Appointments

Ways to book

1. Download the NHS App
2. Request an appointment online
3. Use our online services
4. Telephone: 01580 753935 (Rye Road) or 01580 753211 (Talbot Road)

Our appointment system

Please do not email your doctor directly with any clinical requests, as these emails might not be immediately attended to.

Both surgeries provide a range of consultations from face to face, telephone consultations, video consultations and e-consultations. The Reception staff will confirm the patient requirements when booking their appointment. Should there be a need to protect patients and staff with an outbreak of an infectious disease i.e. COVID; we may revert back to a telephone triage only system. This will however be communicated in our latest news section.

Our practices have a number of pre-bookable appointments for routine appointments, and we release appointments throughout the week and on the day. This system enables us to always have some availability on the day. 

Our receptionists always try to accommodate requests to assist our patients, however they are unable to add any appointments or to create extra availability. Therefore we ask that our staff are treated with courtesy and respect as we will not tolerate aggressive behaviour towards any members of staff.

Practice nurses and healthcare assistants

There are 2 part time practice nurses and 3 healthcare assistants who assist with the practical procedures such as taking bloods, ECGs and medication reviews under the direction of the doctors. Blood tests to go to the laboratory are by appointment until 12pm as they are collected shortly thereafter. In-house tests such as INRs are done later. 

Childhood immunisations can be booked with the practice nurses.

Telephone appointments

If you wish to discuss something with your Doctor please phone and ask the receptionists to book a telephone consultation and your doctor will phone you back. However please try to be available on the provided number and ensure that we hold the most up to date contact number for yourself, as the doctor frequently has a long list of calls to make and will not be able to continue trying if they cannot get through when they phone. If it is an urgent matter and or worsening please phone back.

You must give your employer a doctor's 'fit note' (sometimes called a 'sick note') if you've been ill for more than 7 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.

Visit our Sickness Certificates page

Information and advice for travelling abroad.

Visit our Travel Information page

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 11.00am.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls.

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

I need a letter from my GP

Our doctors are frequently asked to provide private letters or reports. The charge is based on time required to complete.

Why do I have to pay?

The preparation of these letters or reports is not covered by the NHS. The doctor must complete them during their own time and as such there is a fee payable. All letters require the doctor to take time to review a patient’s medical records to ensure that the information provided is correct, then the doctor has to dictate the letter, and finally a medical secretary has to type and print it.

How long will it take?

Private letters do not take priority over NHS work and hence may take some time to prepare. Please allow at least two weeks.

But I need it today/tomorrow/next week/sooner than that!

In genuinely urgent cases, we will do our best to meet your deadline; however, we cannot promise this. If you cannot wait, we will refund your fee if the letter has not yet been written.

The doctor has to write these exact words…

We are very sorry, but we usually cannot accept requests for the doctor to write the letter in a specific way. The doctor will write what he or she knows is supported by your medical record, and his or her opinion on what that should be is final. Please use the form linked below to request your letter, but note that our doctors reserve the right to refuse your request or provide alternative wording.

Please note: if you insist on the doctor changing your letter to suit what you think it should say, or if you want to dictate the contents, we will withdraw our offer to write the letter and refund your fee. Please remember that the doctor is not obliged to write a letter for you at all, as this is not an NHS requirement.

I want the doctor to write me a job reference.

Example of requests we cannot fulfil:

• Job references
• Confirmation of address or other proof of residence or ID (we have no means of verifying this)
• Countersigning passport applications (a GP is no longer required on the form)
• Letters stating something that is not supported by your medical record
• Letters in support of special consideration in exams. There are forms available from the exam boards. Please ask the school or university.

If you understand and agree to the above terms and still want the GP to write a private letter, please let us know and we will send you a form for completion.

• Saturday appointments with our Primary Care Network Improved access hub, is available at Goudhurst, Old Parsonage Surgery. All of these appointments are pre-bookable.
• There are also telephone appointments available at The Vine and Rusthall
• We have additional appointments available on a Tuesday provided by our Primary Care Network, and the clinics are held at Goudhurst, Old Parsonage Surgery.

Please enquire with reception should you wish to utilise these services.

Sevenoaks Urgent Treatment Centre, based at Sevenoaks Hospital is Open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week 365 days a year and has two GPs stationed there throughout the day.

The service is suitable for patients for same-day appointments that cannot wait 24 hours to be seen.

Patients can be seen by a GP in the Urgent Treatment Centre either by obtaining an appointment through NHS 111 by asking for a booked appointment or alternatively signposted to attend as a walk-in.