Urgent appointments
You can request an urgent appointment for today (Monday to Friday) during opening times. Please try to call first thing in the morning.
Our Reception phone lines open at 08:30am.
Note: If you call between 08:00am and 08:30am your call will be redirected to our Medical Cover service.
phone us on Plowright Swaffham 01760 722797 or Plowright Necton 01760 441344
When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with. If you are offered an appointment you will need to be able to attend today.
Routine appointments
To request a routine appointment in advance during opening times:
- phone us on Plowright Swaffham 01760 722797 or Plowright Necton 01760 441344
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) or SystmOnline to book an appointment, screening test or vaccination
- use our nurse or healthcare assistant appointment request form and we will aim to respond within 4 working hours
When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with. Routine requests may take between 5- 14 working days.
We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you.
Home visits
- You cannot insist that a GP visits you at home.
- A GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it.
- A GP can also decide how urgently a visit is needed.
- Due to increasing demand, GPs can no longer automatically visit any patient who requests a home visit.
- All visits will be triaged and dealt with according to clinical need.
Patients who are housebound or terminally ill may be visited in their homes.
Modern health care is best delivered in a health care setting and therefore we try to discourage home visits. Individual circumstances may make a home visit desirable but please remember that visits by a doctor are not appropriate for common childhood illnesses, headaches, earaches, tummy bugs, sore throats or flu.
Visits should be arranged by phoning the surgery before 10:30am. Please be ready to give the receptionist your name, address, phone number, age and details of what is wrong. Please only request home visits if you are incapable to attending the surgery.
Whenever possible, try and come into the surgery as facilities here are far better for examination and treatment. It helps us to judge the urgency of the call, if you describe the symptoms. The receptionists are trained to deal with your call, so do expect to be asked. All information is confidential. The doctor may phone prior to, or instead of, visiting.
Does my child need a home visit?
Sick children should always be brought into the surgery, it is not appropriate for a visit. We rarely visit children at home, as a responsible adult should be available to bring them to the surgery.
GP’s are not obliged to visit a patient if they have assessed the patient’s clinical need on the telephone and found them to be suitable for an alternative method of healthcare.
Please remember that we can see several people at the surgery in the time it takes to do a home visit.
You may not be fit to travel by bus or to walk, but car transport is often available from friends, relatives or taxis. We do not offer home visits due to a lack of transport.
Enhanced access
Improving access to general practice: Weekend and evening appointments are now available.
Patients who are registered at this practice can book an appointment to see a clinician weekdays from 6:30pm to 8pm and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm at the following hub sites:
- Manor Farm Medical Centre, Swaffham
- Bridge Street Surgery, Downham Market
Talk to our reception team to book an appointment. They will provide you with the time, date, and venue for your appointment.
These are for non-urgent, routine appointments only.
Some of the services we can offer within the enhanced access are:
- GP consultations
- Nurse appointments offering dressings, asthma and diabetes reviews, contraception reviews, etc
- Healthcare assistant appointments
- Spirometry
- Medication reviews
Please note this is not a walk-in service and is available by booked appointment only.
If you need urgent medical advice when the surgery is closed, you should continue to call NHS 111.
SMS messaging service
The surgery offers a text messaging service to all patients. If we have your mobile number on record we will use this to send you appointment reminders and health information. It enables us to send out important information direct to your mobile.
If you do not wish to receive reminders please let the reception team know that you wish to opt out.
You can opt out at anytime.
Your appointment
Appointments are for 10 minutes and for one problem or person only. If you have a number of problems, please make a double appointment.
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face at the surgery
- on a video call
- by text or via our website
Appointments by phone, video call or by text can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.
If the doctor refers you for an outpatient appointment, this may be booked at a time and date of your choosing. This is known as the NHS e-referral system.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- use the GP online system: SystmOnline
- phone us on Plowright Swaffham 01760 722797 or Plowright Necton 01760 441344 during opening times
- Click the CANCEL link via your SMS appointment reminder
If you need help when we are closed
- Call NHS 111 if you urgently need medical help or advice but it’s not a life threatening situation. You can also call NHS 111 if you’re not sure which NHS service you need.
- Call 999 if someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
- Visit a walk-in centre, minor injuries unit or urgent care centre if you have a minor illness or injury (cuts, sprains or rashes) and it can’t wait until your GP surgery is open.
- Ask your local pharmacist for advice – Some local pharmacies will be open over Bank Holiday periods. A pharmacist can give you advice for many common minor illnesses, such as diarrhoea, minor infections, headache, travel advice or sore throats.
If you need help with your appointment
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.
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs