Patient Access
You can book and cancel appointments using Patient Access. This service also offers access to your medical records including reviewing and managing your prescriptions, practice blood tests (investigations) and viewing your medical notes. See under Online Access To Your Record for further information and to register for online access. If you are already registered, you can log in above for appointment management.

The maximum number of appointments you are allowed to hold as far as the online system is concerned is 2 although you can book more than this from our reception team. If you already have 2 or more future appointments booked, Patient Access will not allow you the opportunity to book any additional ones.

Patient Access Telephone Appointments
A selection of 5-minute telephone appointments (for dealing with single issues such as conjunctivitis or a cough or cold) are released via Patient Access at 7:30, 9.00 and 13.00 in the morning so that patients have an opportunity to book them online, the remainder are released at 08:00 to be booked on the telephone. This is true for both morning and afternoon clinics. Once all the appointments for the day have been booked, the duty doctor will only see or speak to those that they consider to be emergencies.
Please do not attend the surgery for these appointments.

If you log on to Patient Access and are unable to see any appointments, it may be that none are available, or it may be that you already have 2 or more future appointments booked. You can still ring in and make an appointment via our reception team on 01628 666326.

NHS account
You can book and cancel appointments using your NHS account. This service also offers access to your medical records including reviewing and managing your prescriptions, practice blood tests (investigations) and viewing your medical notes. There is also other functionality such as access to your covid certificate. See under Online Access To Your Records for further information and how to register. If you are already registered, you can log in above for appointment management.

Please cancel appointments you cannot attend
Please be aware that if you book appointments online but then fail to either cancel or attend them, your ability to book online will be removed.

You can book the majority of appointments online with some exceptions:

Nursing appointments and specialist clinics book through reception
Nursing appointments and appointments for other specialist clinics such as diabetic, antenatal and postnatal checks should be booked via our reception team.

Patient Access telephone appointments are only for telephone calls
Please do not attend the surgery for these appointments.

Nurses deal with many common problems instead of doctors
Please consider if a nurse can deal with your problem before booking an appointment with a doctor.  Be assured that a doctor will be consulted if the nurse feels it necessary.

More information on services
Under Clinics you can find more detailed information on the services we offer.

It is important that you inform the practice if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. The sooner you tell us the more likely we can fill this appointment. If you fail to notify the practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the practice list because of the impact on other patients.

Text service
To help patients with appointments you can receive confirmation and reminder texts about your appointments. If you have not registered to consent for SMS texts (when registering as a new patient) then you can do so by completing the form under

•  Update Your Personal Details.

For an appointment which is over 48 hours away you can submit our practice online form to cancel an appointment

Complete and submit the online form:

• Cancel An Appointment Form

The health centre now has a new telephone system.  Please listen to ALL options carefully. Between 8.00am-9.00am the options are:

• Cancel an appointment
• Book an appointment
• Health Care Professional Line

After 9.00am the following options are available:

• Cancel an appointment
• Book an appointment

General Enquiries –

• Test results – If your results need urgent attention you will be contacted by a member of the Clinical Team
• Repeat Sick Note Only- This can only be issued if you have already been assessed by a clinician for your condition
• Prescription queries, but not for the ordering of repeat medication
• Referral letters
• Insurance and Private Medical Reports
  If your query is not urgent you can leave a message and we will get back to you within 72 hours.  You are not able to book an appointment with this option.  Or you can continue to hold to speak with a Patient Advisor

Other options

• Health Care Professional Line
• Care Home Providers

Burnham Health Centre provides face to face appointment as well as telephone consultations.

If you need advice from a doctor or nurse, please call the surgery to book a telephone appointment. We cover some features:

Reception staff will ask for a brief reason for any appointment request
When you call it has been agreed by the doctors at this practice that our reception staff will ask patients for a brief reason for their appointment request. This will enable staff to signpost patients to the appropriate clinician.

Please indicate when booking your appointment which number you would like us to call you back on (mobile or landline) and confirm this number is up to date on your record. We would also appreciate you staying close to your phone when you have a telephone appointment.

The surgery phone number is withheld for confidentiality reasons
Please be aware that when the GP calls you back, this will appear on your phone as a withheld number.

Video consultations are sometimes used
After an initial consultation over the phone if you have the facility, a GP may offer a video consultation to have a look/discuss symptoms virtually and this may reduce visits to the surgery.

