Urgent Appointments
To request an urgent appointment:
- Please fill in our online request form via AccuRx, Monday to Friday from 08:00am to 06:30pm
- Our Duty Triage Doctor will look at the information you give us within 4 working hours during opening times and decide the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you
- You will get a response on the same day
- For urgent problems we will book you with the first available appointment
Please give as much information as possible on triage form for our Duty Doctor to assess and provide necessary timely care.
We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
Routine Appointments
- Online – The quickest way to request a routine appointment is online via AccuRx triage. We will review and respond to your triage request the same working day, either offering an appointment or, if no appointment is available, adding your request to a virtual waiting list. If you are requesting a specific GP, you may need to wait longer for an appointment. Please make sure you are available to answer the call from the practice on the same working day as your triage request. Alternatively, ensure your NHS app notifications are turned on to receive messages from your practice.
- Telephone – If you are unable to complete the online form, you can contact the practice by telephone. Your request will still be triaged the same as online requests.
- In Person – You can visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist during opening hours.
Sick (fit) Notes
If you’ve been off sick for more than 7 days
To request a sick note:
- fill out a sick note request form, here.
If you’ve been off sick for 7 days or less
If you’re off work sick for 7 days or less, your employer should not ask for medical evidence that you’ve been ill. Instead, they can ask you to confirm that you’ve been ill. You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work. We call this self-certification.
Find out more about sick notes on the NHS website
Who do I see?
Information about your appointment
Our practice receptionists are triage trained and will ask for details about your problem to allow you to be seen by the most appropriate clinician. This information will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
In some cases, it may be that a clinician can deal with a problem over the telephone thereby saving you the need to visit the practice. All appointments are for 15 minutes, and for 1 problem only. If you feel have more than 1 problem, please add it on the triage form request.
If you need help with your appointment, please tell us on the Accurx triage form:
- if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond.
- if you would prefer to consult with the health professional by phone, face to face or by text or email.
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs
Blackheath Standard Surgery is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the safety of everyone is of paramount importance.
All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. This chaperone may be a family member or friend. On occasions you may prefer a formal chaperone to be present, i.e. a trained member of staff.
Where ever possible we would ask you to make this request at the time of booking appointment so that arrangements can be made and your appointment is not delayed in any way. Where this is not possible we will endeavour to provide a formal chaperone at the time of request. However occasionally it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment.
Your healthcare professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations in accordance with our chaperone policy.
We aim to offer services which are ‘teenage-friendly’. In summary, this means that:
- We welcome teenagers and aim to put them at ease when they contact the practice
- We can assure teenagers that confidentiality will be maintained if aged 12-16, and they ask to keep details of their consultations confidential or if they consult us about potentially sensitive issues
- Teenagers are welcome to see/speak to a clinician on their own if they wish and are aged 12-16. We would however advise them to be joined by an adult where possible.
Sexual health advice is available, as is advice on other issues such as depression, drugs, alcohol and self-harm and we can advise teenagers about emergency contraception if required.
Our doctors and nurses will listen to you and take your concerns seriously, sometimes, young people can find it more difficult than adults to talk about the underlying problem and the reason for seeing a GP.
As a young person, you can have a consultation on your own, with no lower age limit. Our reception staff can make an appointment for you to speak to a GP without a parent if you would prefer to.
For face-to-face appointments, if you come with a parent/carer/friend, you can still be seen on your own for part of the consultation while they wait outside.
People aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances.
Like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there’s significant evidence to suggest otherwise.
Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they’re believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what’s involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent.
You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.
Your valid consent (agreement to the course of action) is needed for the treatment that’s offered to you before any physical examinations or treatment can be given. If you haven’t given your consent, you can accept or refuse treatment that’s offered to you.
It’s important to be involved in decisions about your treatment and to be given information to help you choose the right treatment. When making treatment choices, you’ll often discuss the options with your doctor or another healthcare professional.
Cancelling an appointment
If you are unable to attend your appointment for any reason, or the health problem has cleared up, please remember to cancel your appointment. Even cancelling your appointment with 10 minutes’ notice will enable us to see other patients in need.
We have a large number of people who do not attend their appointments every single week. This leads to wasted doctor and nurse time and being able to get an appointment.
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS App account
- phone us on 0208 269 2040, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm
Home Visits
If you require a home visit please let the receptionist know. Your call will be passed to the duty doctor who will call you to discuss your problem and will decide if you need a visit.
Generally, you may only request a home visit if you are housebound.
Non-urgent advice: If you need help when we are closed
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.