Telephone System
Our telephone system has a queuing facility which gives options. We have tried to make life easier for both patients and staff by keeping these options to a minimum. These are:-
Option 1 - Appointments and Reception: for booking appointments or requesting home visits and for prescription queries. Please press 3 for a call back when in the queue if you would like us to call you back.
Option 2 - Secretaries: For Hospital Referral information and information about Insurance and Reports. Chasing Referrals at Basildon Hospital - If you have been referred to Basildon Hospital and want to chase your referral, please call 01268 394994 (Appointments line at Basildon Hospital).
Option 3 - Cancellation of Appointment - please leave a voicemail: Name, Date of Birth and appointment time
Please remember that our telephones can get very busy especially between 8.00am and 9.00am each morning when patients are trying to get an urgent appointment.
View our opening times.
Routine Appointments
Routine pre-bookable appointments are available to book up to four weeks in advance. For continuity of care, the Practice advises patients to consult with their usual GP however patients can see any GP and must be aware that there may be longer waiting times to book with a particular GP.
Appointments can be booked at the desk or by telephoning the surgery number and choosing option 1 or using the online booking system.
Each 10-minute appointment is for one patient and one problem
At times of high demand, there may be a wait of one week or more for an appointment for a particular doctor. The doctors will try to see urgent cases on the same day, however this will not be a GP of choice it will be the Duty GP.
In order to help with appointments we have the services of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, who can deal with many issues and is also able to triage patients. If you require an urgent appointment you may be offered an appointment with the Advanced Nurse Practitioner, or she may assist you over the telephone. This is to make sure that urgent cases are seen in order of priority and that you are cared for by the most appropriate practitioner.
Hub Service
We are now offering appointments between 6.30 and 8pm weekdays and on Saturday at our PCN Extended Access Hub Service.
Cancellation
The Surgery has approximately 13,000 patients under our care. For this reason appointments are always in demand. Up to 200 people per month do not attend for their appointment and do not cancel their appointment with us. This means other patients have to wait longer for routine appointments as this number of missed appointments can equate to over 35 hours of lost clinical time.
If you know that you are not going to be able to make the scheduled appointment then please let our receptionists know as soon as possible so that the appointment can be offered to someone else. Even at short notice we will always try to offer your appointment to someone else. Please phone the Surgery number and press option 3 for our cancellation line.
Duty Doctor
The doctors rotate this duty on a daily basis to cover home visits and any urgent queries.
Home Visits
These are reserved for the truly housebound. We recognise the need for some patients, for example, the elderly or frail, to have a home visit, but do please think carefully before asking for one. Facilities are better in the Surgery and the doctor can see four or more patients in the Surgery in the time taken for one home visit.
Please request home visits before 11.00am wherever possible unless an emergency occurs later in the day. Giving the receptionist as much information as possible helps the doctor to assess the urgency of the situation. If you do request a visit, the doctor will make the decision whether to give advice over the telephone, visit or refer to another agency (such as the district nurse or modern matron) as appropriate. Lack of transport is not in itself a reason for a home visit.
Online Services
The surgery would like to invite you to register for Online Services which will allow you to access the following services:
- Booking appointments online.
- Cancelling appointments online.
- Requesting Repeat Medication.
- Change of details.
To use this service I would ask that you complete the downloadable registration form (DOC, 36KB) and attend the surgery along with the relevant identification (as detailed below).
On registration you will be issued with a Username and Password. Once you go online you will be able to change your password for something that is more memorable for you.
The practice hopes that this process will help you access the services you need from the surgery however, if you have any questions regarding the online services please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing us at londonroadsurgery@nhs.net.
Identification requirements:
Photo Driving Licence with address details or Passport; and one Utility Bill in your name and address (not more than 6 months old).
Visit SystmOnline.
Try the NHS App
You can now use the NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services and your GP account on your smartphone or tablet.
You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms and get instant advice, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record, access your Covid vaccination status and more.
If you already use online access you can continue to use it. You can use the NHS App as well.
For more information go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp