Booking an appointment

We want you to

• Be able to get access easily and quickly to the most appropriate person.
• Be able to see someone you are familiar with where possible.

Variety of Appointments

We offer appointments at each of the sites in Aycliffe, Shildon and Eldon. All clinicians (Doctors. Nurses and Health Care Assistants) can offer booked telephone appointments. We also have an internal messaging system for you to obtain results and pass messages to any clinician.

Variety of Practitioners

All clinicians have access to your electronic medical record. Whoever you see should have access to previous consultations with another practitioner.

Making or Cancelling an Appointment

You can make an appointment by phone, calling at the reception desk and On-line. When making an appointment please be prepared to give some limited information on the nature of the problem so the receptionist can advise you correctly. We may sometimes call you back to discuss the appointment further. If you cancel please do so as far ahead as you can to enable someone else to book in your slot.  

DNA (“Did Not Attend”)

We have looked at the rate of “DNA’ in the practice - patients who simply fail to turn up for an appointment they have made. A staggering 134 hours of valuable appointments every week are lost when patients DNA. If you DNA you will affect someone else! Medical records are marked with an entry when patients DNA. Don’t be a DNA! Ask for a text reminder to help you remember your appointment. 

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10am if you require a home visit.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the surgery.