All GP and nurse consultations are by appointment. Appointments can be made via our online booking service. Otherwise please telephone and give the patient advisor brief details of your problem so that you can be signposted to the most suitable appointment for you. You may be redirected to our eConsult service.

You can make an appointment online, at the reception desk or by telephoning between 08:30 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday. Our telephone lines are closed between 13:00 and 14:00 - please avoid making calls at this time. Our reception desk is usually open all day between 08:00 and 18:30.

We are closed at weekends and Bank Holidays. Occasionally we also close for staff training, please check the latest news page on our web site before making a special journey to see us.                                                              

We ask that routine appointments are booked 2-3 weeks in advance and with your named GP or the GP you usually see. We offer online booking for routine appointments.

If you need an appointment within the next 2 - 3 days and there are no appointments available, you may be offered a telephone call or online consultation with your named GP or the GP you usually see.

If you are very unwell and need to see a health professional today, please use the online consultation service via the above link. The receptionist will signpost you either to a telephone consultation, an on the day appointment with a nurse practitioner or to a telephone call with the duty doctor. The duty doctor will then decide the best course of action and you will be seen if necessary. 

If you have a long-term condition that needs review we will usually contact you when your next appointment is due, usually during the month of your birth. However, if you do not hear from us when expected please contact us.  You do not need to wait for a letter before you book your seasonal flu vaccination. Appointments are usually set up towards the end of the summer.   Please book in as soon as you can so that you get your immunisation ready for the start of the flu season.

The pharmacist consults with patients and GPs to optimise prescribing. 

The pharmacist reviews and reconciles medication and provides specific advice, guidance and education to patients and the practice team.

In the event of a life threatening emergency please telephone 999.

Please do not attend accident and emergency unless you have sustained an injury that needs immediate attention or are very unwell.

If you are not sure please telephone us or when we are closed telephone 111 for advice.

The nearest minor injuries unit (MIU) is at Honiton Hospital between 08:00 and 22:00 daily.

MIU is also available at Beacon Medical Centre, Sidmouth Mon-Fri 0800 to 1800. If you are not sure what to do, please telephone NHS 111 for further advice.   

Minor injuries are usually cuts, grazes, minor falls, animal bites, minor burns, bruising, sprains, strains, foreign bodies and minor bumps.

We encourage all our patients to take responsibility for their own health and well being. Therefore part of your ongoing health care is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The NHS has developed an excellent web site called NHS Choices to help you to do this at http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx.   

For the safety of other patients and our staff you must telephone us first if you or a member of your family or friend needs to see us and they are suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting or flu like symptoms.

We will make every effort not to run late but from time to time it is unavoidable. Running late happens for a variety of reasons. You can help us and the patients that are booked in after you if you book a double appointment for complex or multiple problems and book individual appointments for each person who needs to be seen. Your doctor may ask you to book another appointment if you require more time than is available or you want to discuss more than one problem.

If you would like a chaperone with you please ask when you book your appointment or before a discussion or examination takes place. Our nurses and health care assistants are trained to chaperone during any medical examination or consultation. Likewise the doctor or nurse examining or treating you may ask that a chaperone is present.   If a chaperone is not available, then you will be asked to wait until one is available or rebook your appointment.

Interpreter

If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your doctor please notify the receptionist and she will arrange this for you.

Please attend your appointment on time, if you are late you may not be seen. If you are not seen you will not be able to rearrange your appointment until the next working day-except in the event of an medical emergency that requires immediate attention.

If you are too ill to come to the surgery, you can request a home visit. Your request will be triaged by a doctor, who may telephone you before agreeing to visit. Please give the receptionists details of your problem so that the doctor can prioritise your need.

You may be redirected to the Patient Triage service. It is most helpful if you can ring before 10:00 am so that the doctors can plan their rounds.

Community nurses can only visit genuine housebound patients who are on their current caseload, having been referred to the service by another health professional e.g. consultant, GP.        

Please let us know without delay if you cannot attend so that we can offer your slot to someone else.

To reduce the number of wasted appointments through failure to attend, and to minimise the effect of running late on other patients and our clinicians, we take these issues very seriously and we have a policy for missed appointments and lateness. Please let us know if you have difficulty communicating with us or attending appointments. If you repeatedly fail to attend without letting us know or are repeatedly late for your appointment, we will raise this formally with you and as a result you may be removed from our list and have to find an alternative practice.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

GP appointments are now available in your area during the evenings and at weekends.  To book an appointment, contact our Medical Administrators on 01404 814447.

For more information, visit:

www.nhs.uk/gpaccess

This practice offers appointments on some Saturdays as part of an Extended Access programme.  Information on when and where other weekend and weekday appointments are available can be found at:

East Devon Health - Access To Evening and Weekend Appointments

All patients registered here have a named, accountable GP who is responsible for patients’ overall care at the practice. If you would like to know who your named GP is please ask us and if you have a preference as to which GP that is we will make reasonable efforts to accommodate your request. The current list holders are Dr Dilley, Dr Kerr, Dr Gurney and Dr Nelson. Patients are asked to see the same GP for the duration of an episode of care so that continuity of care is maintained.  This GP does not have to be your registered GP.

Patients aged 75 and over have a named GP who will work with other agencies to deliver a multi disciplinary care package that meets the needs of the patient. In addition the named GP will ensure these patients have access to a health check up if one is requested.

This is a training practice attached to the University of Exeter. GP Registrars are qualified doctors who spend time working at the Medical Centre with us to gain experience of general practice.  You may be offered an appointment with a GP Registrar, please accept them as one of us.  If however you prefer to see your own doctor, do say so.

Occasionally doctor and nurse medical students from Peninsula Medical School and Plymouth University spend time we us.  They will be introduced to you and be under strict supervision of a practice doctor or registered nurse.  

Please let us know if you do not want a student to be present during your consultation. 

Patients are asked to travel as independently as possible to and from health care, perhaps with the help of family, friends, carer and neighbours, public transport or taxi if own transport not available. 

Please note that the Practice car park is for limited mobility access only.

If you are coming to the Practice for an appointment, we kindly ask you to park in the Sainsburys car park, which is free for up to 2 hours. Alternatively, there is paid car parking in the Land of Canaan car park nearer the Practice.

The local Ottery Help Scheme may be able to provide you with transport to and from healthcare settings (a charge is usually made for this). The Help Scheme can be contacted on 01404 813041.

Bus routes through Ottery are:

• 4 - Exeter - Honiton - Axminster
• 4A - Exeter - Ottery St Mary - Honiton
• 4B - Exeter - Ottery St Mary - Honiton - Axminster
• 381 - Ottery St Mary Town Service Circular
• 382 - Sidmouth - Whimple
• 387 - Sidmouth - Taunton

Details of local taxi firms can be found using your telephone directly/yellow pages or online using a search engine. 

Advice on Supported Travel is available from your local SPoC (Single Point of Contact) on 01404 46529 (open week days only).  If you can’t use the telephone you could ask a friend, carer or family member to ring for you.