Appointments at the surgery can be made online, in person or on the phone (01538 704200).

You can make appointments online if you are registered with patient access or the NHS app. Please speak to a member of reception to obtain the necessary documentation to register for this service.

Patients should always contact the practice if they are unable to keep an appointment.

If you are late for an appointment, you may be asked to re-book.

Online consultations are a way for patients to contact the practice without coming into the surgery or calling on the telephone. Patients can contact us about new problems or ongoing issues by filling out a digital form. 

Our online consultation service will let you request advice, treatment, sick notes, GP letters, recent test results and more. The practice ensures their query is dealt with by the right person in the team, helping ensure everyone is supported as quickly and appropriately as possible.

Online consultations are open Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays), until capacity is met each day. If your query is urgent, please call us.

Click here to submit an online consultation.

For further information and FAQs about online consultations please visit Accurx's website.

We currently have two GP partners at the surgery. The table below shows which doctors are on duty each day in a standard week.

All GP practices must now be able to offer patients a choice of evening or weekend appointments.

We are pleased to announce that appointments are available between 4 pm and 8 pm on weekdays and 9 am and 2 pm on Saturdays at other local GP practices. These will be run by a team of local GPs who will access your medical with your consent. Appointments are not offered outside normal opening hours at Alton Surgery

Please ask our receptionists about this service as these appointments can only be booked through our Practice.

We're making some changes to help people get the right help when they call or come in for an appointment. Our reception staff might ask a few questions about why you need an appointment, but you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Most people ask to see a GP when they call, but sometimes a nurse or pharmacist can help you faster. Our reception staff have information about different services that can help with different needs. If you have any questions, feel free to ask our reception staff.

Patients are requested, to telephone before 11 am if a home visit is required.

We prefer patients to come to the surgery instead of requesting a home visit. It takes much longer to do a home visit, we can see more patients at the surgery in the same amount of time. Also, the care received at a home visit may be impacted due to the lack of lighting, examination facilities and equipment.

Please note that the doctor may telephone you rather than visit you. The doctor will decide whether or not a visit is necessary based on your situation.

Our practice follows the “North Staffordshire Visiting Guidelines”.

It is important that you inform reception if you are unable to attend your appointment. This will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient.

There are a few ways to cancel appointments:
- Call reception on 01538 704200.
- Cancel in person by visiting the Practice.
- Use online services like Patient Access or the NHS app.
- Reply to the appointment text reminder.

Did Not Attend

Please be aware that a "Did Not Attend" (DNA) can occur when a patient misses an appointment without notifying the surgery, or cancels with very little notice. This can prevent another patient from taking the slot. If this happens, the reception team will contact the patient by SMS or letter and make a note in their medical record. The practice will consider any factors that may have caused the DNA, but if it happens repeatedly, the patient and/or their carer may be contacted. If the patient continues to miss appointments without notification, they may be removed from the practice list.

Please attend your appointment on time, if you are late you may not be seen. If you are not seen you will not be able to rearrange your appointment until the next working day-except in the event of an medical emergency that requires immediate attention.

This practice is committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment and strives to achieve good practice at all times

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present during any consultation, examination or procedure.  Clinicians at this practice will advise patients a chaperone is necessary during any intimate examination; this is to safeguard both the clinician and you, the patient.

Where a chaperone is not available, the clinician will ask you to make an appointment and request the presence of a chaperone at the time of booking.

In the first instance we use clinical staff as chaperones as they have had the appropriate training and have knowledge of the examination or procedure you may be undergoing. Additionally, all our reception staff have also recieved chaperone training to support you and the clinical team.

Family and friends are not permitted to act as chaperones as they do not have the knowledge required nor have they had the necessary training.

Should you wish to see the full chaperone policy please ask at Reception.

If you have any questions, please speak to the reception staff who will direct you to an appropriate member of the team.

Interpreter

If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the reception team and they will arrange this for you.

We have an email and text service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

If you are not set up for this service, please speak to reception.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

Alton Surgery would like to inform patients of our current processes regarding booking appointments on behalf of other patients.

Where a patient has the capacity and ability to make their own appointments, we request that they do so. The patient is often able to offer more in-depth information about their reason for booking the appointment. Speaking directly to the patient ensures that our reception team can gather all necessary information from the patient to ensure they are booked in with the most appropriate clinician or directed to another suitable service.

At Alton Surgery, we pride ourselves on providing rapid patient care and multiple communication pathways for patients. We are aware that there may be patients who struggle to contact the practice via telephone or in-person during our normal opening hours. If you cannot contact us via phone or attend the practice in person, you can submit an e-consult online via our website or message the surgery via your NHS patient app. This allows you to access timely medical advice and assistance from a GP without calling the practice. We also have a limited number of GP appointments that are directly bookable to patients through the NHS app.

Please find a link to submit online consultations to the practice here - Contact us about your request.

The practice understands that there are occasions when it is impossible or very difficult for a patient to book their own appointments, and not all patients have the ability or capacity to contact the practice through any of our available modes of access. This can be for many different reasons and is specific to the individual.

If you or someone you know faces difficulties accessing the practice, please discuss this with a member of our reception team or a clinician at your next appointment. This will allow us to record any reasonable adjustments required for you, or the patient, to access our services.

Some patients may be aware that they have previously been able to book appointments on behalf of friends and relatives. The practice now asks that patients wishing to allow third parties to contact the practice and speak on their behalf complete a consent form to help us maintain patient confidentiality and improve the quality of information we hold on patient records. Please be aware that other GP practices may have different systems in place.

The main reason for this request is to uphold confidentiality. The practice cannot share information outside the NHS including with family members, partners, or carers without direct permission from the patient, which includes confirming if a patient is registered or has previously visited the practice. On previous occasions, we have also had third parties make appointments for patients only for the patient to arrive at the practice not knowing the reason for the appointment or not feeling that the appointment was necessary, which unfortunately uses an appointment that could have been allocated to another patient.

All patients who wish to allow a third party, whether a relative, friend, or carer, to access their medical records, book and amend appointments, and order and collect medications on their behalf are advised to complete a consent form outlining their wishes. Patients can choose what level of access to give to the third party and can withdraw consent at any time.

Please find a link to the form here - Consent to Share Confidential Information with a Third Party.docx