Appointments

GP Appointment Requests

All our GP appointment requests are triaged by a clinician.  Please complete a simple online form and we will get back to you within one working day. This can be found in the services section of the NHS App NHS App or via the homepage on our website at www.waterfootmedicalpractice.nhs.uk. We will then contact you with either advice or an appointment where appropriate. Alongside GPs our team includes a variety of healthcare professionals who you may be offered an appointment with.

The fastest way to get help from a clinician is to submit an online form yourself or ask a family member to do it for you. You can use this form to contact us about anything you'd normally call us about and your request will be reviewed on the same day.

If your need is clinically urgent it will be assessed on the same day by a telephone or face-to-face appointment. If you contact us later on in the afternoon, this many not always be possible.

If your need is not urgent, but does require a telephone or face-to-face appointment, we will look to offer you a scheduled appointment within two weeks.

Where appropriate, you may also be signposted to self-care or other local services (for example community pharmacy or self-referral service).

Nurse and Allied Healthcare Professionals Appointment Requests

To arrange your appointment:

• If we have sent an appointment request booking link via text message, please book via this route
• Phone us on 01706 335360, Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 6.30pm, select option 1 to speak to the reception team
• Visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6:30pm

It is important that you inform us if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you regularly fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you of this and you may be removed from the practice list.

To cancel your appointment:

• use the cancellation link on your appointment reminder message
• use the NHS App
• Phone us on 01706 335360, Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 6.30pm, select option 1 to speak to the reception team.
• Visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6:30pm

To rearrange your appointment, the simplest way is to:

• Phone us on 01706 335360, Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 6.30pm, select option 1 to speak to the reception team.
• Visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6:30pm

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery

In advance of your appointment, we may also contact you via text or e mail to request further information to assist the clinician.

We politely request that patients stick to one problem per appointment or request a double appointment if there are multiple concerns that need to be addressed.  All patients aged 85 and over are automatically offered a longer appointment.

You may request to see any doctor, and we do encourage you to follow through your current health problem with the same doctor where possible. Normally, you will be offered the earliest appointment with the doctor of your choice.  If the doctor is fully booked, we will try to offer you an earlier appointment with another doctor.

Locations:

Rossendale Primary Care Centre (The Hub), Bacup Road, Rawtenstall, BB4 7PL

Bacup Primary Health Centre, Irwell Mill, Rochdale Road, Bacup, OL13 9NR

If you would like as evening or weekend appointment, please let our reception team know when they are booking you in.

If you are housebound and need an appointment, we will do a home visit. We may phone you first to understand what you need and which service might be best placed to visit you.

To request a home visit, please complete our online form. You will be asked to state the nature of the problem as it helps your doctor to decide on the degree of urgency.

Home visits are reserved for the housebound and those deemed by the doctor too ill to attend surgery.

Each home visit takes four or five times as long as a surgery consultation, and more thorough examinations can be done in the surgery than at home using surgery based equipment and facilities.

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

If you need urgent mental health support, use NHS 111 online or call 111 and select option 2.

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 or visit A&E at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn BB2 3HH.

Urgent treatment centres (UTC) can provide medical help when it's not a life-threatening emergency. They can diagnose and deal with many of the common problems people go to A&E for. For more information please visit When to visit an urgent treatment centre (UTC) - NHS

For information on minor injuries units please visit Minor Injuries Unit :: East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

For pharmacies please visit Find a Pharmacy

We want to get better at communicating with our patients. Please let our reception team know if you have any information or communication support needs.

We want to make sure you can read and understand the information we send you. If you find it hard to read our letters or if you need someone to support you at appointments, please let us know.

We want to know if you need information in braille, large print or easy read.

We want to know if you need a British Sign Language interpreter or advocate.

We want to know if we can support you to lipread or use a hearing aid or communication tool.

We are a Training practice. We train doctors intending to become GPs and Consultants.  The process will sometimes involve consultations which are video recorded or where a trainee and trainer are present.  In this case your permission will always be requested.

We are also involved in the teaching of undergraduate Medical, Nursing and Physician Associate students.