Carrington House Surgery

Important Announcement from Carrington House Surgery – withdrawal of unfunded service

For some time, we have been providing an unfunded post-operative wound care service for the convenience of our patients, despite the funding to provide post-operative wound care being received by the hospitals.

This service has been especially valuable for those needing regular care but struggling with the travel distance to the relevant hospitals.

We regret that, due to increasing demands on our nursing team and financial pressures on NHS General Practice overall (https://www.bma.org.uk/…/responding-to-the-new-gp…), we can no longer continue to provide this service for which the hospital receives payment as continuing to do so compromises our ability to deliver our core General Practice Services.

What does this mean for you?

• From 31st August 2024 we will no longer offer post-operative wound care to any new post operative patients. This includes post-operative wound care from all private and NHS services including dermatology, surgery, and urgent care. Patients will be required to receive ongoing wound care from these services directly.

• We cannot offer dressings or wound care for wounds obtained via trauma or other injury, as the surgery does not have contract to provide care for Minor Injuries.

• Patients currently receiving wound care will continue to be offered a maximum of two dressing changes per week until they are healed and discharged.

• Patients who are housebound will be able to receive post-operative wound care from the local District Nursing service. This should be arranged by the hospital service directly at the time of discharge.

• We will continue to offer post-operative clip/suture removal as this is a separate contracted service.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Book or change an appointment

Before booking an appointment or making a request

Please review alternatives to a routine practice appointment which may be better, safer or faster.

Please consider if you need urgent/emergency or out of hours care.

Some requests are easily dealt with by online access to your records

Online access to your medical record for managing appointments, prescriptions and test results.
If you already have online access, you can
Log in to:

How to obtain online access.
Online access to your medical record can allow you to book and change appointments, order prescriptions, review any test results, review your notes and more. This is easy to arrange, and we explain the benefits and how to do it under

NHS choices explain how an NHS account can help you
This potentially includes

  • Getting health advice
  • Access to your NHS Covid pass and advice about coronavirus
  • Ordering repeat prescriptions
  • Booking and cancelling appointments
  • Reviewing your GP practice test results
  • Reviewing details of your consultations
  • Finding your NHS number
  • Viewing hospital appointments
  • Registering your organ donation decision

Please use our online consultation tool Econsult for other queries

You can log in directly to our online consultation tool which can help you with administrative and non-urgent clinical queries
Log in to:

You can use Econsult to:

  • Request an urgent, routine or follow-up appointment with a GP or any other clinician
  • Submit a medication or prescription query
  • Request a fit/sick Note
  • Raise a query concerning a referral or request an insurance report or private letter
  • Enquire about self-care or have a social prescribing query
  • Submit information requested by us.

More information on online consultations
We provide further information on our online consultation tool under

Updating your contact details
Each online consultation can result in an online response, telephone call (so please ensure we have your correct telephone number), face-to-face or video consultation. You can update your contact details under

Booking and cancelling of appointments

Book or change an appointment

Options include:

  • Online access to your medical record: This is a quick and simple way of managing your appointments and can be accessed above.
  • Online access to our consultation tool: This is another simple way of managing your appointments and can be accessed above.
  • By speaking to reception

Cancel an appointment

Options include:

  • Online access to your medical record
  • By speaking to reception
  • By text message: If you are set up to receive a text reminder of your appointment, it is possible to cancel the appointment by replying with the word “cancel” to the reminder text.
  • If your appointment is more than 48 hours away by using our consultation tool: You can log in to eConsult, as above to cancel the appointment.

It is essential you cancel an appointment you do not need as then it can be given to someone else. 

We include the following appointments to book online

  • Review (including medication, pill, blood Pressure and long-term conditions)
  • Cervical smear
  • Blood tests (ONLY after tests have been added by a doctor)
  • NHS health check

More information on services
You can find more detailed information on the services we offer, see under

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.

