To request a routine appointment : 

• Phone us Monday to Friday, 8am to 6.30pm
• Visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist Monday to Friday, 8am to 6.30pm

However you choose to contact us we may offer you a consultation:

• By phone
• Face to face at the surgery
• On a video call

Appointments by phone or video call can be more flexible and often means the doctor or nurse can help you sooner.

When you get in touch, we’ll ask what you need help with.

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel an appointment in order that we can give the slot to someone else.

If you need help when we are closed

If you need medical help now, use NHS 111 online or call 111.

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.

Please tell us:

• If there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond. Please be aware that you may need to wait longer if specifying which clinician.
• If you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face or by video call
• If you need an interpreter
• If you have any other access or communication needs

Home Visits

If you are housebound patient and need an appointment, please contact reception to arrange.

Evening & Weekend Appointements Available

GP practices across The Dengie and South Woodham Ferrers are working together to provide the right services at a convenient time. We’ve listened to feedback from people in our local area and are making changes to our out-of-hours appointments to deliver better services for you.

The new way of delivering out-of-hours appointments will give you:

• Access to more healthcare professionals. This new service will be delivered by professionals including GPs, Nurses (Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP's), Healthcare Assistants (HCA's), Practice Nurses), and Pharmacists.
• More choice about the type of appointment you want. These include a mixture of in-person face-to-face appointments and remote telephone appointments.
• Make it more convenient for you to travel to out-of-hours appointments. These appointments are being planned and delivered locally at Crouch Vale Medical Centre
• From Saturday 1 October 2022, out-of-hours appointments will be available from 6.30pm to 8pm on weekdays, and from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturdays.
• Please note that blood tests are unable to be carried out in out-of-hours appointment bookings

When we asked local people what you wanted from these appointments you told us you wanted additional GP and Nurse appointments on weekday evenings and weekends. In response, we have an additional 15.5 hours of GP appointments and 9.95 hours of nurse appointments available each week (subject to bank holidays and Time to Learn afternoons).

Out-of-hours appointments were previously planned by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) on behalf of many GP practices in a bigger area. From Saturday 1 October 2022, this is now being planned and delivered locally by Primary Care Networks (PCNs).

We are working together with other GP practices in our local area as part of the Benfleet Primary Care Network. You can find out more about The Dengie and South Woodham Ferrers Primary PCN website at The Dengie and SWF PCN

An out-of-hours appointment might not be at your regular GP surgery. When you book an appointment, you will be told where the appointment will be.

These appointments will not be available as walk-in appointments. You will need to book them in advance.

To book an out-of-hours appointment, you should contact your regular GP practice in the usual way. They will advise you on the available appointments and which healthcare professional is the right person to help you.

If you need medical help now but it's not an emergency, you can also go to 111 online or call 111.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.

Complete our SMS Reminder Form

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel please complete the travel vaccination form and return to us via email/in person AT LEAST 8 WEEKS prior to travelling.

We are providing NHS travel vaccines only.

The nurse will assess which countries and areas you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required. 8 weeks allows time to order any vaccines that may be required and administer these at a time that will provide maximum protection during your travels.

After the nurse has completed their assessment, you are able to choose whether you have the NHS vaccines with us or alternatively book all that is required at a private travel clinic if private ones are needed also.

The practice is approved for training. We will have GP registrars working under the supervision of Dr Hancock. Registrars are experienced doctors gaining the skills necessary to work independently as a GP. As part of this training, it is occasionally necessary to record consultations. Your consent will always be requested before this and is not compulsory.

From time to time medical students are attached to the practice. Patients will always be informed and have a right to refuse to have a student in their consultation.