NHS App
Download the NHS App, or open the NHS website in a web browser, to set up and log in to your NHS account. Owned and run by the NHS, your NHS account is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services online, including appointments and prescriptions.
Can another Healthcare Professional help?
Do you need to see the GP?
Sometimes the GP is not the most appropriate Healthcare Professional to deal with your ailment. Please see the information on see a Doctor or Healthcare Professional, which might help you decide whether a GP appointment is truly necessary or whether it might be better for you to see a Pharmacist, Optician, Dentist or other Healthcare Professional. You can even self-refer for some services without seeing your GP.
For real life-threatening emergencies such as those below – RING 999
- Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
- Suspected stroke
- Suspected meningitis
- Anaphylactic shock (severe allergy)
- Heavy bleeding or deep lacerations
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness or completely unconscious
- Difficulty breathing or stopped breathing with a change in colour
- New seizure, fit or uncontrollable shaking
For immediately serious conditions such as the following, GO TO Emergency Department (A&E) IMMEDIATELY
- A fever and lethargic (drowsy) child
- A feverish and floppy (unresponsive) infant
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden, severe abdominal pain
- Accidental or intentional overdose of medication
- Trauma (including falls) and possible broken bones or road traffic accident
Your appointment at the Practice
- Please make one appointment for each member of the family who needs to be seen
- We try to keep to time but please be patient if someone before you takes longer than planned
- Appointments are normally ten minute slots, so if you have a complicated problem, or more than one problem, please ask for a longer appointment
- It is Practice Policy to allow patients to choose whichever Doctor they wish to attend in the Practice
Language Line Interpreter Service
During appointments we are able to call up interpreters and patients can speak to them on the telephone. We can also book interpreters to come in at the time of a patients appointment. Please let us know if you would like to use our language line service.
Please help us
Cancel your appointment if you no longer need it so we can offer your appointment to another patient by sending a text message with word ‘cancel’ to the reminder you received on your mobile, online (24/7), by phoning us on 020 7252 1817, or by completing our online form by accessing the “Cancel an appointment ” button. If you are late for an appointment you may be asked to re-book.
Missed Appointments and DNA’s
Do you feel frustrated when you cannot get an appointment?
Every year wasted appointments cost NHS £162 million. This can cause serious delays in treatment for other patients. On average approximately 150 patients each month Did Not Attend (DNA) their appointment. This means the patient did not turn up for the appointment and did not contact the surgery in advance to cancel or change the appointment. This currently results in approximately 40 hours of wasted clinical time each month.
Appointments at the Practice
Choosing the right appointment for you
We offer 4 types of GP appointments: routine face to face, routine telephone for problems that can be dealt with over the telephone, triage telephone and urgent face to face for patients who need be seen urgently.
Patients have the right to express a preference of practitioner when booking an appointment which we will aim to honour where possible.
We will ask you to tell us a reason for an appointment every time you request to see a clinician. Please share the reason (general nature of the problem, duration and whether your problem has been discussed with a clinician previously) for your request with our team so they can help you to obtain the most appropriate help.
When you feel unwell and you require an urgent medical attention one of our clinicians will call you back and you may be asked to be seen by a GP in our Enhanced Access service based at Bermondsey Spa, 50 Old Jamaica Road, with appointments available 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.
All our routine appointments will be bookable up to 4 weeks in advance to help you to schedule your calendar.
To help us avoid delays we ask all patients to:
- Arrive on time for your appointment, if you are late more than 10 minutes you may be asked to rebook.
- Check in upon your arrival on the kiosk or in reception.
- Make a separate appointment for each person needing to be seen.
- Prioritise your clinical problems and arrange separate appointments for less concerning issues. Each appointment is for one problem only.
- Accompany any patients under 16 year olds. If a young person strongly wishes to be seen without his/her parent present, his/her confidentiality will be respected.Accept our text message reminders to your mobile phone about your appointment – if you would like to opt out from this service please notify the reception team
- Cancel your appointment if you no longer need it so we can offer your appointment to another patient by sending a text message with word ‘cancel’ to the reminder you received on your mobile, online (24/7) or by phoning us on 020 7252 1817.
Conditions suitable for routine face to face appointments
- Most gynaecological problems, smears, contraception
- Review of medication (available on the phone too)
- Musculoskeletal pains (knees shoulders, back pain) unless result from acute trauma or very invalidating
- Review of any chronic condition: asthma, COPD, diabetes, hay fever, hypertension, epilepsy, mental health
- Antenatal and postnatal care
- Vaccinations (travel vaccinations need to be booked with the travel nurse only)
- Skin complaints (unless suspected cellulitis or painful rash)
Problems suitable for routine telephone appointments
- Medication review
- Requests for blood tests (if repeat please ask reception)
- Follow ups on on-going issues (not if skin problems or physical examination needed)
- For referrals requests for a problem already discussed with a clinician
- To discuss radiology or blood test results
- Fertility problems
- Certificates and report requests that don’t require physical examination
Enhanced Access
In the event that New Mill Street Surgery is unable to provide you with an appointment due to the availability of clinical staff we may offer you an appointment at our Enhanced Access service.
The Enhanced Access service is an extension of your GP practice providing GP and nurse appointments for patients in north Southwark. With your consent, any doctor or nurse you see can access your healthcare record to ensure they can offer the right treatment.
Enhanced Access is based at Spa Medical Centre
50 Old Jamaica Rd
London
SE16 4BL
Additional information
Can I bring someone to accompany me to the Appointment?
We are generally very happy for patients to bring with them a carer, relative or even a friend. This often helps, particularly when they know you well and it allows them to tell us any observations they would make about you, which can help us in undertaking our assessment. Ultimately this will lead us more quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and therefore help you more.
Also, having someone with you means they can prompt you to ask questions that you may have forgotten, and after the appointment they can help in reminding you what was discussed.
Occasionally we might ask for them to leave but this would be unusual.
If you require interpretation services please contact us in advance of you appointment and we will arrange this.
Chaperone Policy
We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.
You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.
If you have a suspected infectious disease
Please inform reception if you suspect an infectious disease, as this will enable us to deal with it appropriately during your visit to protect you, other patients and staff.
Giving Consent for Treatment
You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.
Your valid consent (agreement to the course of action) is needed for the treatment that’s offered to you before any physical examinations or treatment can be given. If you haven’t given your consent, you can accept or refuse treatment that’s offered to you.
It’s important to be involved in decisions about your treatment and to be given information to help you choose the right treatment. When making treatment choices, you’ll often discuss the options with your doctor or another healthcare professional.
Urgent and emergency care services
Which Doctor?
As a patient, you are registered with the practice, not an individual GP. You can make an appointment with any of the Doctors at the practice. As medical records are now computerised, all Doctors, at any site can access your details. If you prefer, you can make an appointment with a Doctor of your choice. You may need to wait longer to get an appointment with a specific Doctor of your choice, as they may be in high demand at the time.