Appointments
Booking An Appointment at Birchwood Medical Centre
This page gives you all the information on how to book an appointment at the practice, this includes telephoning reception, requesting a home visit, booking an appointment online & cancelling your appointment.
How to Book A Routine Appointment
Here are the ways you can book an appointment at the practice to see any members of our healthcare team.
1. By Telephoning the Practice on 01925 823502
Phone lines are open at 9.00 am for same day appointments, routine appointments and all other queries.
2. Booking an Appointment Online
You can book an appointment on-line if you have a SystmOne username and password. Please use the links at the top of this page to do this.
3. Requesting a Home Visit - more information is provided to the right on this page
4. Online Telephone Consultations
How to Book An Urgent Same Day Appointment
URGENT MEDICAL EMERGANCIES ONLY
For Urgent medical emergencies only that require the immediate attention from a doctor - please call 01925 823527
This phone line is open from 8.00am- 09.00am and 6.00-6.30pm
The Pharmacy First service has now been running for over 2 months.
In summary these are the 7 conditions which a Pharmacist can see you with:-
· Earache - 1 to 17 years.
· Impetigo - 1 year and over.
· Infected insect bites - 1 year and over.
· Shingles - 18 years and over.
· Sinusitis - 12 years and over.
· Sore throat - 5 years and over.
· Uncomplicated urinary tract infections - women 16-64 years.
To help us to help you make an appointment,the following questions will be asked:
- Your name, address or date of birth
- Your telephone number
- Nature of the problem(in brief)
- Which doctor or member of the Primary Health Care Team is dealing with your particular problem (if applicable)
If your condition is non-urgent you have the option to book for a number of weeks in advance.
Please be considerate to other patients and remember 1 APPOINTMENT IS FOR 1 PROBLEM AND 1 PATIENT. Asking the GP to deal with multiple problems or see additional family members, in one 10 minute appointment can cause the GP to run late which has an impact on other patients.
We do provide some flexibility in our appointment system. If you find it difficult to get to surgery during our normal working hours please discuss this with our reception team.
Cancel Your Appointment
There are several ways you can cancel an appointment you have booked with the practice.
- Replying to the Appointment reminder text message you have been sent. This will automatically cancel your appointment.
- Using the NHS app
- Telephone the surgery on 01925 823 502
It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your face to face appointment. This will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient.
It is also important we have your correct telephone contact numbers so we can ring you about your health, inform you about test results and call you back for telephone consultations.
If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.
Cancel Your Appointment
Home Visits
Our doctors typically see four patients in 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 the practice. Please ring 01925 823502 before 11am to request a visit.
You will be asked your name,address and the reason for the visit so that the doctors can decide priority for urgent cases.
We also have access to a Warrington Home Visiting Assessment Service across Warrington for our housebound patients. This service is run by GP's and experienced paramedics who once you have been referred to them will assess your medical problems at home. They will then contact your own doctor to decide on the next course of management for your current problem. This may be that you need an urgent prescription, further tests or referral to an urgent care service. Your own GP remains involved and it does not effect your ongoing medical care but allows you to be assessed at home quicker and more effectively in case urgent intervention is required.
Extended Access Appointments in Warrington
Warrington GPs are working together to provide evening and weekend appointments for those who may find it difficult to get to a GP during the day.
These are appointments which are available:
Monday-Thursday - 6:30pm – 8.30pm - at Birchwood Medical Centre, Padgate Medical Centre & Fearnhead Cross Medical Centre
Friday - 6.30pm - 8.30pm - at various sites across Warrington
Saturdays 9am – 4pm - at various sites across Warrington
Sundays 10am – 2pm - at various sites across Warrington
There is a range of different appointments available including; telephone, face to face appointments with GP's and Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
This service is not for Walk In Patients.
To access an appointment please call Birchwood Medical Centre and we will arrange the appointment for you. Please be aware that you will need to consent to share your medical record with the service.
This service is commissioned by NHS England/ Warrington CCG.
Reception Team as Care Navigators
Our Reception Team as Care Navigators
You will notice our reception team/care navigators ask for a brief outline of your problem when you ring to book an appointment over the telephone or in person at our reception desk. They will also be reading the eConsults that you send to us via our practice website.
Care Navigation means we have trained our reception staff to help patients by identifying the most appropriate service or member of staff for your particular health problem or need.
They will never offer clinical advice. It is about offering you the choice to see the most appropriate professional in the practice team or elsewhere to help you get the best care for your problem. It will often be quicker and means you may not need to see a GP at all.
Such professional or services they sign post you to may be a community pharmacist, social services, Warrington Health & Wellbeing Service or other services locally. Here are a list of the some the services they may suggest:
www.nhs.uk www.mylifewarrington.co.uk
www.patient.info www.warrington.gov.uk
By working this way, it helps to free up time for our GP's to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions that can only be managed by a GP. More importantly though, it means people are seen first by the clinician best able to manage their clinical problem.
The choice is always your though and you will never be refused a GP appointment but we hope the next time you contact the surgery and speak to our reception team/care navigator you will see the value of seeing another health professional if they are able to help. If you would like someone to explain this to you in person, a member of our practivce team would be happy to help.
When the practice is closed, please call NHS 111 for any medical assistance.
Alternatively you can use NHS 111 online to get help with any symptoms you may have.