To book appointments please call 01992 812961
Injured or unwell? Use the right service. #ChooseWell
Self-Care
- Grazed knees
- Sore throat
- Coughs & colds
Visit nhs.uk for self-care advice
Pharmacy
- Headaches
- Upset stomach
- Aches & pains
- Bites & stings
NHS 111
Visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 for advice and support. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week
GP
Call your GP for symptoms that won't go away.
Minor Injury Unit
Urgent but not life-threatening
999 / A&E
- Unconscious
- Breathing difficulties
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Heavy bleeding
- Severe burns
You can book appointments between 8.00am to 12.00pm and between 2.00pm to 6.00pm for up to two weeks ahead.
If you need an urgent appointment, please ring the surgery at 8.00am or 2.00pm. On that day, these appointments are for emergency on the day issues. Please be aware that there are only limited amount of appointments and if you need further help please see Choose Well above.
All our consultations by GP are provided by telephone appointment at the surgery. If the GP decides that it is necessary for you to be seen, they will offer you a time for a Face to Face appointment.
To ensure that you are seen by the most appropriate member of the surgery team, the receptionist will ask you for information that is important to book your appointment. The receptionist will ask you to give them a summary of the reason you are calling. They may ask whether this is a new or on-going problem. If you prefer you can reply 'it's personal'.
This information is to direct you to an appropriate appointment or call from our team. It is essential that you co-operate with the receptionists and understand that it may be more appropriate for a nurse, healthcare assistant, clinical pharmacist, social prescriber or first contact practitioner to speak to you.
It is NOT always essential to be seen by a doctor. We have a team of 'attached' clinical staff who can also advise you.
The receptionists are all bound by strict rules of confidentiality.
We understand that sometimes you may not be able to attend an appointment or you may need to re-schedule.
If you cannot keep your appointment please inform us as soon as possible so we can offer it to another patient.
You must inform the surgery if you change your contact telephone numbers - your home and mobile.
Please remember one appointment per person and one issue per appointment.
Please Note: If you are running late for your appointment please phone the surgery to let them know. If you arrive more than 10 minutes after your appointment you may be asked to re-book or be seen at the end of the surgery at the clinician's discretion.
Unfortunately, any patient who arrives 10 minutes late won’t be seen that day and will have to re-book. We operate on two ring policy, the GP will call twice half an hour apart on the provided number.
Appointment Confirmations
We confirm your appointment by text message.
Please can you confirm with reception that we have your correct mobile number. You will then receive a text message on booking your appointment.
If you do not wish to receive text messages, please also let reception know.
Online Appointments
- You are able to book appointments using our online system
- You will need to come to the surgery with photo id to get your login details.
- Log into Systmonline
- Follow the instructions online
Cancelling or changing an appointment
If you can not make your appointment let us know as soon as you can so another patient can book the appointment time. You can cancel or change your appointment:
Did Not Attend (DNA) information here.
If you need help when we are closed
- Use NHS 111 online (111.nhs.uk) or call 111. 111 online is for people aged 5 and over. Call 111 if you need help for a child under 5.
- Out of hours information
- If it’s a life-threatening emergency call 999.
Try the NHS App
You can now use the NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services and your GP account on your smartphone or tablet.
You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms and get instant advice, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record and more.
If you already use online access you can continue to use it. You can use the NHS App as well.
For more information go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp
Home Visits
If you need a home visit, please ring the surgery on 01992 812961 between 8.30am to 11.00am. Give as much information as you can to the receptionist. Your details will then be passed to the Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) who now carries out home visits instead of GPs.
Home Visiting Service
General Practice is continuing to evolve and our practices are offering a wider skill mix of clinicians than ever. Most practices employ a Practice Nurse and / or Health Care Assistant and some have Nurse Practitioners, Community Pharmacists, Minor Illness Nurses and Women’s Health Nurses. They offer a whole range of skills for problems that do not necessarily need a GP.
Epping and Ongar Neighbourhood, consisting of The Limes, Epping High Street, Abridge Surgery and Ongar Health Centre have appointed Joanne Townsend, an Extended Care Practitioner (ECP) to carry out home visits. This will mean that visits are accepted as usual by each practice and triaged by a Doctor at Abridge Surgery who will then allocate appropriate visits to the Home Visiting Service. If a prescription is needed then the ECP will liaise with the Doctor at Abridge Surgery for it to be sent electronically to the chemist for collection.
When you speak to the receptionist about your visit they will let you know who to expect – the ECP or a GP from Abridge Surgery.
The number of visits the service is able to offer will be allocated fairly between each of the practices depending on the list size of the Practice and the location of the visit.