Appointments

Important: Changes to our Appointment System

Dear Patients,

In an effort to meet the rising demand for same-day appointments with a Doctor, we are changing our appointments system from Monday 17th June, 2024.

We will be making far more appointments available on the day from 8am. Consequently we won’t be making as many appointments available to book in advance but are confident that there will be sufficient appointments available so that you should be able to make an appointment by booking on the day that you would like to be seen.

We would also encourage patients to download the NHS App or use other online portals such as Patient Access as we will be making more appointments available to book online with a doctor on the same day.

We will, as always, be reviewing our appointments system to ensure that our capacity can meet the demand.

Please bear with us whilst we make these changes to offer you an improved level of access to see or speak to a Doctor here at Blackfriars Medical Practice.

Appointments can be made by telephone or in person during the above opening hours and up to two weeks in advance unless specified by the Doctor or Nurse.

You may be asked the reason for your appointment if you are seeing a nurse. This is due to the fact that appointment times with practice nurses vary according to the type of procedure being carried out so that they must be booked accordingly. Having a reason also enables our nurses to ensure that they are prepared for the patient's needs e.g. having equipment ready for a smear or wound dressing etc...

We offer both telephone and face to face appointments with our Doctors. Please ask us if you require a specific type. If you wish to see a specific Doctor, then please make this clear at the time of booking your appointment and we will do our best to accommodate. This may result in a longer wait if you only want to see a specific Doctor.

We treat all of our registered patients, irrespective of the duration between consultations.

Cancelling an Appointment

If you are unable to attend an appointment please let us know in plenty of time to assign that appointment time to another patient. You can do this by simply texting back the word "Cancel" to the appointment reminder text you received on your phone. Alternatively you can call us on 020 7928 6216 or cancel via the NHS App to let us know.

Every year wasted appointments cost the NHS £162 million. This can cause serious delays in treatment for other patients. Please remember that next time it may be you that benefits from getting an appointment because another patient let us know they were not going to be needing their appointment.

Named GP information

Pharmacy First Plus

We also offers a scheme called Pharmacy First Plus for the treatment of a range of minor ailments that don't require you to see a Doctor or Nurse. Your local pharmacist can offer advice and also prescribe treatments which you can get for free if you are entitled to free prescriptions.

The Pharmacy First Plus scheme covers advice and treatment for the conditions below and gives you a fixed appointment at a time and location to suit your needs. Please ask us if you wish to use this service and we can assist.

The Pharmacy First Plus Scheme can now supply prescription-only treatment, if they believe you need it, for the following conditions:

• Sinusitis (for patients aged 12 years and over only)
• Sore throat (aged 5+)
• Earache (aged 1 year-17)
• Infected insect bite (aged 1 year+)
• Impetigo (aged 18 years+)
• Shingles (aged 18 years+)
• Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (women aged 16 to 64)

For more information please see: How Pharmacies can help

Home Visits

Home visits are primarily for people who are old and disabled. Always attend the surgery, if you can. It takes much longer to see you at home than in the surgery. If you want a home visit, please try to phone before 10.30am.