Appointments
Routine Appointments
How to ask for an appointment
We use a total triage system. This means every request for medical help, whether routine, urgent or for a minor illness, is sent to our clinical triage team rather than booked straight into an appointment. You can make a request online or by phone, and every request goes through the same process.
Online
Please use our online consultation form (Accurx), available 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. See the Request an Appointment Online section below.
Please Use Your Full Name
When you send us an online request, please use your full name as it appears on your NHS records, not a nickname or your middle name. This helps us find the right record quickly and safely.
If the request is about your child, please enter your child’s full name and date of birth, not your own. You can add your name and relationship to the child in the message.
By phone
Call us on 01243 388740 between 8am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Your call will be answered by our phone assistant, EmmaAI, which can help in two ways:
- Medical requests: EmmaAI takes the details of your problem and submits them for you as an online consultation, which goes to our clinical triage team in exactly the same way as a request made online.
- Help from a person: if you have any difficulty, or your call is about something else, EmmaAI will hand your call over to a member of our Patient Services team.
Outside these hours, calls are handled by the out-of-hours service, or you can use NHS 111 online or call 111.
What the triage team does
Every request is reviewed by a clinician on the same day, who assesses what you need. Being reviewed the same day does not always mean being seen the same day, and it does not always mean an appointment at the surgery. Depending on the nature of your problem, the outcome may be:
- an appointment with the most suitable member of our clinical team, such as a GP, nurse, Paramedic Practitioner or Physician Assistant, subject to current waiting times
- signposting to a more appropriate service, for example:
- your local pharmacy through Pharmacy First, for many common conditions
- your midwife, for pregnancy-related concerns
- the Single Point of Access for children’s and young people’s mental health services
- NHS 111, for urgent advice
- an urgent treatment centre, for minor injuries
- the Emergency Department, if your problem needs emergency care
We will let you know the outcome and what to do next. If you are unable to reach us and your problem cannot wait, please use NHS 111.
Minor illness
Minor illness appointments are no longer booked directly by phone. Please make a request online or by phone in the usual way and the triage team will arrange the right care, which may be with our minor illness nurses, our Paramedic Practitioner or our Physician Assistant, or with a pharmacist.
Long-term condition reviews
If you have been invited for your annual review, please use the booking link in your text message. If you would prefer to book by phone, please call us, ideally after 1.30pm.
Spare a thought
Appointments are usually 10 minutes long. If you have several concerns, the clinician may need to focus on the most important and ask you to book again for the others. Please spare a thought for the patients waiting after you, and for our Patient Services team, who always do their best to help.
Urgent Appointments
If your problem is urgent, please contact us online or by phone between 8am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. There is no separate morning phone window for urgent requests. EmmaAI will take your request and pass it to the clinical triage team, or put you through to a member of our Patient Services team if you need help.
Every request is assessed by a clinician on the same day. Depending on what you need, you may be offered an appointment, subject to current waiting times, or directed to the service best placed to help, such as a pharmacist, NHS 111, an urgent treatment centre or the Emergency Department.
Emergencies and crises
We are not an emergency service. General practice is not the right place for life-threatening problems or crises. If you or someone you know has a life-threatening condition, such as loss of consciousness, sudden confusion, chest pain or breathing difficulties, call 999 or go to the Emergency Department.
If you are in a mental health crisis, call 111 and choose the mental health option.
Minor injuries: urgent treatment centres
If you or someone you know has a minor injury, such as a sprain, a cut or a suspected broken bone, you can be seen at an urgent treatment centre (UTC). UTCs can also help with urgent problems that are not life-threatening when we are closed.
The Urgent Treatment Centre in Chichester is run by Alliance for Better Care (ABC) and offers appointments in the evenings and at weekends. To be seen, please use NHS 111 online or call 111, and they will book you in if a UTC is right for you.
When to go to an urgent treatment centre (NHS website)
Speak to a pharmacist
Your local pharmacy can advise on many minor illnesses without an appointment, and through Pharmacy First can also treat some common conditions. Please consider speaking to a pharmacist first.
Find a pharmacy | How pharmacies can help
Do I need to be seen?
Many common illnesses have no specific cure and will get better with time and simple remedies available without a prescription. Please do not expect to be prescribed a medicine for every problem: advice and discussion can often be more helpful, and free from side effects.
The NHS website has reliable advice on symptoms and self-care.
Cancelling Your Appointment
If you cannot make your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible, and at least 24 hours beforehand if you can, so we can offer it to someone else.
You can cancel:
- through our online form (Accurx)
- through the NHS App
- by phone on 01243 388740
Request an Appointment Online
Our online form is open 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Administrative requests, such as fit notes, repeat prescriptions, letters and routine long-term condition reviews, can be made at any time during these hours.
Every medical request is reviewed by our clinical triage team, and we will then contact you with the right next step.
We work within BMA safe working guidance, so this may be an appointment or advice to use another service, such as a community pharmacy, NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre. To keep care safe, there may be times when we cannot accept new medical requests. If so, the form will show you other services you can use. In an emergency, call 999 or go to the Emergency Department.
When you use this form, the information you give us is added to your GP record and may be shared with other health and care professionals involved in your care. Our privacy notice explains how we use your information and your choices.
Start hereEnhanced Access Appointments
Face-to-face appointments are available in the evenings and on Saturdays through our Enhanced Access hub, run by the Chichester Alliance of Medical Practices (ChAMP).
- To access these appointments, please contact the practice in the usual way, online or by phone. If appropriate, our triage team may offer you an appointment at the hub.
- Enhanced Access appointments are not for urgent clinical problems.
Urgent care in the evenings and at weekends
If you need urgent care in the evening or at the weekend, the Urgent Treatment Centre in Chichester, run by Alliance for Better Care (ABC), offers evening and weekend appointments. These are accessed through NHS 111 online or by calling 111.
In an emergency, always call 999 or go to the Emergency Department.
