Appointments System
Whilst we make every effort to keep to appointment times, this is not always possible. If we keep you waiting we apologise in advance. If you keep us waiting we cannot guarantee that you will be seen. If you no longer need or are unable to keep an appointment please let us know so that we can allocate your appointment slot to another patient.
Unfortunately, a number of patients persistently book appointments and then fail to attend without cancelling. This
behaviour denies other patients access to the doctors. Persistent abusers may be asked to find an alternative GP.
Why does the Doctor sometimes run late?
Unlike most surgeries, we offer longer (15 minute) appointments. We
try to run to time, but, some patients need longer causing surgeries
to run late. As a result patients may be kept waiting. If surgery is
running late please be patient. Next time it may be you who needs
extra time with the doctor.
What if I am late for my appointment?
As a general rule, if you are more than 5 minutes late for your
appointment please expect to rebook it. If you are up to 5 minutes
late you may be seen for 10 minutes only. Late arrivals for
appointments over the day can result in the surgeries running very
late and causes inconvenience to others.
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We wish to offer appointments that meet your medical needs as far
as possible, bearing in mind our need to serve all our other
patients too. We book appointments at 15 minute intervals so that we
have sufficient time to evaluate the problem and agree a management
plan together.
Click on the links below for how to make an appointment:
In order that our staff may arrange the right service for you
they will ask you to outline the nature of your problem. For
example:
- Sick notes after hospital treatment can often be
completed from hospital letters
- Continuation sick notes can often be completed a few
days after the GP has seen you and these can be backdated to
run continuously
- Many nursing services can be easily accessed via one of
the local ‘treatment rooms’ which are held each morning and
afternoon
- The Minor Injuries Unit at the St. Helens Millennium
Centre will deal with almost all kinds of injuries [and can
perform X-rays]
- The Walk-in Centre is a same-day service for anyone who
wishes to see a clinician without an appointment
- Care-at-the-Chemist, at Garswood Pharmacy and other St.
Helens practices, offers treatment for:
• Allergy
• Athletes Foot
• Cold Sores
• Chesty Cough
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Dry Cough
• Headache/Temperature
• Head Lice
• Indigestion
• Nasal Congestion
• Oral Thrush
• Sore Throat
• Threadworm
• Vaginal Thrush
Other services available from the pharmacist:
• Women over age 16 can obtain antibiotics for cystitis
• Children over 12 months, and adults, can obtain antibiotic
eye drops for conjunctivitis
- Dental problems cannot be treated here. In an emergency
you can receive treatment - accessed via
NHS
Direct
- Blood tests
- ‘The Morning-After-Pill’ [post-coital contraception] can
be obtained from many pharmacies free of charge or from the
family planning clinic. Details are available from
reception.
- Pregnancy. The midwives provide much of the care for
women during and after pregnancy and can be contacted
directly on 0151 430 1492.
Routine appointments
You can book appointments up to 4 weeks in advance with the
GP of your choice, or the nurse.
Urgent appointments
If your need is urgent we will offer you an appointment on
our next working day. This will often be for conditions
that:
- are severe
- are persisting or getting worse despite [several
days] medication from the pharmacist
- have not previously cleared up within a few days
Emergency [same-day] appointments
We will see the following patients on the same day if
asked to do so:
- Children under age 5
- Women with problems in pregnancy
- Terminally ill patients
If you believe you need to be assessed on the
same day the staff will take your details, speak to
a doctor, and phone you back.
Late night opening
We open later on Monday evenings and offer an extra GP surgery 18:00
– 19:30 and an extra practice nurse surgery 18:00 – 19:45. Please
note: these appointments are for routine problems only and are
provided for patients who are unable to get to the practice during
the day because of their work or caring commitments. If you need
to see a GP urgently after 18:00 click
here for advice on how to access
out of hours services.
Continuity of care
We want to offer continued care by the same doctor
whenever possible. This should allow you normally to
see the doctor who knows you best.
Please mention this to the receptionist whenever you
make an appointment.
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