Southmead Surgery
Coming soon! Exciting information on Social Prescribing in your area….

Book or change an appointment

This is the new GP appointments and admin request form

This triage service is open 7am-4pm, however it will turn off earlier than this when we have reached our safe capacity for the day.

If you feel you have an urgent problem when triage is closed please call reception who can help you, or call 111

 

Please call RECEPTION to book the following appointments:

Nurse – SMEAR, Immunisations, dressings, 8 week postnatal checks

Health care assistant- health check and new patient checks, Blood test appointments

For all other appointments please use our online triage form BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW 

  → ACCURX

Please use your full registered name.

Accurx requests will be read by a member of the team within 2 working days.

So, if you need more urgent help, call your GP. If your GP practice is closed, visit NHS 111 online or call 111. In an emergency call 999.

Accurx can help with:

  • An admin query: Contact us about a fit (sick) note, ask about recent tests or anything else admin related
  • A medical issue: Contact us about a new or ongoing symptom
  • Online advice: See advice and guidance on conditions, symptoms and treatments

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

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

Before booking an appointment or making a request

Have you read the information available on our website on all the different routes to get the help you need? Please read this as it can save you significant time.

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

Ordering prescriptions and viewing your results

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

How to obtain online access

For other ways to access practice services if you can not access an NHS account and for further information on these services, see 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 Accurx, as above to cancel the appointment.
  • If your appointment is more than 48 hours away by submitting our practice online “cancel an appointment” form: You can fill in and submit our online practice form accessed below.

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

Our automated digital assistant can provide further help

Our chatbot is an easy way to access a range of help and guidance to get set up online and best utilise your online services. This includes help with making appointments.
Launch digital help:

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

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:

Our appointment system and other queries

Opening hours
Information when our telephone lines are open can be found 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.

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.

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.

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 Southmead are available on Thursday until 8pm with Dr Siva and Mike Fisher (paramedic).
These appointments can be booked online or via our reception team.

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 01753 643 195/ 644414 as early as possible after 8.30 am.

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

Training

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

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.

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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