Appointments

Make an appointment by visiting our Consulting Room.

Routine Appointments

Patients with routine medical needs are seen in pre-booked routine appointments, bookable by coming into reception, telephoning the surgery or on-line.

Telephone lines are at their busiest between 08:30 and 11:00 each day. We suggest that you book appointments by registering for online services.  If you are unable to book online please telephone the surgery after 11:00 to book ahead for a routine appointment.

Please note that Monday is our busiest day for incoming calls.

The receptionist will ask you a few questions in order to help with your enquiry as efficiently as possible.

For continuity of care we encourage you to book with your usual doctor. Some of our doctors work part-time and their appointments are taken up more quickly, resulting in longer waiting times.

You have the option to book to see a different doctor if you wish.

Appointments can be booked up to 4-6 weeks in advance unless a doctor is already fully booked on a current appointment rota.

A standard appointment with a doctor is 10 minutes long. If you feel this is insufficient for your needs, please ask the receptionist to book you a 20 minute appointment.

Please use our automated check-in point to book in for your appointment when you arrive.

Routine Appointment Times

Monday – Friday

The Cinderford Medical Centre

08:30 – 12:00, 14:50 – 17:40

Ruardean

08:30 – 12:00

Westbury Surgery

08:30-12:00, 14:50-17:40

Same Day Appointments

Urgent appointments are booked with our Urgent Care Team.

Same day appointments should only be booked where you feel urgent care or advice is needed. Please telephone the surgery as soon as possible and ask our receptionist for a same day appointment.

You will be asked for brief symptoms, as this ensures our receptionist signposts you to the most appropriate person for your needs.

If you do not feel you need to be seen you can request a telephone appointment to obtain urgent advice. If you telephone and we are fully booked for the day, you will be asked to telephone 111 for advice.

Your same day appointment time is approximate and you will be seen as soon as possible but on our busiest days you may need to wait for a member of the urgent care team to see you.

Please note accidental injuries are not dealt with at the surgery as we do not have Accident and Emergency, Minor Injury Unit, X-ray facilities and resources.

Patients suffering accidental injuries rather than illnesses should always attend their nearest Accident and Emergency or Minor Injury Unit for specialist treatment.

Missed Appointments and Late Arrivals

If you cannot attend, or no longer require an arranged appointment please inform us as soon as possible, we can then offer your appointment to another patient.

A feature of our telephone system is an option to leave a message during both opening and closing hours to cancel unwanted appointments.

On average 130 appointments are missed with doctors each month, a similar number are also missed with practice nurses. This results in an average of 50 hours of wasted surgery time monthly and can create a longer than necessary wait for an appointment.

Our clinical team have pre-booked appointments and may not be able to see you if you are more than 5 minutes late. A few patients arriving late will cause surgeries to run heavily behind time.

Please show courtesy to other patients, arrive ahead of your appointment and allow for the possible need to queue at reception.