If you have not previously used online consultations, there is more information under online consultations including the particular online consultation tool used in our practice.

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

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.

Cancel an appointment
You can cancel any appointment at any time, though the greater notice you give us the easier we can give the appointment to another patient.

If you are not registered for online access you can use accrux to cancel any appointments which are 2 or more days in the future.
Log in to:

• Ask First

Our digital assistant provides help with:

• getting set up with the online apps
• booking certain appointment types using online apps
• managing and checking appointments
• accessing your medical record and test results
• managing and requesting prescriptions
• requesting sick notes or Med3
• requesting proxy access
• finding your NHS Number

We run an appointment system at both surgeries for morning and afternoon surgeries to see the doctor.

You will be asked ‘Can you give me an idea of the problem’ – this is to enable us to fit you in to the correct clinic as another clinician other than a GP may be able to help

• Morning Appointments – contact the surgery from 08.30 on the day you wish to have a morning appointment.
• Afternoon appointments are released in advance, so that if you prefer to see a doctor in the afternoon or if you prefer to, you can book in advance.
• There is an extended evening clinic Tuesdays in Denham for all those patients who find it difficult to attend in normal surgery hours – this is bookable in advance.
• Nurse Appointments are booked in advance. They are available each day at each surgery.

Please check if a nurse can deal with your problem before booking an appointment with the doctor.  Be assured that a doctor will be consulted if the nurse feels it necessary.

Online appointments are now available through Patient Access which is covered in the section above. Please note we have made changes to our appointment system due to Covid-19.

Due to NHS guidelines with regard to Coronavirus / Covid 19, Denham Medical Centre is NOT open for walk in patients. We have moved to a telephone appointment/ triage system for ALL patients.

DO NOT COME INTO THE SURGERY unless asked to do so following a telephone consultation.

Please call 01895 832012 or 01753 653976 to book your telephone appointment. You will not be given an exact time, but you will be put on the list for a call back the same day. If the doctor/nurse needs to see you, you will be given a time to come in.

Reception staff will ask for 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.

If you have booked a telephone appointment with one of our clinicians, please be aware that they will only try twice to contact you. After the second failed encounter you will be sent a text message asking to rebook for another day.

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.

Log in

If you are already registered for online access use one of these options.
Log in to:

• NHS account
• Ask First
• Patient Access

Cancelling of appointments is important
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.

You can cancel your appointment in a number of ways

• Online cancellation: If you are already registered for online access to appointment management, you can log in above. You can find out how to register for online appointment management under online access to your records and online consultations.
• Speak to reception: if you do not have online access.
• By text: If you have received a text reminder of your appointment, it is possible to cancel that appointment by replying with the word “cancel” to the reminder text.

South Bucks PCN Enhanced Access Service
Local GPs are working together to offer patients better access to appointments in General Practice in Buckinghamshire, known as the ‘Enhanced Access’ Service. This means that you can now book an appointment in a practice local to you:

• Up until 8pm from Monday to Friday
• On a Saturday
• From 9am until 1pm on Sunday (at one of the three FedBucks Improved Access Hubs located across the county)

South Bucks PCN Enhanced Access GP surgeries
Patients registered with any GP Surgery within the South Bucks PCN will be able to access this service via the participating surgeries in this area. The participating surgeries can be found under

•  Our Primary Care Network

FedBucks Enhanced Access Hubs are located at Wycombe Hospital, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Threeways Surgery, Stoke Poges (Sundays and Bank Holiday weekends only).

All appointments need to be pre-booked, either in advance or on the day.

How to book an enhanced access appointment
Ring your GP Surgery as normal. If you would like an Enhanced Access appointment, the reception staff will tell you where clinics are being held on what day, and the times of the available appointments. A convenient appointment will be booked for you.

If you use this service, it is very likely that you will be seen by a clinician from another surgery and not your own GP. The receptionist at your GP surgery will be able to provide details on this service to help you book an appointment.

This 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. There is further information above under “What to do when the surgery is closed”.

Weekly Evening Appointments at Denham are available on Tuesdays from 3pm – 8pm
These appointments can be booked online or via our reception team.

Home visit

If possible, please try to telephone reception before 11am if you require a home visit. We have more detailed guidance under

• Home visit

A doctor or nurse will phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability. Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Surgery.

Common queries

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
• Updating your personal details

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

• Easy Read Information

Computer support

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

• Adult Education

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

• Infectious disease Outbreaks

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

• 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

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

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

This also includes updating other information we are not aware of including if you are a veteran or have become a carer.

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

•  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.