Appointments
Appointments can be made in a number of ways:
- By telephoning the practice – our telephone lines open at 08:00
- By calling into reception - 0ur front doors are promptly opened at 08:00
- By booking online. You will need to input your user ID and password which which must be obtained by the patient concerned personally, by calling into our main reception with their valid photographic identification and proof of address. A user ID and password will then be issued once the patient's identity has been verified. Those details can then be used to log on to book certain appointments by clicking on this link appointments online . We offer a number of Nurse Practitioner appointments on line. Before booking any such appointment please read our Nurse Practitioner Leaflet which lists the wide range of matters which the Nurse Practitioner can deal with.
If you are registered as a patient of this practice, you can also get an appointment with a GP or prescribing nurse at one of our healthcare hubs, including during evenings, weekends and bank holidays:
Belgrave Health Centre
52 Brandon Street, Leicester, LE4 6AW
Mon-Fri 6:30pm to 10:00pm
Weekends and bank holidays
12:00pm to 8:00pm
Merlyn Vaz Health and Social Care Centre
1 Spinney Hill Road, Leicester, LE5 3GH
8am to 8pm, seven days a week
Saffron Health
509 Saffron Lane, Leicester, LE2 6TD
Mon-Fri 6:30pm to 10:00pm
Weekends and bank holidays
12:00pm to 8:00pm
Westcotes Health Centre
Fosse Road South, Leicester, LE3 0LP
8am to 8pm, seven days a week
Appointments can be booked for the same day or up to 48 hours in advance.
If we have been unable to offer you an appointment and you need to see someone quickly, ask our reception staff about an appointment at a healthcare hub instead.
Options when asking for an appointment
Our experienced medical team consist of GP’s, practice nurses, nurse practitioners, healthcare assistants and counsellors. We also have locum doctors/nurses at certain times. When an appointment is being made for you, the reception staff will always aim to ensure that you are booked in with the correct person within that team and will therefore ask the brief reason why an appointment is required. This isn’t to be intrusive but simply to enable an appointment to be allocated with an appropriate health professional.
We offer a range of different appointments with members of the medical team. Due to fluctuating demand at different times of the year we do periodically review and revise the types of clinics and appointment options which we offer. Information about any changes will be available from reception and will also be included within our Newsletter and under the 'Latest News' section of this website
GP Appointments
Whilst appointments can be requested with a specific GP, (which we will try and accommodate)48 hours pre-bookable in advance, it isn’t always practical to book a patient in each time with the GP of their choice. We also provide an on the day Duty Doctor for medical emergencies. This is due to a number of reasons and can depend on the GP’s availability and variety of clinics they do particularly during busy or holiday periods. All of the medical team are very experienced and have access to a patient’s records and medical history during the appointment consultation. Patients are therefore actively encouraged to see other GP’s/professionals within the medical team when feasible if it isn’t possible to offer an appointment with their preferred GP.
Nurse Practitioners
Our very experienced, female nurse practitioners and male emergency care practitioners can deal with a vast range of different ailments and common health problems which are available to book on the day so it often isn’t necessary to see a GP –depending on the nature of the problem. The reception team have clear guidelines to follow about this with the aim of making sure that patients are booked an appointment with an appropriate person. Please click on the link below to read more about the important role the nurse practitioner has within our clinical team
Nurse Practitioner leaflet
Practice Nurses and Healthcare Assistants
We have two practice nurses and three healthcare assistants who attend to various health related matters. Our appointments leaflet gives examples of what each of them routinely deal with.
Upon arrival
Please promptly check in so we know that you have arrived. Please let the receptionist know that you have arrived. Once you have checked in please take a seat in the waiting area until you are called in to your appointment via the call board (or the tannoy system)
Late Arrivals
If you arrive late for an appointment, you will not be seen or fitted in the same day you will need to re-arrange another appointment.
Cancellation of appointments
On average 80 appointments are currently wasted each week because patients do not turn up for their appointment. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to attend so the appointment can be offered to another patient instead. Appointments can be cancelled at any time day or night by simply telephoning us on 01162166996 then choosing the relevant option .If you are ringing when we are closed, simply to cancel an appointment then please dial 01162166996 then select option 2 to leave a message which will need to include your name, date of birth and appointment details
Occasionally changes (such as cancellation of clinics) have to be made by us at very short notice such as if one of the medical team is off unexpectedly. Whilst we try to minimise any disruption this can cause sometimes this is unavoidable .In such instances we will aim to offer an alternative appointment as soon as possible to minimise any inconvenience caused. Please ensure that you provide us with your up to date contact details in case we need ever need to contact you in such instances.
SMS Text Messages
To help to reduce the high volume of ‘missed appointments’ SMS reminders are sent (when appropriate), in respect of the majority of pre-booked appointments with GP’s, nurse practitioners and practice nurses.