Appointments

Before booking an appointment with one of our clinicians, it may be worth looking at our referrals page to check if a surgery appointment is needed for the service you require.

We are committed to providing high quality care to our patients.  We encourage patients to use this online booking system for routine appointments.  All online requests are triaged by a clinician and your responses help us to prioritise appointments and ensure that you are seen by the right healthcare professional at the right time.

By requesting appointments online you help us to keep the phone lines available for vulnerable patients, those who face challenges in using online services and those that have urgent medical needs.   

If you call the practice for an urgent appointment the patient services team will ask you a few questions about your health concern to ensure we understand your needs and  will still direct you to the most suitable service or clinician if they are more appropriate for your needs.  This could include community pharmacies, minor eye condition services or other healthcare providers.

Routine appointments

You can request an appointment to get help for:

If you have a problem that is not listed, you can request a routine appointment with a doctor, nurse or healthcare assistant.

Request an appointment with a doctor
Request an appointment with a nurse or healthcare assistant

We will respond to requests within 2 working days during opening times.

You can also:

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

We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you.

Extended access

Extra appointments are offered across the whole of Tamworth (The Mercian GP Network), including evening and weekend appointments.

The Hollies Medical Practice is open from 7am on Wednesdays and Thursdays for pre-booked appointments only. Access to the building between 7am and 8am will be available via the side door, which is fitted with an intercom. This access is limited to the patients who have pre-booked appointments only.

Your appointment

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 can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

Before you make an appointment

Can anyone else help?

Prescription queries can usually be dealt with by our prescriptions clerk, which can be contacted by calling 01827 217799, select option 4.

Appointments can be made with the nurse practitioner for minor illnesses, contraception and general advice.

Our receptionists can offer pre-bookable telephone appointments instead of attending surgery, which patients find very convenient.

Pharmacists are also trained to give advice about minor health problems so they may be able to assist you too.

Our reception staff will always do their best to offer you an appointment or alternative solution, however, there are unfortunately times when we will be unable to satisfy all of the requests we receive. We have approximately 15,500 patients registered so at times we are stretched to the limit. We would therefore ask you to be understanding if there are occasions when we are unable to arrange an appointment that meets your specific needs.

Cancelling or changing an appointment

To cancel your appointment:

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.

If you need help with your appointment

Please tell us:

  • if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
  • if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone or face to face
  • if you need an interpreter
  • if you have any other access or communication needs

Home visits

Eligibility for a home visit

Home visits are reserved for the following groups of patients:

  • Terminally ill.
  • Housebound.
  • Those who are severely ill and cannot be mobilised.

Please remember the following when requesting a home visit:

  • At the surgery your GP will have access to all your medical records, including those held on computer. This means safer prescribing and assessment.
  • Facilities are better for examining and treating patients at the surgery and more staff are available if additional help is required.
  • More tests and treatments are available at the surgery compared to home.
  • In our experience home visit requests for children are almost always inappropriate, we would normally expect them to be brought in by their parent or guardian so they can be assessed and monitored with the full facilities available at the surgery. This can often be done much quickly than a home visit therefore helping children get treatment more promptly.
  • Home visits are time consuming for the doctors – several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit.
  • We cannot undertake home visits for reasons of convenience or lack of transport. From experience, we are aware that relatives, neighbours or friends are often willing to help to bring you to the surgery.
How to request a home visit

Please request visits by calling 01827 217799 and select option 5, before 10:30am whenever possible, this allows our GPs time to plan their workload accordingly. Late requests often lead to disruption of the appointment system, excessive waiting times for patients who have booked appointments and inconvenience for other patients.

What happens after you have requested a home visit?

A doctor will call you back to assess your problem. This is to enable the doctor to assess the need for the visit and to determine if a more appropriate course of action is required. It may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance. It also prepares the doctor to collect some information required as necessary for the visit. You may still be asked to come to the surgery, where you will be seen as soon as possible.

No patient in clinical need of a home visit will be refused one.

Who will visit me?

Other members of our team and community staff also carry out home visits. This includes our nurse practitioner, the community matron and the district nurses. We also have access to the AVS (acute visiting service). This is a service which has been commissioned to assist GPs with home visiting and is employed to cover home visits.

We cannot guarantee patients that a specific doctor of their choice will carry out the visit.

Related information

Health A to Z

Sick notes

Test results