Appointments

All our GP appointment requests must now be submitted using our new online triage form via the submit a new request link at the top of this page.

A GP will review your request and will decide on the most effective way to deal with your medical issue.  You may be offered an immediate resolution or we may call or text you for further information.  You may also be offered a consultation:

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery
• on a video call
• by text or email

If the GP feels that an appointment is required, you will either be offered an appointment the same day, within 7 days or will be sent a link to book a routine appointment to enable you to select a convenient date and time and your preferred GP (where available)

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

If you need to cancel an appointment please give at least 24 hours notice.

To cancel your appointment:

• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• phone us on 01457 860860, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6:30pm
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

If you feel that you need to be seen 'on the day' or within the next few days (Monday to Friday):

• Please complete our online triage form via the link at the top of this page.  Let us know that your medical issue is urgent.  The form submissions are open between 7am and 4pm Monday to Friday.
• If you require urgent assistance after 4pm, call us on 01457 860860, Monday to Friday until 6:30pm.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

In cases of emergency, please dial 999

To request a routine appointment:

• For GP appointments, use our online triage system via the link at the top of this page
• or use the triage link via your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) to book a screening test or vaccination
• For all Nurse and HCA appointments, you can book online via Patient Access or the NHS App or you can call us on 01457 860860.  Alternatively, you can call into the surgery and book at Reception

If you have mobility impairments and need an appointment, we will care for you in an environment best suited for your health needs. We will contact you first to understand your health needs correctly.

To request an appointment for patients with mobility impairments - physical or psychological- it’s helpful if you contact the practice as soon after 8 am as possible.

In principle, all patients in the advanced palliative care pathway are visited by a healthcare professional regularly.

Did you know there are now out of hours consultations?

Patients registered with a GP in Tameside or Glossop can now book doctors, nurses, health practitioner and blood appointments seven days a week at Glossop Primary Care Centre, George Street, Glossop. Patients can also arrange to see a Pharmacist for their medication reviews too.

When are the appointments available?

Monday - Friday: 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Saturday: 9am - 5pm

How do you book the appointments?

Please ring us on 01457 860860 and let our reception team know you need an evening or weekend appointment. They will help you arrange this.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A WALK-IN CENTRE

Where is it?

Howard Street Medical Practice

Howard Street

Glossop

SK13 7DE

Please tell us:

• if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
• if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face, by video call or by text or email
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or Call 111.

NHS 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.

Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

Our reception staff are specially trained to book the most suitable, convenient and available appointment for you.

In order to establish what type of appointment is best suited to your needs and help you get care from the most appropriate person, we ask our receptionists to ask patients to give them an indication of the reason for their appointment.

Nurse Practitioners

Our nurse practitioners are available for you to consult instead of the doctor. They have been trained to diagnose and treat common complaints. Please make an appointment to see them in the usual way. Nurse practitioners are available for telephone advice. They can discuss immediate health concerns, assess severity of illness and offer treatment.

Paramedic Practitioners

Our Paramedic practitioners are also available for you to consult and work alongside our doctors. They have been trained to diagnose and treat commom acute issues eg. respiratory infections, Abdo pain, Limb/joint pain, Headaches, Urine issues, Diarrhoea & vomiting.  Please make an appointment to see them in the usual way. They can discuss immediate health concerns, assess severity of illness and suggest the appropriate treatment.

Practice Nurses

Our practice nurses are highly trained and can be consulted directly. They run our treatment room. They carry out monitoring for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma and other long term diseases. They will advise on general health care, healthy eating and minor ailments, eg if you are not sure whether to consult a doctor, speak to the nurse first.

Pharmacists

Our Pharmacist team are trained to assist patients with all medication related issues.  They can help with medication reviews, medication changes (including changing to alternatives), managing hospital prescriptions, drug discrepancies and stock issues.  They specialise in structured medication reviews for patients who take 5 of more repeat medications and appointments can be booked for telephone consultation.

Nursing Assistants / Health Care Assistants

The nursing & Healthcare Assistants are not only trained to take blood samples and carry out routine blood pressure checks but can also perform ear syringing, ECGs, NHS Health Checks and much more.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Patient Triage?

Patient Triage uses quick a simple online form which patients complete when they wish to contact the surgery. For medical issues it contains 3 questions, which should only take a few minutes to do. Whether you visit in person or contact us by phone our Reception team will no longer be directly booking your appointment. 

