Appointments

Requests for urgent appointments must be made by telephoning the practice at 08:30. All urgent cases will be seen on the same day. Our telephone number can be found on the Contact page.

Patients are requested to either report to reception upon arrival or use the self check-in system.

While you are free to attend any of the doctors in the practice, it is often best to follow illnesses through with the same doctor, where possible.  If the doctor of choice is not available you may see one of the other doctors or wait until your own doctor is available.

When you request an appointment with the GP, our receptionists will ask you for a brief reason as to why you need an appointment. This is so that they can direct you to the appropriate person within our team which includes GPs, Practice Nurses, Physiotherapist, Social worker or Mental Health Practitioner. Or they may give you information about services or self-care options that you could access for your symptoms eg. the Minor Ailments service at the local pharmacy.

Please note: our Receptionists are NOT trying to be doctors or make medical assessments. They are duty bound to respect our confidentiality in exactly the same way as the GPs. 

In a number of cases it might be worth considering an appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor. Practice nurses are qualified to deal with many ailments and you may be seen more quickly. They are available daily 09:00 - 12:30 and 14:00 - 16:30, usually after referral by the doctor.  We operate an appointment system for a Wednesday morning as there is only one nurse on duty.

This is a very worthwhile service provided by our community pharmacists. The Minor Ailments Scheme covers conditions without a prescription such as allergic rhinitis, head lice, diarrhoea, vaginal thrush, threadworms, groin itch and athlete’s foot. 

Just present to any one of the 3 chemists in town and they will be happy to treat you through the minor ailments scheme.

Find a Pharmacy NI (Pharmaceutical Society NI)

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00.

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 and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

On occasions there will be video recording of patients’ consultations.  A recording will not be undertaken without a patient’s consent.

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.

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.

We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable - these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.

You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.

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.