Consultations are by appointment only, which can be made either by telephoning during opening hours or using our online booking service. You may consult any doctor but it is preferable that you come to regard one of them as your personal doctor, particularly within the course of any one illness. We offer face to face and telephone appointments.

If you need to see a doctor urgently and we have no appointments available, you will be placed on our Triage List and our Duty Dr for the day will call you back. After assessing your symptoms over the telephone, arrangements will be made to see you at an appropriate time, either the same day or the following day. Some urgent problems can be dealt with over the phone so if you are not sure whether you need to see a GP, please ask for a triage call from the Duty Dr.

An availability grid is shown on our ‘Patient information’ page which gives an indication of which doctors and nurses consult on which days.

Whilst every effort is made to keep to appointment times, this is not always possible and we will try to keep you informed of any delays. Appointments are all 10 minutes in duration but we ask that, should you need longer or if you have more than one medical problem to discuss, please ask for a double appointment.

Always notify the receptionists of your arrival at the surgery so that the doctor or nurse can be notified of your arrival.

Appointments may be booked on-line using our EMIS Access service – further information is available from the surgery about how to register for this service. This service can be accessed via the button on the right of this page.

If, for any reason, you are unable to keep your appointment, please telephone to cancel in good time so the appointment can be offered to another patient. EMIS Access can also be used to cancel face to face appointments.

• Home Visits

If you are not well enough to come to the surgery or to discuss your problem over the telephone a home visit can be arranged. Please telephone before 10am if possible. The receptionist will ask for brief details of your illness and the degree of urgency. This will help the doctors to plan their home visits and avoid unnecessary delays.

• Telephone consultations

We have recently introduced bookable telephone appointments with our GPs which may be more convenient for issues which do not require a physical examination. We will arrange a specific appointment time for your call but ask that you allow some flexibility as it is difficult to predict how long some of these appointments will take. You should however be contacted within half an hour of the booked appointment time. Please ensure that you have given us the correct telephone number and that you are available to take the call at the time arranged.

• Emergencies/weekends/bank holidays

If you need urgent treatment when the surgery is closed, help can be obtained by telephoning the NHS 111 service who will assess your symptoms and signpost you to the most appropriate service.

If you need to see a GP when the surgery is closed the NHS 111 advisor will refer your call to the GATDOC service which is commissioned by Gateshead and Newcastle CCG for all patients in the County. They provide a confidential service staffed by nurses and health professionals who will advise you on the best course of action for the symptoms you present.