Appointments

To request an appointment:

• phone us on 01944 710226, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• book online via the link at the top of this page

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 or health professional to help you.

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

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery
• by text or video

Appointments by phone call or by text can be more flexible.

Appointments are normally 15 minutes long but you can ask for a longer appointment if you feel it is necessary.

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 or by text or email
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

To cancel your appointment:

• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• using the SystmOnline (please ask at Reception for the forms to sign up to this service)
• phone us on 01944 710226, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

The practice offers extended hours on a Thursday evening between 6:30pm and 8pm from Sherburn and on a Saturday in rotation with the other member practices of our Primary Care Network (Ayton and Snainton Practice, Derwent Practice and Ampleforth Practice).

Subject to availability, appointments until 8pm are also available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Saturdays between 9am to 5pm at the other PCN member practices. To make an appointment please contact the GP reception team at Sherburn. 

In cases of major injury or critical condition, it may be more appropriate to go directly to your local Hospital Accident & Emergency Department. If an Ambulance is required, dial 999.

Please inform the Practice as early as possible, if you would like to be considered for a visit, ideally before 11am.  Most visits are done between 11am-3pm.

We are keen to ensure that we make the best use of our clinical staff, allowing them to provide the most appropriate care to those most in need of it. For the vast majority of patients, attending an appointment at the Practice is the best option for them and for the Practice staff. 

The need for a home visit is a clinical decision and will be made by one of the GPs.

You may think that a home visit by a doctor is best for patient care. However, while home visits are convenient for the patient, they actually offer a poorer standard of care compared to surgery consultations.

This is because of:

• poor facilities – for example, soft beds, poor lighting or lack of hygiene
• inefficiency – the doctor could see four to six other equally needy patients in the time taken for one home visit
• patient records, which are required to provide appropriate and safe care, are not immediately available; and
• patient chaperones, who are required to be present for some examinations, are not always available.

Calling the doctor out unnecessarily takes the doctor away from patients who may have a greater clinical need. Most of the consultations during home visits could easily and safely be carried out in the surgery. 

Where home visits are not appropriate

Where home visits are appropriate and worthwhile

• Terminally ill patients: we have no problems seeing those who are at most clinical need
• Truly bedbound patients: we have no problems seeing those who are confined to bed
• So poorly, the patient would be harmed if moved: we have no problems seeing those who are at most clinical need.

If you think you may need a home visit

• The GP will always consider your request and ensure you are seen by the most appropriate health care professional in the most appropriate location
• An Emergency Hospital admission may be organised for the patient via the ambulance service without first seeing the patient, in cases where their medical condition make that course of action appropriate.

If we visit you at home and feel that your request was inappropriate, we may inform you so that you use our services more appropriately in the future. Please do not be offended, as we have a duty to use our resources effectively for the safety and benefit of all patients.

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP.

Remember: you do not have an automatic right to a home visit

Under their terms of working, GPs are required to consider home visits for medical reasons only. If you think you require a home visit, please call the surgery before 11am. ALL home visit requests will be triaged by a GP and you may be contacted to check if a visit is appropriate.

Always provide a current landline/mobile number so that the GP can contact you.

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.