Urgent Appointments
On Call GP’s are available to deal with urgent/emergency patients on Monday-Friday until 6.30pm.
Tel: 01254 287130
Routine (Non-Urgent) Appointments
If your condition is non-urgent, we offer a number of pre-book appointments which can be booked up to one week in advance. You may have to wait longer for an appointment if you want to see a particular GP.
Tel: 01254 617440
How to book appointments at four neighbourhood spoke surgeries.
The practice is a member of Blackburn with Darwen’s Local Primary Care GP federation. Local Primary Care federation runs a GP extended access service that provides additional appointments at four neighbourhood spoke surgeries. Patients can be booked into one of the four spoke surgeries via the practice receptionists accordingly. Please ask at reception for more information.
Exceptions to Normal Opening Hours
Please see the Surgery Times section for dates when the practice is closed for Bank Holidays or Staff Training. If you call the surgery when we are closed you will be given information about the out of hours service.
What to do in an emergency
If you need urgent medical advice during surgery hours, please phone the surgery on 01254 287130. Please be prepared to give some information to the receptionist. If you need to see a doctor urgently when the surgery is closed please phone the surgery and follow the instructions. You will be put through to an ‘out-of-hours’ service on behalf of Practice. They will pass a message to the doctor on duty who may phone you to assess your problem. You might be asked to attend the out-of-hours clinic, or receive a home visit. For deaf people and those hard of hearing, a telephone services is available on 0845 606 4647. If English is not your preferred language, you can choose to use a confidential translation service. Whatever the day or time, if you or someone else experiences severe chest pain, loss of blood or suspected broken bones, go to your nearest accident and emergency department or call 999.
How to arrange a home visit
Our doctors typically see four patients at the practice in the time it takes to do a single home visit. For this reason, we ask our patients to come to the practice if at all possible. However, we can visit you at home if your condition means you cannot attend. So if you are housebound, please ring the main switchboard before 9am to arrange a visit. Please be prepared to tell the receptionist about your condition so we can visit the most urgent cases first. The doctor (or nurse practitioner) may wish to speak with you to see if it would be better for you to come to the surgery to be seen immediately. Home visits are normally made after morning surgeries.
How to get your test results
On average please allow 7-10 working days for your test results to come back from the hospital unless your doctor has advised otherwise. Please note that X-ray results may take up to 21 days. For your test results please telephone the surgery on 01254 287130. Sometimes, we cannot always give full results over the phone. If the result is complicated, or if the doctor wants to see you about the result, we will offer you an appointment. We will only give results to the person who has had the test. Please call for your results after 2pm.
Sick (Fit) Notes
You only need a doctor’s note if you are unable to work and are ill for longer than seven calendar days. Your employer will provide you with an SC2 self-certificate form for shorter periods of illness.
How to get a health check-up
Newly registered patients, those aged 75 or over who have not had a consultation in the past year and adult patients under 75 who have not had a consultation in the past three years all have the right to request a health check consultation with either a doctor or nurse at the practice. Please call reception to arrange an appointment.
Chronic Condition Management
If you have a long-term or chronic condition that needs monitoring on a regular basis then the Practice will contact you to ensure that appointments for reviews are made. We will let you know when your next appointment is due with the practice nurse or doctor either by post or email and you may receive a text message reminder if you sign up for the free service. If the time offered is not convenient, please telephone reception to re-arrange it. It is important to continue your regular check-ups, even if you are feeling well. Routine appointments are available during normal surgery hours with our doctors, nurse clinicians and with our practice nurse. We hold regular clinics to manage chronic diseases.
How to get travel vaccinations
For routine protection against Tetanus and Polio please make appointments with the practice nurse. We offer a full range of vaccinations for foreign travel and travel vaccination clinics are held each Friday. For all advice and information regarding foreign travel please call the surgery to arrange an appointment 4-6 weeks before departure so that immunisation can be completed. Please note that not all travel vaccinations are free of charge. You can download a Travel Information Booklet from the News and Documents section.
Why might it be difficult to get an appointment?
The surgery is particularly busy on Mondays and Fridays especially during the winter months and before and after bank holidays. If your appointment is not urgent, try to book on a less busy day after 10.30am. Last month approximately 70 patients failed to turn up for their appointment. If you let us know as soon as possible you can’t attend your appointment, we can then make it available for another patient. If we can’t offer you an immediate appointment, we may phone back to offer you a cancellation slot. Please Note: Staff are not authorised to offer patients an ‘on the day’ appointment after all appointments allocated for that day have gone. Adding extra appointments reduces the quality of care and the ability of the clinician to spend an appropriate amount of time with patients booked in. At these times your patience will be greatly appreciated. We also ask you to remember that all staff adhere to strict terms of confidentiality and that staff are not trying to be obstructive or overly intrusive in asking you for details of the problem.
Patient Responsibility
It is your responsibility to keep your appointments. Doctor’s appointments are missed each and every day by people who either forget to show up and who fail to call and cancel their appointment. Failing to attend or cancel your appointment puts additional pressure on your Doctor and the cost to the NHS of is great. Therefore we implement a stringent ‘did not attend’ policy. You can cancel your appointment at any time up until two hours before you are due to arrive for your appointment. Remember if you cancel your appointment another patient can be seen.
