Appointments

For non-urgent issues, please follow the guidelines below and choose the right service. An appointment may not be necessary.

This will help us to be more efficient by making an appointment available to you when you need it the most.

Pharmacy and Self Care

See a Pharmacist

Many conditions can be treated without the need to see your GP.

Self-Care

Help and support available from many National and Local Organisations

Visit our Self Help Zone

Book an Appointment

Urgent appointments for today

We operate an ‘on the day’ appointment system whereby a limited number of appointment slots are reserved for on-the-day booking. These appointments are reserved for conditions of an urgent nature only.

If you feel that your problem is urgent, you should tell the receptionist and every effort will be made for you to be seen the same day.

If the doctor needs to see you in person or you would prefer a face-to-face appointment, we will invite you to come in.

We offer these appointments on a time order basis only and therefore cannot guarantee your choice of clinician or time of appointment.

The doctors have asked the reception staff to take a brief description of the nature of illness so that an appropriate appointment can be allocated.

How to book

Telephone: 01923 673 060 from 8am. You may be asked to call back after 2pm for any available slots in the afternoon.

Extended Access

We also have extended access available. See our Out of Hours information.

Book a Routine Appointment

Patients are free to see the clinician of their choice, please ask the receptionist upon booking for your preferred clinician’s availability.

Ways to book

1. Request an appointment online

2. Telephone: 01923 673 060

3. Make an appointment with the receptionist at the reception desk

Sickness Certificates (Fit Notes)

You must give your employer a doctor's 'fit note' (sometimes called a 'sick note') if you've been ill for more than 7 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.

Visit our Sickness Certificates page

Travel Vaccinations

Information and advice for travelling abroad.

Visit our Travel Information page

Home Visits

This service is available exclusively for housebound patients who are unable to attend the surgery in person due to their medical condition.

If you are housebound and require a same-day home visit, please contact us before 10am.

Telephone: 01923 673 060

Allocated GP

A GP will be assigned to your home visit, and they will always call you before attending in person. This allows us to assess your needs and ensure the visit is appropriate.

Referrals

If you require a referral to a specialist, the clinician will advise you during the consultation of the type of referral needed and the department you will be referred to.

You will then receive a notification from the medical secretary, usually via text message to inform you where you have been referred to and a contact number for the department.

If you have any queries regarding the status of a referral that is currently in the system, please contact the appropriate department at the hospital or secondary care provider.

Use NHS My Planned Care

If you have been referred for radiology scans such as CT or MRI, you will receive an appointment for these from the hospital.

Questions about your referrals

If you have any queries that are not regarding the status of a referral we have already sent, please contact the practice and select the option to speak to the medical secretary.

Telephone: 01923 673 060

Chaperone Service

During any consultation at the surgery you may request a trained, DBS checked chaperone to accompany you. On occasions, the clinician may request that a chaperone is present. A chaperone is witness to the consultation and will be required to have view of the patient during any examination taking place.

See our chaperone policy for more details

Change or Cancel an Appointment

Please give us as much notice as possible so we can offer your appointment to someone else.

We ask that patients give at least 30 minutes notice of a cancellation to ensure we can offer the appointment slot to someone else.

Ways to cancel

1. Telephone us on 01923 673 060.

2. Text back to your SMS reminder

3. Cancel an appointment online

4. Cancel using our online services

5. Cancel through the NHS App

Out of Hours

Enhanced Access

Abbotswood Medical Centre works closely with Sheepcot Medical Centre and Vine House Health Centre as part of the North Watford Primary Care Network (PCN).

Important

As a PCN we take it in turn to host these clinics.

Therefore, if booking an out-of-hours appointment you might be asked to attend one of the other practices for an appointment or speak to a GP from another practice.

If you are booked in with a GP from another practice, they will have access to your full medical record to enable them to treat you.

As a PCN, we offer the following out of hours clinics to our patients:

Monday to Friday from 6:30pm to 8:30pm - GP Telephone Only Appointments
Saturday 9am to 5pm – GP Face To Face Appointments

If you would like an enhanced access appointment, please ask the receptionists when calling to book this for you.

Life Threatening

Call 999 or go to A&E now if:

you or someone you know needs immediate help
you have seriously harmed yourself – for example, by taking a drug overdose

A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a medical emergency.

Find your nearest A&E

Urgent But Not Life Threatening

Visit an urgent care centre if:

You have an urgent medical issue requiring on the day attention

Find Urgent Care Services

Non-urgent

Use NHS 111 if:

You need help now, but it’s not an emergency

There will be someone to provide you with advice and to direct you to a clinician if it is necessary.

Visit NHS 111 Online

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