Appointments

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You can request appointment by:

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 health professional to help you.

Your Appointment

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

  • By phone
  • Face-to-face at the surgery
  • On a video call
  • By text or email

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

We usually provide a telephone appointment and then offer a face-to-face appointment if needed.  However, if you prefer a face-to-face appointment, please tell us. 

If you need help with your appointment, please tell us:

  • If there’s a specific doctor, nurse or another 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.
Help to prepare for your appointment

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 11:00 if you require a home visit.

Non-urgent advice: Call 999 for any of the following:

Signs of a heart attack: pain like a very tight band, heavy weight or squeezing in the centre of your chest.

Signs of a stroke: face drooping on one side, can’t hold both arms up, difficulty speaking.

Severe difficulty breathing: gasping, not being able to get words out, choking or lips turning blue.

Heavy bleeding: that won’t stop.

Severe injuries: or deep cuts after a serious accident.

Seizure (fit): someone is shaking or jerking because of a fit, or is unconscious (can’t be woken up).

We receive a very high volume of appointment requests on a daily basis

We want to ensure we can offer appointment to those who most need them

We ask that before you contact us, you carefully consider the following options which may meet your needs

All these options are available without the need for a GP appointment

Do you have a MINOR INJURY or ILLNESS which needs a SAME DAY review?

The following are a list of other services which can help with minor injury / illnesses. This includes cough, colds, sore throat, ear infections, urine infections, skin infections, diarrhoea / vomiting, rashes, cuts, wounds or burns.

Walk-in Centre – Open 7am-9pm seven days / week. Their website includes the current average wait time.

The 111 team can advise you on managing your symptoms, if you’re not sure what to do. They can also provide emergency supplies of prescribed medications.

Healthier Together – An excellent website which offers advice for many common childhood illnesses including fevers, coughs, colds, chickenpox, ear ache and rashes. Includes information on when you should seek advice from a healthcare professional.

NHS A-Z directory – This is a very useful list of medical ailments and provides some well written information, including when you should see a GP

Pharmacist – Experts in medicines who can help you with minor health concerns. Most pharmacies have a private consultation room where you can discuss issues with pharmacy staff without being overheard.

Do you have an URGENT EYE problem?

This includes red eyes or eyelids, sore / gritty / painful eyes, sticky discharge, flashes or floaters, sudden loss of vision or foreign body in the eye.


Community Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) is available to all patients to self refer to. You will be put in contact with a local optician commissioned to provide an urgent eyecare assessment. They will be able to examine you with specialist tools not available to GPs. They can also refer onto the specialist services if further input is needed. You can click on the link to find a local participating optician or call 0300 303 4922.

Are you looking for help with ANXIETY and DEPRESSION?

The Wellbeing Team is our local service which you are able to self refer to. We often encourage patients to contact the wellbeing team who can provide various talking therapies including cognitive behavioural therapy. Their website also has lots of very useful self help material.

Are you looking for advice on your CHILDS HEALTH?

Mild to Moderate Mental Health Needs (up to age 25) – you can submit a self referral your child to the Norfolk and Waveney team via Just One Number. From the information received the team will decide which service best meets your child’s need.

Early Help – If you have difficulties in your family or are worried about your children, there are people who can offer help and support. Early Help is for children of any age (0-17) and their family. It’s about getting information, advice and guidance to prevent family worries escalating into bigger issues. You can phone the service on 0344 800 8020. You can self refer directly using this link.

Just One Norfolk is the local service for accessing child health resources. This includes child developmental advice, healthy lifestyle advice, speech and language information, emotional health and much more. You can access them using the link or calling 0300 300 0123.

Solihull Parenting Course ‘Understanding Your Child’ is a free online course available for everyone who cares for children aged 0-18 years. It’s there to help you recognise emotions in yourself and your child, and helps you to see how these emotions can impact on behaviour.

Supporting Smiles (formally Point-1) offers professional mental health support to any child or young person, aged 4 – 14 years, living in Norfolk or Waveney or registered with a Norfolk or Waveney GP. You can self refer via their website.

Family Lives has a confidential helpline you can call to discuss a wide variety of issues including parenting advice, behavioural issue, child mental health problems and much more. They also provide “live chat” and e-mail communication.

This May Help has very useful information on a number of child mental health issues including anxiety, depression, self harm, online activity, teenager safety, eating disorders and school avoidance.

Do you need help with ALCOHOL / DRUGS or STOPPING SMOKING?

If you are concerned about alcohol and/or drugs you can self refer to Change Grow Live which is our local drugs and alcohol team. Their services include medical treatment, including substitute prescribing or medication that helps prevent relapse.

You can also contact Alcoholics Anonymous via their website or national helpline free on 0800 9177 650 and talk directly to someone who has overcome their own issues with alcohol, alternatively, you can email help@aamail.org for help.

If you are looking to stop smoking you can self refer to Smokefree Norfolk (East Coast Community Healthcare CIC) | Norfolk Community Directory

Are you looking for URGENT SOCIAL CARE?

You can access the adult social care team here.
Urgent help at home can be accessed via the Norfolk Swift Response Team

Are you looking for URGENT PREGNANCY or SEXUAL HEALTH advice or to book with the MIDWIFE?

Just One Norfolk – Has lots of useful information on preparing for pregnancy and the pregnancy journey

British Pregnancy Advisory Service – you can self refer to the BPAS team if you are uncertain about whether you want to continue with a pregnancy.


iCash – if you’re looking for contraception, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV care and treatment or related advice in Norfolk

Midwife Appointment – if you have just found out you are pregnant you can self refer to the midwife team here or you can call 01603 481222. If you are less than 6 weeks pregnant please do this when you are between 6 – 8 weeks. If you are more than 8 weeks pregnant now please do this on the next working day.

