From 2nd September 2026, Elm Lodge Surgery is introducing a modern GP appointment system
When you contact the practice for a GP appointment, you will be asked to complete a short form telling us a little about what's going on before an appointment is arranged. One of our experienced GPs will look at this information and decide the best way to help you.
This means you do not need to call the surgery right at 8am to get a same-day appointment, and it helps make sure that patients with the most urgent needs are seen the soonest.
You might be offered a face-to-face or telephone appointment, given written advice by a GP without needing to come in, or directed to a different service better suited to your needs.
Why are we introducing this?
- To make sure patients are seen according to how urgent or serious their need is, not simply who gets through to the surgery first.
- To make the best use of the whole clinical team so patients see the right professional for their problem.
- To meet the NHS GP contract requirement that online consultations are available when the surgery is open, and that anything assessed as clinically urgent is seen on the same day.
How does it work?
Requests for GP appointments can be submitted using our online consultation form through the NHS App or our website. The quickest way to get in touch is through the NHS App, as this automatically fills in your details, saving you time when submitting a request. You can use the form on our website if you prefer.
If you're not able to use the online form, you can still contact the surgery by phone or in person, and our reception team will help you complete it.
The more detail you can give us about your symptoms, the easier it is for us to get you to the right place quickly. For example, "I've had a sore throat for 4 days, it's been getting worse rather than better, I'm struggling to swallow food and drink, and I've had a temperature since yesterday" is far easier for us to act on than simply "I've got a sore throat." When we don't have enough detail, we may need to come back to you with further questions.
Please only request help with one problem per submission and include as much detail as possible to help us review your request efficiently.
What happens next?
Once submitted, one of our experienced GPs reviews your request. We will contact you within one working day to explain how your request will be managed. Depending on your needs, this may include:
- A GP appointment, in person or by phone
- An appointment with another member of our clinical team, such as a nurse, physiotherapist or pharmacist
- Signposting to another service
- Advice without needing to visit the surgery
If an appointment is required, we may send you an appointment booking link via text message, or arrange this over the phone.
How long will it take to hear back?
Most requests are dealt with and responded to on the same day. There is no need to call us unless you have not had a response after one working day or if your symptoms are getting significantly worse.
The online form is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6.30pm. It is not available in the evenings, overnight, at weekends or on bank holidays, or on the occasional half day when the practice is closed for staff training. Outside these hours, please call 111 for anything urgent that cannot wait until we reopen.
Are there any exceptions to completing the online consultation form?
There are no changes to appointments for wound care, vaccinations, ear wax removal and long-term condition reviews such as diabetes, asthma, or COPD. Call as usual for these. If you cannot complete the online form our reception team will be happy to help you on the phone or in-person.
How does this help you?
We know that these changes to the appointment system may cause concerns or anxiety for some of our patients. Our aim is to make the new system better than the previous system by:
- Reducing the time you wait for both routine and same-day needs.
- Removing the need to call at a particular time of day or wait in a phone queue.
- Making sure our appointments go to those who need them the most.
If you have any questions or concerns, our team is happy to help.
How can you help us?
Please only submit an online consultation when you have a medical need. Do not submit one out of curiosity or to test the system. This will help us focus our attention on patients who most need our help.
It is easier for us to help you in a timely manner if you submit online consultations earlier in the day. You don’t need to do this at 8am exactly, but we have more options to help you if you let us know your needs before 10am. We are more likely to have to direct you to urgent care or A&E if you get in touch with potentially serious symptoms in the afternoon.
What if you have difficulty using the new system?
We want to support all our patients, their families and carers in getting used to this new way of contacting the practice. If you don't have online access, or find using digital technology difficult, please speak to our reception team and they will help you.
What about vulnerable patients or those with special needs?
We work hard to identify patients who may need extra help, and can flag this on your medical record so the whole team is aware of any reasonable adjustments we can make. If someone is struggling to navigate the system, we will support them in any way we can.
Will you need to share personal details with reception staff?
Where you contact us by phone or in person, our reception team may need to ask some questions to make sure the GP has enough information to help you. We understand some issues are sensitive, and we can offer a private space to talk if needed. Our team are trained to handle these conversations professionally and confidentially.
Can you still walk in to book an appointment?
You can walk into the surgery and our reception team will help you complete an online consultation. Coming into the surgery does not result in a faster response; requests are managed according to clinical need, not in the order they arrive. We'd encourage you to use the online form or NHS App wherever possible, but if you do come in, our reception team will take the same details from you as they would over the phone or online, so your request can be prioritised in the same way.
Elm Lodge Surgery is not an emergency service. If you need immediate medical attention, please call 111 or go directly to A&E.
Who might you be offered an appointment with?
Not every problem needs a GP appointment. Depending on your needs, you may be booked to see or seek advice from:
- Pharmacists, for medication reviews and related queries
- First Contact Physiotherapists, for musculoskeletal problems
- Nurses, for many chronic and acute condition reviews, vaccinations, or wound care
- Community pharmacies – Pharmacy First – a national scheme allowing local pharmacies to treat certain minor conditions and prescribe where appropriate
- Community eye service – most eye conditions are managed by this team and they link in with local optometrists
- Social prescribers, for patients who may have a social problem or health problem linked with their social situation
- Dentists – we are not able to manage any dental problems even for emergencies – if you don’t have your own dentist, please ring 111 for advice on accessing care
Will you still be able to choose an appointment time?
Yes, for routine appointments, we will offer as much flexibility as we can, subject to availability. For urgent same-day appointments we will still try to offer a choice of times, but we ask patients to be flexible, as these will be offered based on clinical priority.
What happens if the surgery is fully booked?
We have done a lot of work to understand and plan for the busiest times, so this should be rare. However, there may be occasions when the number of requests we receive is more than we can safely manage that day. If this happens, and your medical problem requires an appointment on the same day we will direct you to an alternative NHS service that can assist you.
Can I choose which GP I want to manage my problem?
One of the questions on the form asks whether you have a GP you'd prefer to manage your care. We will try to accommodate this where we can, but it will depend on who is working each day and on appointment availability.
Why is the online form not available when the surgery is closed?
The form is open between 8am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Outside these hours, other services such as NHS 111 are there to help with anything urgent. This helps us manage requests safely.
Read more about why we have to make this change
This change is not something Elm Lodge Surgery has chosen to do on its own. The national NHS GP contract now sets two firm requirements for every practice:
- Online consultations must be available between 8am and 6.30pm
- Any request a GP assesses as clinically urgent must be seen the same day
We cannot meet these requirements safely while keeping our old appointment system in place. Continuing as we are, while also reviewing an unlimited number of online consultations, would not be sustainable for our GPs of safe for our patients.
This approach is part of a wider change happening across general practice nationally, known as Modern General Practice. It moves away from first-come-first-served phone queues, and instead asks patients to share some information up front so that requests can be reviewed and prioritised by clinical need. You may hear this referred to as "total triage" – in short, it means every request is looked at by a GP before it is booked, rather than appointments simply being given out in the order the calls come in.
In practice this means:
You will no longer need to queue on the phone at 8am. Instead, you can let us know what you need at a time that works for you, and we will review it and get back to you.
Every request, whether submitted online, by phone or in person, is reviewed by a GP or senior clinician, who decides the most appropriate and timely response.
You may be offered a GP appointment, a call back, self-care advice, or be directed to another service or member of the team, such as a pharmacist or physiotherapist, depending on what's most appropriate for your needs.
The aim throughout is fairness and efficiency: making sure patients who need help most urgently are seen soonest, and that everyone reaches the right professional for their problem as quickly as possible.