EXTENDED ACCESS INITIATIVE
From Monday 20 August it will be even easier for people to make an appointment with a GP, thanks to a new national ‘extended access’ initiative, which will improve access to primary care services in North West Surrey. This means, in addition to being able to book GP appointments at your local practice, you will also have access to additional appointments during the evenings and at weekends at four locations across the local area.
The extra appointments are being provided by the GP federation that brings together all 40 GP practices in the local area and is known as North West Surrey Integrated Care Services.
By working together in a new and different way local GP practices will be improving access to primary care appointments, making it even easier for local people to get the care and advice they need, at a time that’s convenient to them.
These additional appointments will be available -
from 6-9pm on weekday evenings (including bank holidays but not in August)
from 9am to midday at weekends.
Patients can book these appointments through their local GP practice. As these extra appointments are provided from four GP surgeries in the area, the GP or clinician will have access to your medical record, with your consent, giving them access to all the information they would need to provide the best possible care.
The additional appointments will be provided at the following locations – and patients in North West Surrey can book appointments at any of these sites:
- The Red Practice – Walton Health Centre (Rodney Road, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 3LB)
- Studholme Medical Centre (50 Church Road, Ashford, TW15 2TU)
- Sunbury Health Centre (Green Street, Sunbury-on-Thames, TW16 6RH)
- Woking Community Hospital (Heathside Road, Woking, GU22 7HS)
Initially, these extra appointments will be provided by local GPs but from October there are plans to extend this service to also include
- nurse-led clinics
- blood tests
- physiotherapy assessments
- digital consultations (which includes online face to face consultations via a patient smartphone)
For more information about this new service and the North West Surrey Integrated Care Services federation see https://www.nicsfed.co.uk/