There many services which you can access without a referral from your GP. For example, you can access mental health support or physiotherapy for ongoing joint pain without seeing a GP. You can also contact health visitors and school nurses about children's health and wellbeing.

You can also manage many conditions at home with self-care, or with a visit to your local pharmacy, such as hay fever, coughs and colds. For more information, visit our "Self-Help and Self-Referral" page.

Normal consulting times are 08:50am to 11:50am and 3:00pm to 5:00pm.

If you wish to see a particular doctor, please ask reception and we will do our best to accommodate this. There may be a waiting period. You can also request to see the earliest available doctor, if you prefer.

When you arrive for your appointment, if you think you may be infectious or feel too ill to wait in the waiting room, please tell the receptionist.

Please ask the receptionist if you wish to speak to them in confidence. If you need a chaperone or interpreter, please tell reception when you book your appointment.

We also provide extended hours appointments (early mornings, evenings and weekends). Please ask reception for further information about our upcoming extended hours clinics.

Consultations are by appointment only and can be made by telephone. Routine appointments are for 10 minutes. The receptionist will ask you for a brief explanation of the problem when you book your appointment. If you have more than one problem, please ask for a double appointment.

You can book appointments up to 4 weeks in advance.

If you have an urgent problem, you can leave your details for our triage doctor. The doctor will check your record and may recommend treatment or investigation.

If possible please try to telephone reception before 11:00am if you need a home visit.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it. They will also decide how urgently a visit is needed.

The GP can also refer you for home visits from the community nurse, if needed.

eConsult - available 12:30-13:30 Monday to Friday

How does the service work?

• Complete a simple form about your problem or request
• Your GPs decide on the best treatment for you
• The practice responds with advice, a prescription or an appointment

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment. This means we can give the appointment to another patient. If you don't tell us that you are unable to attend, we will send you a letter informing you that you have missed your appointment. If you miss multiple appointments, you may be removed from the list.

Please attend your appointment on time. If you are late, the doctor may not be able to see you. 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.

Furnace Green Surgery has been approved for GP and medical student training. Each year one or more fully qualified doctors with hospital experience may spend time with the practice. This is part of their training to become GPs.

Occasionally, medical students may also spend time with the Practice. All of our trainees and students work closely with our GP partners. Sometimes other doctors who oversee training standards visit the surgery. They inspect patient medical records during these visits to check training standards. Please tell reception if you do not want your medical records included.