To setup Online Access – drop us an email requesting this and include a photo of yourself holding your photo ID to walford.mill@nhs.net  and follow instructions sent to you. 

These must be completed within 48 hours of receipt.

Once you registered you can access the system via the 'Make an appointment online' link at the top of this page.

Whilst we do not operate an emergency service, we appreciate that there may be occasions where:-

• There is a sudden onset of a problem

or

• You are in pain or acute discomfort

On these occasions you may need to access to medical attention and/or advice on the same day. Should this be the case please help us by:-  

• Telephoning the Surgery as early in the day as possible

and

• Giving the Patient Services Team as much information as you are able.

Our experienced staff have been asked to identify problems that need to be dealt with promptly and will bring this to the Doctors attention to enable them to prioritise those most in need. All staff are subject to the Practice's strict Confidentiality Policy.

For urgent but not life threatening problems you can also dial 111 or see NHS 111 online – for advice and guidance both in surgery hours and when we are closed.  They will assess your problem and advise you on the best and most timely way to get help.

Within limited resources our aim is to provide an appointment system that provides timely & equitable care to all of our patients. We aspire to :

• Provide continuity of care with the same GP where possible

• Offer pre-book face to face consultations with a GP of your choice

• Offer pre-book telephone consultations with a GP of your choice  

• Safely assess urgent problems by telephone on the same day.  

PLEASE provide the Patient Services Team with as much information as possible so that they can help you to book the right appointment with the right person.

We offer a range of pre-booked GP appointments during the following periods:

Our Patient Services Team manages the initial requests for all GP appointments and can check the availability of the different types of consultation for you.  The telephone number is 01202 886999. 

Appointments with a Practice Nurse can be booked up to 6 weeks ahead.  Our Patient Services Team manage the bookings and they will need to know the reason for your appointment to ensure an appropriate length of time is booked with the Nurse.

We have pre-bookable appointments with the Nursing Team from Monday to Friday and one Saturday per month.

Our Nursing Team also has a Phlebotomy Service for blood tests requested for our patients by our GPs (including INR testing).  These appointments are available Monday to Friday. We are not able to do blood tests requested by the hospitals.  These will need to be booked at the hospital.

The hospital is no longer contracted to take Practice samples.  Therefore, to ensure all patients have timely access to blood test investigations and routine samples we respectfully ask that patients do not request hospital bloods at the Practice.  Likewise, the Practice is no longer contracted to take hospital samples.

We also offer extended hours appointments from 6.30pm until 7.30pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings and one Saturday Nurse Clinic per month.

Extended hours are for pre-booked appointments only and our Reception telephone lines remain closed during this time.  When extended hours sessions fall on a Bank Holiday full re-provision will be made within the same week.

Improved Access Clinics

You may be offered an appointment at Wimborne or Poole Hospital by our Patient Services Team.  These clinics have been made available for patients within our locality to improve access to GP's, Nurses, MSK Practitioners and other healthcare professionals. This service should be considered as an extension to the clinics available at the GP Surgery.  When attending Wimborne or Poole the clinical staff will have access to the same clinical record system ensuring they can provide the best care possible for our patients.

Please call 01202 886999 before 10.30am on the day you require a Home Visit.

If you are requesting a visit on behalf of a patient it is important that you give the Patient Services Team your name & contact details.

A Doctor or Nurse will call you back.

Home Visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the Practice in the time that it takes to make one Home Visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Practice.

It is important that you inform the Patient Services Team if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a text informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters may be removed from the list.

You can also text to cancel your appointment.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

Think about what you want to get out of the appointment. Try and think through your symptoms and give a clear history to the Doctor or Nurse.

Concentrate on one problem per visit. You might have several symptoms that you have noticed from one problem, but your GP or nurse cannot address several different problems in a ten minute appointment without risking missing things and making errors.  If you feel you are going to need extra time, ask the Patient Services Team to make you a double appointment.

One patient per appointment slot!  Many patients try to be helpful by squeezing in another family member.  Again, there is a danger that issues won't be addressed fully and the only real effect is to make the Doctor or Nurse late for the next appointment.  If you need two appointments for two people, please request them.

Arrive on time.  When we looked at why Doctors and Nurses were running late, the most common preventable reason was patients arriving late for their appointment.  In order to be fair to all our patients, if you arrive late and the Doctor or Nurse has already called you, you may be asked to rebook.

Arriving For Your Appointment

An electronic automated check in system is located in the entrance lobby of the Surgery. Patients are requested to follow a few simple touch screen steps to register their arrival for their appointment.  This automatically updates the appointment screen being viewed by the Patient Services Team and the Clinical Team so that they are aware you have arrived for your appointment.