• Can you find the information you need on NHS Choices?
• 111 is available 24 hours a day for medical advice.
• The pharmacist can help with many queries through their minor ailment scheme.
• Is another professional more appropriate for your problem? eg your health visitor, midwife or podiatrist.
• Are you wanting information about a referral or hospital appointment? If so the booking management centre should be able to help on 01772 325100.
• Can the receptionist help you without the need for an appointment? eg assisting with a fit note, prescription or test results

• Decide who you would prefer to see and when.
• The more flexible you can be the more likely we will be-able to find an appointment to suit you.
• Appointments can either be face-to-face in the surgery or over the phone - the latter can mean that you don't need to leave home or work to get the help you need.
• Non-urgent or follow-up appointments with the GP or Practice Nurse can be made up to 4 weeks in advance.
• We have a number of appointments each day for urgent conditions i.e. one that cannot be reasonably expected to wait until the following day.
• We respectfully request that only one major problem is discussed during a single appointment.

This can be done online (via the link at the top of this page), in person at reception or by ringing the surgery 01772 280800

Why your receptionists need to ask what symptoms you have, and why they may refer you to the alternative clinicians

Reception staff, along with anyone working with the practice, are bound by confidentiality rules. Any information given by you is treated in the strictest of confidence.

Reception staff, along with anyone working with the practice, are bound by confidentiality rules. Any information given by you is treated in the strictest of confidence.

We are pleased to be able to offer evening and weekend appointments by working in collaboration with other GP Practices in the area.

This does mean that if you want to be seen on a weekday evening or weekend, your appointment may be held at a different GP practice to your registered practice and with a different GP or nurse than you usually see. These will be available:

• Between 18:30 pm and 19:45 pm on weekday evenings
• Between 09:00 am and 17:00 pm on Saturdays (Weekend appointment times vary depending on day of clinic) 

The practices working together and where you may be offered an appointment are: New Longton Surgery, Lostock Hall Medical Cenrtre, Roslea Surgery, Riverside Medical Centre and The Ryan Medical Centre.

Your medical records will be available to the clinician that sees you to ensure that they have the information they need to give you the best possible care. 

In order to book or cancel an evening or weekend appointment, you must call your GP practice during normal working hours, as these appointments are not currently available online.

However if you need to book an evening or weekend appointment and your GP surgery is closed, please call NHS 111 and they will be able to advise you further.

The scheme means that you don’t need to wait to see a doctor because your pharmacist can give advice and treatment for these ailments, and if you don’t pay for your prescription then you won’t be charged for the medicines supplied by your pharmacist.  Most pharmacies in this area are involved in the scheme.

The scheme includes treatments for the following ailments:

• Please cancel any appointments that you no longer need. This can be done online, in person at the desk or by ringing the surgery 01772 280800
• Patients who fail to attend 3 appointments may be asked to reregister elsewhere

You can also complete our appointment cancellation notification request form. This can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance (excluding weekends and public holidays). You can also text to cancel your appointment.

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.

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 a chaperone
• If you need an interpreter
• If you have any other access or communication needs

Home Visits

Home visits are intended for people who are house bound or too ill to travel to the surgery. Whenever possible try and come to the surgery where facilities allow for a more thorough and professional assessment of your illness.

We understand that sometimes our patients are too unwell or frail to be able to leave home. In certain circumstances care can be delivered at home, often with the GP working together with community nursing services.

If possible, please try to telephone reception before 10:30 if you think you require a home visit - all requests will be considered by the GP who may contact you by phone initially.

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

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

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

Complete our SMS Reminder Form

If you're planning to travel outside the UK you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world.

View the NHS Travel Vaccination Advice

Medical examinations for special purposes such as pre-employment, fitness to travel, elderly drivers, fitness to undertake sports etc., will require longer than a routine appointment.

These examinations do not form part of NHS Services, you will be charged for any such examination. Please check the fee chargeable before arranging any such examination. Please inform the receptionist when arranging such appointments.

“I had to wait half an hour, why?”

We never know what kind of problem is going to come through our surgery door.  Some can take a lot of sorting out and require longer than the allotted time. Please be patient and remember that one day it may be yourself or a loved one who needs that extra time.

“I was asked to make another appointment for some of my problems”

We try and deal with matters as comprehensively as possible within each appointment but if there are an undue number of different issues, dealing with everything at once may cause us to miss something. 

“I never see my named GP”

As Dr Whitworth is the sole "partner" at the surgery she is officially everyone's "named GP". You can of course see any doctor you please subject to availability. There might be one you feel more comfortable with than another and this is absolutely fine.

“I was made to come to the surgery”

With modern transport it is possible for most people to come to the surgery; a far greater number of patients can be given quick attention in this way. With better facilities in the surgery, we can provide you with a higher standard of care than at home. The house call service is solely for those who are medically housebound.

“I can never get through.  They won’t answer the telephone”

However many telephone lines we have, however many receptionists, there will never be enough for the busiest times of the week and we cannot always tell when those busiest times will be!

 “I had to make an appointment; all I wanted was a prescription.”

By issuing a prescription the we have to be satisfied that what is written on it is safe and correct for you. The doctor or nurse signing the prescription is fully responsible, even if a consultant has recommended a particular treatment. Problems can arise when hospital discharges or clinic letters are delayed in reaching us, or if we are asked to prescribe something very new, expensive or not recommended by the CCG. Unless fully satisfied, we are required by law to obtain further information - please do not think we are meaning to be obstructive.

"I had to pay!"

Most services offered carry no charge. But some do involve a fee as set down by the BMA. These include private medicals, private certificates for eg holiday cancellation, some vaccinations and vaccination certificates, passports and various other documentation not covered under NHS contracts. Any payments to the practice will go directly to the practice itself and not to any one individual.

“I wanted antibiotics and the doctor wouldn’t give me any”

Antibiotics are issued on prescription to Patients with bacterial infections. When used properly they can save your life. If used repeatedly for more minor ailments, resistance becomes more common making them less effective for all when they are really needed.