Appointments

Appointments

Hope Farm Medical Centre is open Monday to Friday 8am until 6.30pm. The phone lines open at 8am each weekday morning. Please note that the phone lines tend to be quite busy early in the morning. If your call is for a routine matter, consider ringing later in the day.

Our patients can schedule routine appointments up to four weeks in advance with the doctors and nurses. Appointments can be booked in person, over the phone, or via the NHS App.

Doctors appointments also become available on the day at 8am, these are known as on-the-day appointments. These are available for patients who feel they need to be seen sooner.

For patients safety and consistent care, it’s advisable to see the same GP for ongoing issues or follow-ups. Booking appointments in advance ensures you can access your preferred GP. Unless your situation is urgent, we strive to maintain continuity by scheduling you with the same GP

We have a range of different team members at the practice, and there may be more than one suitable option. Often you can be seen sooner by asking for an appointment with the correct person – be that one of our nurses or healthcare assistants. Sometimes you can also be seen by a pharmacist. If you are unsure the Patient Services Team will be pleased to advise you. Below is a summary of what our different services and clinicians can offer you.

GP

  • One of the doctors – our most highly qualified staff member
  • May have a specialist area of expertise
  • Can perform all necessary examinations and prescribe almost all drugs
  • Can make referrals to specialists and arrange hospital admission
  • Only has a 10 minute appointment
  • Tends to have longest waiting times

Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP)

  • Our most highly qualified nurse
  • Many years of experience
  • Can perform some examinations and prescribe certain drugs
  • Can deal with many minor illnesses
  • Can make referrals and admit to hospital

Practice Nurse

  • Manages the routine care of long-term conditions such as diabetes and COPD
  • Can have longer appointments
  • Often the best option if you have questions about your long-term condition or the associated medication.
  • Limited prescribing

GP Assistant (GPA)

  • Can check blood pressure, pulses, take blood samples and measure height and weight
  • Tend to be more accessible
  • Often the best option if you want a periodic “health-check” for peace of mind. They will report any abnormal findings to the doctors to see if any action is required
  • Cannot prescribe

Practice Pharmacist

  • Can review your medication
  • Can advise you on your medication
  • Can answer your medication queries
  • Can give advice regarding medication side effects
  • Specialised prescribing

Additional roles…

  • Physiotherapists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Social Prescribing Link Workers
  • Dieticians
  • Wellbeing Coordinators

Pre-bookable appointments

Patients are able to book routine GP appointments up to four weeks in advance, either in person, by telephone or online via the NHS App. Some appointments are also released on the day at 8am. The telephone is often busy early in the morning, therefore if your call is routine, please ring later in the day or try to book an appointment in advance.

To provide you with continuity and for your safety it is often better for you to see either your registered doctor for on-going problems, or to follow-up with the same doctor who has been dealing with your current problem. Booking in advance enables you to access your registered GP. Unless it is an emergency, and where possible, please ask to consult with the doctor who is dealing with your problem.

On the day appointments

Patients are able to book on-the-day appointments either in person, by telephone or online via the NHS App . These appointments are typically face-to-face, with a new medical problem. Additionally, consider visiting a pharmacy for advice and treatment for common illnesses that don’t require a prescription.

Telephone appointments

When appropriate you may request or be offered a telephone appointment with your doctor. The doctor will phone you after 11.30am for a consultation and if the doctor decides that you need to be examined they will arrange this with you at the end of your phone call.

Urgent appointments

If you feel that you need to be seen urgently on the day, an appointment will be arranged for you with the duty doctor.  You may be asked to supply a brief description of the problem as this can help us to book you in with the most relevant clinician. Our Patient Services Team is fully trained and subject to the same levels of confidentiality as our clinicians.

All children will be seen on the day by the Duty Doctor if an appointment on the day is required.

Non-urgent advice: Emergencies

What is an Emergency? Whatever the time of day, if you or someone else experiences the symptoms below and you feel it is so serious that it cannot wait; go to the nearest Accident and Emergency Department or call 999.

Symptoms include: Chest pain, severe abdominal pain, vomiting blood, black stools, breathlessness, non-blanching rashes (the glass test), possible anaphylactic shock (swelling of mouth and throat).

The nearest A&E department is: Countess of Chester Hospital, Liverpool Road, Chester CH2 1UL. Tel: 01244 365 000

If you are unable to attend your appointment please contact the practice as soon as possible so the appointment can be offered to another patient.

You can cancel your appointment either in person, by telephone, via the NHS app or by clicking here.
Please attend your appointment on time.  If you are late we may not be able to see you.
Hope Farm Medical Centre is a part of One Ellesmere Port Primary Care Network (PCN). The PCN is a collaboration of the 6 GP Practices from across the town who are working together to develop better services for our patient population.
Our PCN now provides additional appointments during weekday evenings and on a Saturday:

Monday – Thursday: 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Friday 6:30pm to 8:00pm (Held in Great Sutton Medical Centre or York Road Group Practice)
Saturday: 9:00am to 5:00pm (Held in Great Sutton Medical Centre or York Road Group Practice)

These appointments are available for patients registered at all 6 GP Practices and therefore you maybe asked to attend an alternative GP Practice, if suitable.
You can book these appointments in the usual manner via Hope Farm Medical Centre.
These additional appointments are available with a range of our practice and PCN staff:

GP
Nurse
Physiotherapist
Phlebotomy (Blood Test)
Mental Health Link Worker / Counsellor

Our Friday evening and Saturday appointments are provided by Primary Care Cheshire GP Federation (PCC). Further information on PCC can be found here: Enhanced Access | primarycarecheshire
Each month the practice will be closed once a month for a half-day from 1pm until 5pm for continued staff development.

The afternoon closure enables training to be delivered to staff and an opportunity to share knowledge and learning to ensure the care provided by the practice is of the highest quality.

If you need to see a clinician during these hours of closure please contact NHS 111.
Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate that this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 11:00am. Requests received after midday will normally be visited the following day unless the doctor agrees there is a medically urgent need.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. The doctors could see four to six patients in the surgery for every home visit they undertake, so your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it, and they 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 visits around their other work.

You can also be visited at home by a community (District) 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.