All our consultations are by appointment. You can make an appointment at the reception desk or by telephoning 01404 814447 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. Our reception desk is open all day between 08:00 and 18:30. When speaking to our Medical Administrators, they will ask for brief details of your problem so that you can be signposted to the most suitable appointment and service for you. Our staff are trained to deal with your request using a clinical signposting toolkit which has been developed by our GPs and clinical staff. This enables you to be directed to receive the right treatment from the right person at the right time. You may be directed to a service external from the practice, such as a pharmacy, depending on the nature of your condition. 

We are closed at weekends and Bank Holidays. Occasionally we also closed for staff training, please check our website or Facebook page before making a special journey to see us.        

More information is available below and at: www.nhs.uk/gpaccess

We ask that routine appointments are booked several weeks in advance and with your named GP or the GP you usually see. 

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.

If you are very unwell and need to see a health professional today, please phone 01404 814447. The medical administrator 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. 

If you have a long-term condition that needs reviewing, we will normally 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. 

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 medical 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 which service you need, please visit NHS 111 online or telephone 111 for advice.

The nearest minor injuries unit (MIU) is at Honiton Hospital, open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. 

A minor injuries service is also available at Beacon Medical Centre, Sidmouth Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm. If you are not sure what to do, please visit NHS 111 online or telephone 111 for advice. 

Minor injuries units are staffed by highly-qualified nurse practitioners who can deal with a wide range of injuries, from burns to broken bones.

You do not need an appointment to attend a minor injuries unit. Further information is available here NHS Royal Devon | Minor injuries units (MIUs) and Walk-in centre (WIC)

We encourage all our patients to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. Therefore, part of your ongoing healthcare 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 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 when you speak to a clinician, please notify the medical administrator when the appointment is made and they 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 have a telephone appointment, please ensure your phone not on silent, is close to hand and you have provided us with your up to date telephone number.

If you are too unwell or immobile 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 medical administrator details of your problem so that the doctor can prioritise your need.

It is most helpful if you can ring before 10:00 am so that the doctors can plan their rounds.

The 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.

The quickest and most convenient way to cancel an appointment is by using the NHS App: 

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 this consent form.

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

The practice offers appointments on some evenings and Saturdays as part of the Extended Access programme. Information on when and where these appointments are available can be found at:

East Devon Health - Access To Evening and Weekend Appointments

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, please 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. 

Please note that the practice car park is for patients with limited mobility only.

If you are coming to the practice for an appointment and do not have mobility issues, we kindly ask you to park in the nearby Sainsbury's 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 directlory/yellow pages or online using a search engine.