Clinical pictures can be helpful
If your ailment can be identified by a picture, for example, moles, skin conditions, eye problems etc. We are now able to accept images from our text service. The receptionist will send you an initial link which you can reply to with pictures, and these are saved directly into your clinical records before the GP calls you to discuss.

Enhanced Access
GP practices are working together in this area, to offer patients better access to appointments. This is known as the “Enhanced Access” Service.  This means that you can now book an appointment at Burnham Health Centre outside of our usual opening hours.

• Up until 8pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday with a Clinical Pharmacist
• From 9am until 1pm on selected Saturdays (various clinicians will be available)

All appointments need to be pre-booked in advance.

How to book an “Enhanced Access” appointment
Telephone Burnham Health Centre as normal. If no appointments are available, you may be offered an “Enhanced Access” appointment. The reception staff will be able to tell you what time and day there are available appointments. You may also request an “Enhanced Access” appointment if that is more convenient for you. Our reception staff can give you more information about the service and book your appointments.

“Enhanced Access” is not a walk-in service – if you need urgent medical advice after 6.30pm, please phone NHS 111. NHS 111 will enable you to talk to a GP and book an urgent GP appointment if necessary.

Wherever possible, patients are expected to attend the surgery for treatment. This benefits both the doctor and patient by enabling us to provide a more complete and efficient service. We have more detailed guidance under Home visit.

If you cannot attend the surgery by any means and you require a home visit, please telephone 01628 666326 as early as possible after 8.00am each day.

The Duty doctor will advise on the suitability of a home visit or give telephone advice if required.

Please keep your contact details up to date
Please remember to update your contact details with us particularly when you change your address, telephone number or email address. If we only have an old telephone number on your record this will prevent us calling you in relation to an appointment (including a telephone appointment). How to easily update your details is explained under

• Update Your Personal Details.

Please tell us if you are a veteran or carer
The form also also allows updating other information we are not aware of including if you are a veteran or have become a carer

We have more information on other common practice queries including:

• Prescriptions and medication
• Investigations and test results
• Referrals (NHS and private)
• Clinics includes information on some specific NHS services we offer
• Non-NHS private services
• Transport includes how you can arrange transport to local services including the hospital.

Easy Read is a way of making written information easier to understand. There is a separate page on Easy Read Information, which is a good source of some helpful easy read leaflets on common health conditions and services. This includes information on practice services such as the flu vaccination and cervical smear.

There is local support to help with learning how to use a computer and the internet found under Adult Education.

If you suspect you may have an infectious disease (e.g., chicken pox) if you can please inform reception they can take steps to mitigate risks to yourself, other patients and staff. This may include waiting in a side room.

We can also help you with non-clinical support in the practice, see under a better practice for all. This includes

• Chaperone – support for any intimate examination if relevant.
• Support with a translator – see under about the practice.
• Transport
• Disability Facilities 
• Parking – see under About The Practice

We are accredited as a training practice for GP Specialty Trainees. You may be offered an appointment with one of our GP trainees. They are fully supervised and overseen by our GP trainers.

We have more information about training in our practice (including a link to more information on GP training) under About the Practice.

Our GP trainees occasionally video their consultations for learning purposes. They will always ask your permission in the consultation, but if you object to your consultation being recorded, you can let us know when booking an appointment.

Lateness for appointments
Late arrival for appointments can result in clinicians running late for other patients and delay other activities in the surgery. The receptionist will need to speak to the clinician first to see if they are able to accommodate you. If you are significantly late you may be asked to rebook your appointment or to wait until the end of surgery to be seen or fitted in at a later time during the day.

Length of appointments
Please note all appointments are for 10 minutes.
On a busy day a GP might have more than 50 patient contacts to meet the demand for appointments, not including the administrative work required. The 10-minute appointment is standard across the UK and though GPs would like to have more time with each patient, this time is a compromise between giving time to each patient but at the same time trying to meet the demand for appointments.

If you require more time with a doctor, or if you have more than one problem to discuss, please inform the receptionist when booking the appointment and they will see what can be offered.

Choosing who you see particularly for an ongoing problem can make a difference which is explained further under Named GP And Continuity Of Care.

In brief the 10-minute consultation only allows the clinician (doctor, nurse, etc.) to type a short summary of your discussion, which will often make most sense to the particular clinician you consulted with. So, a new clinician may well ask you to repeat your story and understand any plan you made with the previous clinician. This all eats into your 10-minute consultation. In addition, forming a relationship can make conversations more fluent. Continuity is not always possible as in explained in the link in more detail, but it is a worthwhile aim.