Cancelling your appointment

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

Our appointment system and other queries

Opening hours

Information when our telephone lines are open can be found under

Availability of practice staff

You can find the days when health staff (including doctors, nurses and other additional health support such as pharmacists) are usually available under

Covid -19

If you are coming to the surgery any steps, we ask you to take for Covid 19 are covered under

Other common queries

We cover some common queries below:

Speak on the phone with reception if you:

  • Have an urgent medical or administrative need which you feel cannot wait for a response using our online consultation communication tool.
  • Need to book an appointment for a blood test, a flu vaccination, children’s vaccination, cervical smear or travel clinic.
  • Are unable to review your investigations online (we recommend you phone after 3pm when the lines are quieter).
  • Are unable to book an online routine appointment with our nurse or an agreed follow up appointment with a doctor.
  • Are unable to use our online consultation tool for a routine health or administrative request. Reception can help you with using the online consultation tool or they can book a telephone appointment with a clinician, who will then make a plan with you, including a face-to-face appointment if necessary.

Drop in and speak to reception if you:

  • Have been asked to drop in a form or a sample.
  • In any way struggle to use the phone or the internet, reception will help you.

If you are coming to the surgery any steps, we ask you to take for Covid 19 can be found under Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

Post requests in for reception if you:

  • Do not have online access. Please remember we also have a large amount of correspondence from other sources particularly hospitals and community services about patient care, so our response times are constrained.

Please note 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.

Mutual respect
We aim to be courteous, caring and respectful. We ask that our patients offer us the same. We operate a zero-tolerance policy, with regards to any abusive patient behaviour or language.

Routine appointments
Routine appointments are available with most doctors during the week but may need to be booked several days in advance.

Urgent appointments
Urgent appointments with the Duty Team are available for emergencies only; please telephone early (after 8.30am) if you need an urgent appointment.
It is unlikely that you will be able to see your normal doctor in an emergency.
We try to keep to appointment times but inevitably some patients require more time than others. If you are kept waiting, please be patient: on the next occasion it maybe you who requires more of the doctor’s time.

Please remember

  • Be punctual for your appointment.
  • Let us know if you can’t keep your appointment.
  • Don’t expect the doctor to “squeeze in” other members of your family at the same time, as this results in less attention being devoted to each person.
  • Don’t “save up” several problems for one appointment; the doctor cannot tackle each problem fully in the time available.

Telephone advice
Sometimes it is appropriate to telephone for advice first in order to access our services, rather than making an appointment.

Firstly, please tell the receptionist what your call is about as they may be able to assist you directly.

If they are unable to help, a Duty Doctor will try to deal with your problem over the phone. If this is not possible, they will make you an appointment with the most appropriate clinical team member. This may be a nurse or a health care assistant and not a doctor. We run a nurse led minor illness clinic on a daily basis.

We are using telephone appointments more commonly. 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.

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 outside of our usual opening hours.

Evening appointments
Pre-bookable appointments are regularly available at Carrington House Surgery on:

  • Tuesday & Wednesday evening from 6.30pm to 8.00pm (with doctors & Nurses)

How to book these and other available enhanced access appointments is explained below:

Booking an appointment
Telephone Carrington House Surgery as normal and request an enhanced access appointment. this may be with GPs or nurses at other local GP practices. The reception staff will be able to tell you what time and day there are available appointments. Our reception staff can also give you more information about the service and will book your appointment.

This is not a walk-in service
The enhanced access service 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.

Home visit

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

If you cannot attend the surgery by any means and you require a home visit, please telephone 01494 523211 as early as possible after 8.30am and before 10am

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

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.

Common queries

We have more information on other common practice queries including:

Easy read

Easy Read is a way of making written information easier to understand. This is a good source of some helpful easy read leaflets on common health conditions and services, see under

Computer support

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

Coming to the practice

Covid – 19

If you are coming to the surgery any steps, we ask you to take and other information on how we are dealing with Covid -19 (and any other infectious disease outbreaks) are covered under

Suspected infectious disease

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.

Practice support

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

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.

Continuity of care

Choosing who you see particularly for an ongoing problem can make a difference which is explained further under

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.

Helping us help you - improving the practice

Under Appointments and requests, we cover ways that we can improve the appointment and request system for all patients.

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