Our Appointment System

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Note: Urgent cases and ill children can be seen on the same day provided a phone call to the surgery is made as soon as possible in order to arrange a convenient time.  You may be asked to give some idea of the problem, so that we are able to plan accordingly. This information is confidential.  Patients without an appointment may be asked to wait longer until the doctor can find time to see them, as appointments are heavily booked from beforehand.

Extended Hours Appointments

Here at Half Penny Steps we also offer pre-bookable appointments at St Charles Hospital Extended Hours Hub to see a GP. This is part of a Extended Hours Service commissioned by us and other West London practices.

The appointments can only be booked via the practice and are with a GP. 

Appointments are available:

• Monday to Friday: 6pm - 9pm
• Saturday: 8am - 8pm
• Sunday: 6pm - 9pm

We would highly recommend the use of these appointments especially after the end of the Walk-In service. They are highly under utilized and are always available.

These appointments are only available for patients registered to a West London Practice and can only be booked via the practice.

Keeping Appointments

It is the responsibility of the patient to ensure that they arrive on time for their appointment. If you are unable to attend an appointment for any reason, please do let us know as soon as possible as your appointment slot can be allocated to someone else. Missed appointments are very unfair on the surgery & other patients.  Patients who arrive 10 minutes late for their appointments will not be seen & will have to re-book the appointment.

Note: Every appointment that you miss without informing us in sufficient time will be noted in your record. Patients, who DO NOT ATTEND their appointments on three occasions or more in the year, will be removed from the surgery.

Speaking to the Doctor

To speak to a GP, a Telephone Consultation appointment would need to be booked. Please call to book.

Ethnic Minorities

We are aware of cultural differences. Some of our staff and doctors are multi-lingual. For patients who have difficulties with speaking English they can ask at the reception to book a translator for their appointment. This is a free service.

Chaperones

The practice is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and comfortable environment for all patients. The offering of a chaperone during consultations, particularly during intimate or sensitive procedures, is an important aspect of maintaining patient dignity, comfort, and trust in the healthcare setting.

Our Chaperones policy outlines the practice’s approach to offering a chaperone to patients, ensuring their safety and comfort during clinical interactions.

Please see our Chaperones policy here.

One Problem Per Consultation Policy

We have a ‘One Problem Per Consultation’ policy

We kindly ask that all patients try and stick to our ‘One Problem Per Consultation’ policy. The main reason for this request is for clinical safety.

We know that getting an appointment with the doctor is sometimes difficult and that some patients ‘save’ their problems and present them to the doctor at the same time, with or without a list. We also know that the clinician may run late. All of this increases the tendency for patients to present multiple problems to their doctor/ANP at one consultation.

Each appointment is only 10 minutes long. Ten minutes is not a lot of time, even for just one problem, e.g., 1 minute to get to the doctor’s room and sit down, 3 minutes to tell a history, 3-4 minutes to perform a targeted examination, 2 minutes to explain, advise and treat.

There is no time left in the ten minutes to write up notes, fill out forms, dictate referrals or speak to other team members for advice.

Presenting the clinician with multiple problems means that there is a real increased risk that mistakes will be made and things to be missed as the clinician may be inclined to rush, particularly if other patients are waiting.

One of Primary Care’s main purposes is to detect serious diseases early.

Presenting multiple problems to the clinician, not all of which may be serious increases the difficulty of this task – it is like finding the ‘needle in a haystack.

Doctors cannot see huge numbers of patients with multiple problems and continue to practice safely and effectively. A stressed doctor will struggle to be a good and safe doctor.

We do consider that GP appointments are a limited resource and we would kindly ask that such a service be used with care and consideration.

Therefore please do not be offended if the doctor asks you to rebook for your other problems. We are working in your best interests to keep you safe.

We would always encourage patients to book double appointments if there are multiple problems that need discussing.