Open Surgery

In recent years the protocol for open surgery has undergone some changes so please take a look at the following information to keep up-to-date with our current arrangements.

Please note that open surgery appointments are only bookable on the day unless authorised or requested by a clinician.

Phone calls to book open surgery slots can be taken when the phone lines open at 8:30am if you are unable to come into the surgery to request an appointment.

Alternatively, the enquiry window opens at 8am and appointments can be booked for open Surgery at this time. This option may be preferred for those who wish to book in with a particular clinician as our appointments are first come first served and this option gives a better chance of seeing your preferred clinician although this is still not guaranteed.

If you do come into the surgery to request an open surgery slot once this slot has been booked, you will need to leave the surgery and come back in around the time of your assigned time slot. We ask that patients attend no more than 10 minutes earlier than their given appointment time to reduce the amount of people waiting in the surgery at any one time thus reducing your own potential wait time.

Should your preferred clinician be unavailable or fully booked for that day you will be offered an appointment with an alternative clinician. It would be your decision if you wished to accept this appointment but please be aware that staff will not be able to add extra appointments onto a session if there are other clinicians available.

Start times for appointments can vary depending on the clinician. Telephone slots can start between 8am to 8:45am whilst face to face appointments can be offered from 8:40 depending on what appointments are available with each clinician on that particular morning.

Face to face appointments can be requested up until the end of open surgery where appropriate but you may be asked to come straight down and wait for the appointment should it be near the end of the session.

Please be aware that face to face appointments will not be booked after 10:30am and from that time till 11:00am only telephone slots will be available.

Also please remember that open surgery finishes at 11:00am. If you approach us after this time the reception staff will not be able to add any more patients to the clinicians’ lists.