Time with an NHS doctor or nurse can be hard to come by at the moment. So we have some suggestions about how you can get the most out of your appointments....

Please order repeat prescriptions using the NHS App, SystmOnline - or if you do not have access to these, with the Reception team.

If you have made an appointment to discuss the results of an investigation or Hospital consultation, please check with the receptionist that the results are availalble before attending the surgery.

If you have more than one problem, let us know – but please prioritise the most important issue that you would like to discuss first – and be prepared to make another appointment for the others. We will try to deal with multiple problems if there is time, but please only expect one problem to be dealt with in each appointment.

If you feel you have a complex problem that you feel needs more than 10 minutes to sort out please ask the receptionist to book a double appointment.

Before your appointment, think about the issues that you would like to discuss and what you hope to achieve.

Please wear suitable clothing so the area you are concerned about can be examined easily, for example if you have a problem with your knee, please don't wear skinny jeans.

If you think you are likely to need a blood pressure check please do your blood pressure in the self-care room (any diabetic patients will need this doing please).

Please silence or switch off your mobile phone before your appointment.

Please make a separate appointment for every family member that wishes to discuss their health problem –  we can only deal with one persons problem in each appointment.

If we are running late please be patient: it may be that someone has presented with a difficult or immediately life-threatening problem or are in distress, which has taken more than the allocated time to resolve the situation.

If we are running late, it is because we are having a bad day: please be kind.