In November 101 people failed to attend or cancel their appointment, equating to 20 hours of clinical time. Please help us to support as many patients as possible by cancelling appointments which are no longer needed. Appointments can be cancelled online, by calling our reception team, or by emailing us at wsccg.guildhallreception@nhs.net.
The practice is providing care to COVID positive patients on a daily basis. In order to keep our staff and patients safe, most appointments with a healthcare professional are being triaged by telephone in the first instance. However, depending on the nature of your medical problem, you may be offered a face to face appointment straightaway. For example, most nurse appointments are being booked face to face, although some elements of annual review checks will take place via telephone to reduce the length of time you will need to spend in the practice.
If you have been allocated a time for an appointment please do not arrive too early otherwise you will be asked to wait outside the building. A waiting room full of patients places patients and staff at risk. Some patients coming to the surgery will have underlying health conditions that place them at high risk and they shouldn’t be sharing a waiting room with other, potentially infectious, patients.
Should you have COVID symptoms, please be honest with the reception team regarding this, and confirm whether you have undertaken a recent PCR test. You will still be offered a face-to-face appointment should you need to be seen, but we will take additional infection control measures to protect staff and other vulnerable adults and children that might be visiting the surgery. Failure to do this may result in us having to isolate staff, to arrange closure and cleaning of areas of the building, and to advise other members of the public of their proximity of a positive case; all of which creates an additional burden on the practice and takes staff away from providing our primary services. Anyone attending the surgery with undisclosed COVID symptoms will be asked to leave immediately.
Doctors
The surgery runs an appointment system. Appointments may be made:
- Online click here for more information
- In person by calling at the reception desk.
- By telephone. It is possible to make an appointment at either site on either of these numbers.
Unfortunately, except in cases of genuine emergency, you can not expect to be seen by a doctor or a nurse if you do not book an appointment.
Opening times for both surgeries may be viewed here for The Guildhall Surgery or The Barrow Surgery
Clinical Pharmacist
Our Clinical Pharmacist Sarah Cawkwell offers a variety of appointments and specialises in areas such as hypertension. Our reception team are trained to navigate your care to the most appropriate clinician based on the information you provide.
Nurse Practitioners
Our highly trained Nurse Practitioners offer a variety off appointments and are able to independently prescribe. Our reception team are trained to navigate your care to the most appropriate clinician based on the information you provide.
Practice Nurses
To book an appointment to see a practice nurse, please telephone the above number. Generally, it is not possible to specify a particular nurse as their availabilities vary and who you see will depend, to some extent, on what service you need. For example, our hypertension clinic is run by only two of our practice nurses. Please indicate to the receptionist what service you need at the time of booking.
Healthcare Assistants
Our health care assistants run a number of different clinics across both surgery sites and assist the GP and Nursing Staff with activities such as dressings and vaccinations.
Extra appointments
Extra GP appointments – The Suffolk GP+ service operates in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Wickham Market, Stowmarket, Leiston and Bury St Edmunds and enables you to book appointments in the evenings and on Saturdays. You can book an appointment with a GP or nurse practitioner in advance through your GP practice or NHS 111. The service will be operating in some locations on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Urgent GP appointments
When you urgently need a GP appointment, call 111 to access the out of hours GP service
