Urgent Care Centres
Urgent Treatment Centres can treat illnesses, minor injuries and broken bones on a walk-in basis. Most centres are open 12 hours a day, or more, seven days a week. People will see a GP or a nurse. Waiting times are usually shorter than A&E. There is no need to make an appointment, but if they are very busy, they may not be able to see patients and will help them to find an alternative local service.
Harold Wood Polyclinic – St Clements Ave, Gubbins Ln, Harold Wood RM3 0FE – Open: 8am-9pm every day
Queens Hospital – Rom Valley Way, Romford RM7 0AG – Open: 24 hours a day
Barking Community Hospital – Upney Lane, Barking IG11 9LX – Open: 8am-9pm every day
King George Hospital Barley Ln, Ilford IG3 8YB – Open: 24 hours a day
Don’t Book an Appointment to Chase your Referral or your Specialist – Please Contact Them Directly
Unfortunately a large proportion of our appointments are not available to you for general practice care because they are consumed to do tasks which should be done by hospital or specialist teams. Please directly contact your specialists so all our patients may have far better access to our appointments.
To chase up your Referral to a Hospital or Community Specialist Click here
To chase up the plans and/or actions of your Hospital or Community Specialist Click here
Booking a Face to Face or Telephone Consultation
- 1st – Please explore the our self help & self referral options and the NHS comprehensive self help options: HERE OR For Musculoskeletal problems click here
- For MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS CLICK HERE TO ACCESS OUR APP
- 2nd – Please consider seeking advice from your pharmacist who can help resolve most minor ailments and problems and has the expertise to advise you regarding any medication queries. Your Pharmacist can now provide antibiotics where appropriate for ear, throat, skin and urine infections & shingles
- 3rd – Please use our E-Consult online consultation services. We will respond to you within 2-5 working days. Please provide all the detail you can. CLICK HERE TO CONSULT WITH A GP ONLINE
When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.
We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
OUR BUSIEST TIMES TO CONTACT US ARE MONDAYS ALL DAY AND TUESDAY MORNINGS. IF YOU WANT TO AVOID LONG WAITS PLEASE AVOID THESE TIMES. PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT WE DO NOT RELEASE OUR APPOINTMENTS FOR THE WEEK ON A MONDAY LIKE SOME PRACTICES.
We recognise there is very high demand for appointments at the moment. GP numbers are diminishing nationally and locally. Most commonly a GP is not the best trained or placed health-care-professional to help you compared with other members of our extended team; who are more accessible.
By making the most of our extended healthcare team and services we can work together to make sure we provide the most for all our patients and to make appointment availability better.
Please consider seeing our Clinical Pharmacist who has expertise in minor ailments, chronic disease management and medications.
Our nursing team are well qualified deal with minor ailments and chronic disease management.
Our Advanced Nurse Practitioner can deal with most of the problems a GP can.
We have an increasing team of physiotherapists, specialist mental health experts, social prescribers, health coaches and care-co-ordinators
How We Help You Choose the Best Clinician
Care Navigators
Our Care Navigators will ask you questions about your problem. Please answer them so that we can get you the best care, from the health-care-professional who can help you best, as soon as possible.
Our Care Navigators have full access to your medical record and are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as our whole team.
Your first appointment regards a problem will most likely not be with a GP BUT a GP will always be on hand to pop in and/or support the health-care-professional you are consulting with. So you will always have that high-level input in your care when the clinician you see can’t meet your medical needs.
| Who to Book With | What For? |
| Check our Self Referral & Self Help Page first | Click Here |
| Ask your Community Pharmacist who can prescribe antibiotics and antivirals for many ailments. | Cold sores Colds Conjunctivitis Ear infections Hay fever Insect Bites (including infected ones) Impetigo – common mild skin infections Lice Medication Queries & Side Effects Constipation Nappy Rash Shingles Sinusitis Sore throat Urine infections (simple ones) Worms (Threadworms – GPs can not prescribe for this) Warts/Verrucas (GP treatments and referrals are very limited) Other Minor Ailments |
| Health Care Assistant | Chronic Disease checks Prevention eg cholesterol, BP Health checks Ear checks |
| Nurses & Nurse Prescribers | Minor ailments Chronic Disease Management |
| Advanced Clinical Practitioner | Most problems that a GP can deal with except very young children |
| Clinical Pharmacist | Most problems that a GP can deal with except very young children Medication problems Chronic Disease Management Minor ailments |
| PCN Physiotherapist | Musculo-skeletal problem Experts |
| PCN Mental Health Professional (imminent) | Mental Health problems |
| Health Coaches, Care Navigators, Social Prescribers | Weight loss Benefits advice Low Level Anxiety / depression |
You can choose from ONLINE, TELEPHONE & FACE-2-FACE appointments
Through the Global Coronavirus Pandemic and changes to national guidance the way in which you access primary care evolved. We are now trying to deliver the best variety of appointments as we all try and move on. Our Care Navigators will help you book the right appointment with the right heath-care-professional.
What to Expect From Your Consultation: We are Here to Help
- Our clinicians may need to ask you personal or uncomfortable questions during your consultation. Sometimes our professionals will need to question and probe to find the root cause of problems. Sometimes the questions and diagnosis may not be what you were expecting.
- We mean no offence by these questions. We want to reassure you we only ask them to find the best way to provide the help you most need. If you are upset by a question please ask the professional why they have asked it so we can explain.
- It is very unlikely that we will be able to deal with multiple problems, satisfactorily and without rushing, in a single 10 minute consultation including preparation and documentation.
- Please prioritise your concerns and be realistic in how much can be discussed.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- using the GP online system – eConsult
- phone us on 01708 450 902, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
- reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message
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
“Too ill to come to the surgery with the help of an adult, as a car passenger”
Home visits are strictly for patients who are housebound: “Too ill to come to the surgery with the help of an adult, as a car passenger”.
Please telephone us before 10.00am: The doctor does the visit rounds at lunch time between surgeries.
Please visit the surgery if you are able: The Surgery is fully equipped to facilitate your care. In the time taken to visit a patient at home four patients emergencies can be treated in the surgery.
The doctor may arrange for your visit to be by the community treatment team if that is most appropriate.
If you need an urgent visit at home because you are very unwell and you are not able to leave the house with the help of 1 other person and a car, and you do not think you are so unwell as to need an ambulance you can call our Community Treatment Team:
Tel: 0300 300 1660
The service runs daily, from 8am to 10pm, and consists of doctors, nurses, health care assistants, occupational therapists, social workers and physiotherapists who work with primary care, community services and healthcare partners at Queen’s and King George’s Hospitals so that people can receive medical, nursing and therapy interventions in their own homes wherever possible, without need for hospital admission.