Morning After Pill – you can obtain the “morning after pill” from a number of sources other than the GP surgery

To request an appointment for an urgent issue:
Please phone us on 01263822066

We want to speak to you if you have an urgent issue to ensure we offer you the correct appointment or advice.

One of our Reception team will need to get a brief summary of your healthcare issue. This may include signposting you to a more appropriate service.

Our Reception team are supported by the doctors in the practice.

FAQ Section – Urgent Appointments

What type of urgent appointments does the GP surgery deal with?

What is an urgent problem? This can be difficult to define because life is a complex interplay between physical, psychological and social issues and what might be urgent to one person might be different to the next. At its most basic level we’d say an urgent issue is one which you feel has to be assessed either today or within the next few days rather than being able to wait a few weeks. From a medical perspective we have included a list of what we would consider to be urgent issues:

Signs of infection: for example urinary, chest, skin
Shortness of breath: not bad enough to need an ambulance or A&E
New onset significant body pains
New onset confusion or headache
Diarrhoea and/or vomiting
Sudden onset hearing loss or visual change
A new onset swelling
Significant mental health problem
Unwell baby
Cuts / Bleeding / Bites / Burns: not significant enough to need A&E

Why does the receptionist (care navigator) need to ask me questions about my problem?

We need to talk to you to ensure we can assess the urgency of your issue. It might be your problem is urgent enough to warrant a 999 call or A&E. You might need an on the day appointment or perhaps it is urgent but can wait a few days. The care navigation team will help to ensure you are given an appointment at the timeframe which best meets your issue. In addition general practice is very different from 10-15 years ago and has expanded from the traditional doctor / nurse model to now work alongside advanced nurse practitioners, physicians associates, physiotherapists, pharmacists, mental health practitioners and social prescribers. In addition there are lots of options outside the practice we can signpost or refer you to. This is great as it means we can offer you lots more appointment options to meet your need. The care navigation team will need to ask you some questions to ensure you are booked in with the correct person and are trained in the types of questions to ask. The doctors work closely with the team. 

Please do be kind to them and understand the pressures on the practice. The care navigation team are not a barrier to you getting an appointment and on the contrary are an effective way to help ensure appropriate care can be delivered to all our patients.

Why can the phone queue be so long?

The primary reason for this is the demand on the services which is why we would like people to consider whether any other options (as listed at the top of this page) may meet your needs.

In addition, our reception team will take a few minutes with each patient to get all the necessary information and ensure the most appropriate appointment or advice is given. This extra time is hugely important in the care navigation process but inevitably leads to a longer call queue.

Why don’t you have a callback option on the phone?

Our current phone provider does not offer this. However we are upgrading our phone system so this option will be available once the transition to the new system is complete.

Chaperones

We are committed to maintaining professional standards. For certain examinations during consultations an impartial observer, called a chaperone, will be required. 

This impartial observer will be a practice Nurse, Health Care Assistant or chaperone trained receptionist who is familiar with the procedure and be available to reassure and raise any concerns on your behalf. If a chaperone is unavailable at the time of your consultation, then your examination may be re-scheduled for another time. 

You are free to decline any examination or chose an alternative examiner or chaperone. You may also request a chaperone for any examination or consultation if one is not offered to you. The GP may not undertake an examination if a chaperone is declined. 

 The role of a chaperone: 

  • Maintains professional boundaries during intimate examinations. 
  • Acknowledges a patient’s vulnerability. 
  • Provides emotional comfort and reassurance. 
  • Assists in the examination. 
  • Assists with undressing patients, if required. 

Cancelling or changing an appointment

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

You can also complete our appointment cancellation notification request form. This can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance. (excluding weekends and public holidays). You can also text to cancel your appointment.

Cancel your appointment online

When we are closed

NHS 111

If you are very unwell and you cannot wait until the surgery has opened, please call NHS 111 by dialling 111, and they will be able to advise on the care that you need. They can organise emergency services or an ambulance if needed. The NHS 111 is staffed by fully trained advisers supported by experienced nurses, pharmacists, and doctors. The NHS 111 service is available if you require urgent medical help, but it is not a life-threatening situation.

Late Night Pharmacies

As qualified healthcare professionals, community pharmacists can offer clinical advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, tummy trouble and aches and pains.

If symptoms suggest it’s something more serious, pharmacists have the right training to make sure you get the help you need. For example, they will tell you if you need to see a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional.

All pharmacists train for 5 years in the use of medicines. They are also trained in managing minor illnesses and providing health and wellbeing advice.

Many pharmacies are open until late and at weekends. You do not need an appointment.

Most pharmacies have a private consultation room where you can discuss issues with pharmacy staff without being overheard.

You can find out your nearest open pharmacy on the NHS.uk website.  Once you have searched for the location, you can select ‘only show pharmacies open now’ if you are searching outside of usual business hours.

Find a pharmacy

Extended Access Service

Sheringham Medical Practice provides bookable appointments outside the core hours under the new ‘Enhanced Access’ contract. We offer a range of general practice services including routine services such as well woman screening, vaccinations, and health checks, in line with patient preference. There is a mix of Face to Face and Telephone Consultations. The ‘Enhanced Access’ hours will be as follows:

  • Monday – 18:30 – 20:00
  • Wednesday – 07:00 – 08:00
  • Thursday – 18:30 – 20:00
  • One Saturday a month between 09:00-17:00

This is part of a coordinated initiative across our Primary Care Network to provide additional appointments within the new National Primary Care Network Core Hours to the benefit of all of our patient populations. Sheringham is part of the NN1 Primary Care Network which includes Fakenham, Holt, and Sheringham Medical Practices.