Routine Appointments
To book a routine appointment please telephone during surgery hours and you will be offered an appointment with the member of the clinical team deemed most suitable to help with your problem. Our Receptionists will ask you to give a brief indication of your problem for triaging purposes; please note our staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the doctors.
Medically Urgent Appointments (within 48 hours)
If you feel that your problem needs to be seen more urgently due to medical reasons then telephone before 10:00 so that we may try to accommodate you on that morning. This allows us to assess your illness and arrange any investigations that may need to be sent on to the hospital. Blood tests and samples leave the surgery at 11:00 daily. A limited amount of appointments has been made available at the end of each morning to accommodate such medically urgent problems.
Each appointment lasts 10 minutes and is designed for one problem so if your consultation is likely to be lengthy because you have more than one problem to discuss, please discuss this with the Receptionist who may offer you a double appointment.
Surgery Times
From October 2018 there are more options for seeing a GP or other health care professional:
Monday - Thursday evenings (6.30 - 8.00 pm) and Saturday & Sunday mornings 10.00 am - 12 noon. These face-to-face appointments are offered to our patients by an extended team of GPs and nurses at either Pickering or Easingwold surgeries.
On a Friday evening (6.30 – 8.00pm) we offer online consultations (similar to Skype or face time) with a team of GPs. If you have a mobile device with a forward facing camera (such as a laptop or smart phone) this consultation can take place in the comfort of your own home.
To book these appointments please ring the surgery (01439 770288) before 6 pm Monday - Friday.
All GPs and Nurses undertaking these appointments will have full access to your Helmsley Medical Centre records.
Practice Nurses
In a number of cases it might be worth considering an appointment with a Practice Nurse rather than a GP. Practice Nurses are qualified to deal with many conditions and you may be seen more quickly.
Medical Students
We work very closely with Hull and York Medical School (HYMS) and as such often have final year medical students working alongside our GPs. You will always be made aware of this at the time of booking your appointment and may be asked if you would be willing to see the student as well as the GP. We, and our students, very much appreciate your support.
Cancellations
If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.
Home Visits
Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, please telephone before 10:30 and give a brief indication of your problem to the reception staff. They will pass a message on to the triage nurse or doctor who will then contact you. Please remember to leave the best contact telephone number and tell the Receptionist when you will be available.
Home visits are normally only made if you are housebound or too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will visit you at home if your medical condition requires it.
You can also be visited at home by a Community Nurse (sometimes called District Nurse) if you are referred by your GP. You may also be visited at home by a Health Visitor if you have recently had a baby or are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years of age.