What if I do not have access to the internet or struggle to complete forms?

Our practice phone lines will remain open for anyone with accessibility needs who might find it difficult to complete this form and a member of our Reception team will be happy to complete it with you and submit on your behalf.

What if English is not my main spoken language?

In the same way that clinicians frequently use an official translation service on the phone, the patient support team will also be able to access this if the patient they are speaking to is on the phone or in person in the surgery. 

Will I get an appointment quicker if I speak to reception instead?

The reception team will no longer be making GP appointments with patients directly. All methods of completing the triage forms, either online, in person or over the phone will be assessed equally.

What happens after I submit a query for a medical issue to the practice?

Medical queries will be submitted to our GP-led triage team. A member of the team will respond to you within 2 working days. Conditions that need to be assessed on the same day will be prioritised. The triage team may send you a request for further information in the form of a short questionnaire specific to your issue or may send you a direct link to book an appointment at the surgery.

What happens if I need an urgent appointment?

Every GP and clinician on duty will have urgent ‘on the day’ appointments available. Conditions that require a same day assessment will be booked in on the same day or directed to an appropriate service. For new, non-urgent issues, appointments will be available for a time during the next 14 days.  After your form has been triaged by a GP, if they feel that an appointment is necessary, you will be sent a link to book a suitable appointment directly, or a member of our patient support team will contact you to arrange this.

What if I have more than one medical issue that I need help with?

Please only submit one medical issue per Accurx Patient Triage form, so that you can add sufficient detail for each problem, to allow our GPs to appropriately deal with your request.

How do I submit an admin query?

There is an option to submit an admin query on the online form for general administrative issues such as a medication query, requesting a letter from a doctor, a medical summary or copy of your record, or to request a fit (sick) note. We aim for a member of the Patient Support Team to respond to you within 2 working days.

Will patients still have a choice of which clinician they see?

There is an option to specify which clinician you would prefer to see. We will try to meet this request, availability permitting but you will be given our availability and can then decide if you would prefer to wait for the clinician of your choice, or take the earliest available appointment slot.

What is self-book?

Our team may send you a text message inviting you to book your own appointment online that better suits your convenience and availability. 

Why are we making this change?

We believe that patient triage is the most effective way that we can sustain a safe and accessible service for our patients based on clinical need.

We have listened to patients who have raised concerns directly with us about a lack of appointments and we have spoken to our Patient Participation Group about the challenges we are experiencing with regards to increasing patient need, available staffing resources and the difficulties with call waiting times and waiting times for available appointments. 

This change should make it easier to submit requests to the practice and ensure that requests are seen by the most appropriate member of staff and dealt with in an appropriate timeframe. 

The benefits of using patient triage are:

• Easy to access.
• No waiting on hold on the phone
• Your request will be seen by a GP directly
• The surgery might be able to help more quickly and easily eg with text message advice, prescription, or referring you directly to an appropriate service.
• Appointments will be offered by clinicians according to need and urgency.
• Patients who need appointments most will be prioritised, rather than patients who get through on the phones first.

The Patient Triage Appointment System has been designed to ensure that patients who most need an appointment are able to get one.

This is a new appointment system that involves a GP triaging all appointment requests before an appointment is given. This means that the GP will determine how quickly an appointment is needed and whether your request would be better dealt with by another member of our multi-disciplinary clinical team or by another service.

With a short and simple set of questions, your completed form will be sent to our triage hub, meaning that your appointment request will be triaged promptly, and you will receive a response from your GP in a timely manner. We therefore request that patients no longer attend the practice to book an appointment unless you do not have access to the internet. If this is the case, our Reception Team will be happy to complete and submit the form on your behalf.

Please note - this will not provide quicker access to a GP appointment. Your form will be triaged in exactly the same way.

The online consultation form will be reviewed against a triage protocol. The more information you provide us with, the better we can ensure that you are triaged to the most appropriate pathway. You may receive a text back asking for more information or photographs, you may receive a phone call from a clinician, you may be sent a text with a link to self-book an appointment in the coming days or receive a phone call to book an appointment. If you have a preferred clinician, please let us know. While we strive to accommodate your request, we cannot guarantee it. This will ensure you see the most appropriate clinician first time around.  If you have requested a specific clinician and we are able to accommodate this we will text you the time and date for an appointment.  Please reply to this text if the appointment is not suitable, however we can not guarantee you another appointment with the same clinician.

Below shows you what the Triage form looks like ................