You & Your General Practice

This guide tells you what to expect from your general practice (GP) and how you can help them, so you get the best from the National Health Service (NHS). More details can be found through the links below.

When and how can you contact us?

Combe Down Surgery is open 8.00am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.

During these hours, you or your carer (with your permission) can contact us in the way that works best for you:

  • Visit the surgery in person.
  • Telephone the surgery.
  • Contact us online using our website or the NHS App.

You can choose how you contact us. Our care navigation team may ask you some questions to help us understand your needs and direct you to the most appropriate care.

What happens when you contact us?

We assess requests based on clinical need to ensure patients receive appropriate care.

Clinically urgent requests: If you contact us during opening hours with a clinically urgent problem, we will respond on the same day. This does not necessarily mean you will have an appointment that day, but we will take appropriate action to help you.

Non-urgent requests: We will let you know what happens next by the end of the following working day.

Depending on your needs, we may offer an appointment, a telephone consultation, a text message with advice, or direct you to another appropriate healthcare professional or NHS service.

If you submit an online request, please avoid submitting the same request more than once or contacting us again about the same issue unless your condition worsens. This helps us respond to patients as efficiently as possible.

When the surgery is closed

If you need urgent medical help when we are closed and cannot wait until we reopen, please visit NHS 111 or telephone 111.

For a serious or life-threatening emergency, telephone 999 or attend A&E.

Choosing who you see

You may be offered care from a GP, nurse, pharmacist or another appropriate healthcare professional, either face-to-face, by telephone or online.

You can request to see a particular healthcare professional. We will try to accommodate your preference, although this may mean waiting longer for an appointment.

Additional support and accessibility

We want everyone to be able to access our services.

If you need an interpreter, accessible information, wheelchair access, a quieter environment or other reasonable adjustments, please let our team know.

We will work with you to identify and record any additional support you may need.

How you can help us

We ask patients to help us provide safe and effective care by:

  • Arriving on time for appointments.
  • Cancelling appointments as early as possible if they are no longer needed.
  • Ordering repeat prescriptions in good time and only ordering what is required.
  • Using the NHS App or online services where convenient.
  • Keeping contact details up to date.
  • Treating our staff and other patients with kindness and respect.
  • Providing clear information when contacting us so we can direct requests appropriately.

We are committed to treating all patients with dignity and respect and ask that our staff receive the same consideration.

Your rights and responsibilities

NHS England's guidance also explains your rights when registering with a GP practice, accessing your medical records, choosing where you receive specialist care, requesting reasonable adjustments and providing feedback or making a complaint.

You can read the full guidance here:

NHS England – You and Your General Practice

We encourage all patients to familiarise themselves with this guidance so we can work together to provide the best possible care