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Appointments

Urgent appointments

To request an urgent appointment for today or tomorrow (Monday to Friday) during opening times:

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you. If you contact us online , we may respond via SMS text message or e mail if you are happy for us to do so.

Routine appointments

Pre-bookable appointments can be booked up to 4 weeks in advance. For more than one problem, please book a double appointment.

To request a routine appointment in advance during opening times:

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you.

Information:

If you are booking an appointment via the Colchester Medical Practice patient online access website, please make sure that you book into the site where you are registered.

Blood tests

If you are booking an appointment online for a blood test, a doctor or nurse must have requested that you need to have a blood test taken. They will then arrange a blood test form for you and it will be here on the computer ready for when you come to the appointment.

If you book an appointment and it has not been requested by a clinician and no form has been organised you will not be able to have the test done and you will be required to re-book at another time.

Enhanced access

If you would like an evening or Saturday appointment, please request this when you contact your practice. Details of your appointment, including the location of your appointment (if booked during enhanced access hours) will be given by reception at the time of booking.

As part of this service, appointments will be available between:

  • 9am and 5pm, Saturdays
  • 6:30pm and 8pm, Monday to Friday

Your appointment

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

  • by phone
  • face to face at the surgery
  • by SMS text message or e mail
  • on a video call

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

To cancel your appointment:

If you need help when we are closed

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

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.

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 or email
  • if you need an interpreter
  • if you have any other access or communication needs

Home visits

If possible, please try to phone reception before 10am if you think you require a home visit. You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice.

If you request a visit, you will be added to the telephone triage list and one of the oncall team will call you back to discuss your request.

Your GP will only visit you at home if they think your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed.

Necessary visits

A doctor will always visit the following patients:

  • terminally ill patients
  • house-bound patients, these are patients for whom attending surgery would have an affect on their health or cause severe discomfort

Unnecessary visits

In most cases a GP’s visit is not required. It is much better for the medical assessment to be done at the surgery which is fully equipped and where access to other members of the medical team including nurses and other doctors is available.

Children

Children with the following symptoms are usually strong enough to be brought to the surgery by car or public transport:

  • fever (it is not harmful to take a child with a fever outside)
  • coughs and colds
  • earache
  • headache
  • vomiting and diarrhoea
  • abdominal pain

Children experiencing these symptoms may not be fit to travel by bus or to walk, but car transport may be available from friends, relatives or by taxi. If a child is fit enough to come to the surgery, we ask that you make every effort to bring them.

Adults

Adults who experience the symptoms mentioned above, as well as back pain, are usually able to come to the surgery by car.

Elderly

Common problems in the elderly, such as poor mobility, joint pain and general malaise, are usually treated in surgery. Although, patients who are truly housebound can be visited.

Home visits are only for patients that cannot attend the surgery.

If you need to request a home visit, please call the surgery before 10am. A member of the medical team may phone before the visit to confirm it is a problem that would not be better dealt with at the surgery. If the visit is not urgent or is not necessarily needed on that day please notify the receptionist when you call.

Emergencies

If you believe yourself or someone else to be seriously ill and need an urgent visit, a doctor will call you back to assess whether you can wait for the doctor to visit or if an emergency ambulance needs to be called, for example:

  • Severe bleeding
  • Chest pains
  • Shortness of breath

Related information

Health A to Z

Sick notes

Test results

Page published: 5 May 2023
Last updated: 10 February 2025