Bath Row Medical Practice offers a number of different types of appointments including face to face, telephone or online consultations. It can be useful to have a telephone consultation when you do not need to be physically examined by a doctor.
The surgery operates a booking system for all its appointments unless otherwise stated for specific clinics. This is done in order to allow you an appropriate consultation slot for your medical needs with the relevant clinician. An appointment system also allows you to attend the practice at an exact time thus reducing the period you may need to wait within the practice to be seen.
How to book an appointment
The most convenient way to book an appointment is via our patient app. This can be done 24 hours a day. You can also book an appointment via the telephone or using an online consultation.
When booking appointments please remember the following points:
- The receptionist will ask you for a reason for the appointment. This is done in order to book you the appropriate length of consultation with the appropriate clinician. The practice staff will not be offended if you prefer not to provide a reason however if an inappropriate consultation is booked, the doctor or nurse may ask you to re-book. All of the practice receptionists are bound by the rules of confidentiality.
- Please note that the doctors and nurses generally allow 10 minute consultations for each condition that you wish to discuss. If you want to get advice on more than one condition please advise the receptionist at the time of booking in order to book you an appointment with the appropriate length of time.
- You may request which clinician you would like to see, particularly in order to achieve continuity of care however please note that it may not always be in your best interest to see a particular clinician as each clinician has different skills and interests. It may not always be possible to see a particular clinician due to annual leave etc. Please note for all urgent appointment requests you will be allocated an appointment with the on-call doctor, which might not be your usual doctor.
To book an appointment by telephone please call 0121 622 4846, use an online consultations for any NON-urgent problems, or use the NHS App.
How to cancel or rearrange and appointment
To cancel or rearrange an appointment please contact the practice on 0121 622 4846 as soon as you know you will be unable to attend the pre-booked time allotted to you. Practice staff will gratefully appreciate any attempts to cancel unwanted appointments so that other patients can benefit from your cancellation.
To make life easier any appointments booked through our patient app can also be cancelled via the NHS app. For all other appointments booked in person or over the phone, these can be cancelled using our free text service. All you need to do is reply with the word ‘CANCEL’ to appointment reminder text message which you will usually receive approximately 24 hours before your appointment.
Patients who repeatedly fail to attend appointments without cancelling with the reception team will be removed from the surgery list in order to maintain a high standard of service to other patients.
Telephone Appointments
We offer a range of telephone consultations including a limited number of telephone appointments with each one of our clinicians.. We also offer a wider range of telephone consultations throughout the day with a GP or Pharmacist, 6 days a week.
If you feel a telephone appointment would be appropriate for you then the most convenient way to book a telephone consultation is via the NHS app, or alternatively call the surgery and the receptionist will book an appropriate appointment.
Telephone consultations can be used for problems such as (this list is not exhaustive):
- Coughs and colds
- Simple medical conditions
- Aches and pains
- Test results
- Changes or problems to medications, or
- When you want some general medical advice from a clinician.
Please note this service is not appropriate for medical emergencies or serious health complaints. If you are unsure whether your problem is suitable for a telephone consultation please speak to reception.