increase in the number of patients failing to attend appointments without informing the surgery, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:

  • If you repeatedly fail to attend appointments you may be removed from this practice list and be required to find an alternative doctor.

 

Text Reminder Service

We have a text service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

If you do not wish to receive SMS messages from the practice please let us know.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

If you need help with your appointments:

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

Care Navigation

Please remember that it is not always necessary to see a GP. A Practice Nurse or a Healthcare Assistant, or another service such as an Optician or Community Pharmacy, may be more appropriate and for this reason our receptionists have been trained to cover a more diverse role and will now be working in the practice as Care Navigators. This is a role that is being introduced in ALL practices across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

The purpose of this role is to advise patients and carers about the sources of help and advice which are most relevant to their need. This new approach is not about denying our patients an appointment but actually using signposting for precisely the opposite motive - to make it easier for patients who need to see a GP to get an appointment, while shortening the time it takes to connect patients with the most appropriate person.

To help you make the appointment, the receptionist will need to know a little about why you need an appointment and so will ask you some very brief questions. This is because the receptionists have a number of alternative types of appointments available to them, and they need to offer you the most appropriate appointment to deal with your problem. The most appropriate appointment may be with your GP for example, or perhaps with another member of the practice team.

Minor Ailment Service

A number of community pharmacists take part in the Minor Ailments Scheme.

It is intended to be used by patients suffering from minor ailments to free up GP time for more serious cases.

If you are suffering from any of the ailments listed below the pharmacist will have a short consultation with you.

If you do not pay for prescriptions and the pharmacist recommends treatment you will not pay for this treatment either.

Allergies

Bites or Stings

Hay fever

Colds or Flu

Conjunctivitis

Nasal Congestion

Diarrhoea

Fever (High Temperature)

Vaginal Thrush

Indigestion or Heartburn

Pain Relief

Toothache

Constipation

Haemorrhoids

Scabies

Sore Throat

Verruca / Wart

Temperature

Headache / Earache

Eczema

Soft Tissue Injury

Athletes’ foot

Cold sores

Contact dermatitis

Head lice

Insect bites & Stings

Dry Skin

Nappy rash

Conjunctivitis

Ear Wax

Threadworm

Oral thrush

Migraine

 

 

 

Minor Eye Conditions

If you have a recent problem with your eyes, you can be assessed and treated by the local Minor Eye Conditions Service and be treated by an optician.

Conditions that can be seen by this service include:

  • Red eye or eyelids
  • Dry eye, or gritty and uncomfortable eyes
  • Irritation and inflammation of the eye
  • Significant recent sticky discharge from the eye or watery eye
  • In growing eyelashes
  • Recently occurring flashes or floaters
  • Recent and sudden loss of vision
  • Foreign body in the eye

This service is free of charge and is for adults and children. Children under 16 years must be accompanied at their appointment by an adult.

The service is offered by local opticians at locations across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

Appointments are available during normal working hours and some practices offer appointment at weekends. 

Please note: this is not a walk-in service and patients require an appointment

To find your nearest participating optician click here

Emergency Dental Service

The Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Dental Access Centre provides emergency dental treatment to people who are unable to access a dentist during normal working hours.

This service operates 8am - 10pm seven days per week.

To make an appointment call Freephone 0333 332 3800

Patients will be assessed over the telephone, prioritised according to need and offered an appointment if necessary at a specific time and place either the same day or next day, given advice or signposted to other services.
 
The service is based at:
Dental Access Centre
90 Whitehall Street
Rochdale
OL12 0ND

For emergency treatment between 10pm and 8am patients should call NHS 111 for urgent dental advice.