Patterdale Lodge Group Practice

Appointments

Appointments can be made by telephone or in surgery. Routine appointments can be made weeks in advance to secure your doctor of choice. Please be advised that once a doctor’s pre-bookable appointments have all been booked you will have to call on the day of their clinic to secure an appointment. Usual surgeries consist of 18 appointments, 6 of which will be pre-bookable, 12 of which will be appointments that can be booked on the day. If you cannot keep an appointment, please inform us as quickly as possible and our staff will do their best to cancel or re-arrange. If we have your correct mobile number, you will be reminded of your upcoming appointment the day before via our free text messaging service.  As you can imagine, appointments within the entire NHS are at a premium and if you cannot keep an appointment, please inform us as quickly as possible either by responding “Cancel” to the text message or by contacting our staff. This will allow us to offer your appointment to someone else and not cause an unnecessary delay in their care. Persistent non-attendees will be removed from our practice for the good of those patients who comply with our appointment protocol.

If there are no appointments available and you want to be seen on the same day, ask at reception to see whether St Helens Walk in Centre will be able to deal with your ailment.

The walk in centre can deal with most things and is able to provide prescriptions. Below are some examples of what you can be seen at the Walk in Centre with:

      Coughs and Colds    

      Muscle or Joint Injuries

      Earache

      Eye Injuries and Infections

      Emergency Contraception

      Minor Cuts or Wounds

      Sore Throats

      Possible Simple Fractures

      Rashes and Allergies

      Bites or Stings

      Minor Burns

Patients also have access to the “Care at the Chemist” scheme, which does not involve seeing the doctor or nurse practitioner. Here are some ailments that the chemist can prescribe for without an appointment:

      Allergy

      Athlete's Foot

      Chesty Cough

      Constipation

      Cold Sores

      Diarrhoea

      Headache/Temperature

      Head Lice

      Indigestion

PLEASE NOTE: An appointment is 10 minutes duration and is for one problem only!  Always let the Reception know if you have more than one problem to discuss as a double appointment can be offered.  Furthermore, always prioritise your problems - discuss the MOST IMPORTANT FIRST.

Disabled facilities are also available at each site with the Practice.