From the 5^th June we have made changes to the way in which patients access appointments at the surgery. Any patient needing a GP appointment, either urgent or routine should  either contact us online or call the surgery from 8.30am for GP triage. 

The receptionists will then send you a text/email link to an online triage form which the GP’s have devised. This form asks you in more detail about your medical problem, allows you to attach photos if for example you have a skin condition/lesion.

Once this is sent back to the surgery the GP on the day will look at your request and make a decision of which type of clinician is most suitable for your condition, whether you need a face to face or telephone consultation and when you need to be seen i.e. on the day, within 3 days, a week etc.

The receptionists will complete the form for any patient who are unable to complete the form online.

If you wish to see a female or a male doctor please mention to the receptionist and we will try to arrange this for you.

We are able to offer patients this service with Taurus Healthcare Ltd which is a GP Federation set up by the GPs of Herefordshire to provide additional medical services to patients & have access to your medical record.  

This means that all Herefordshire patients will have access to a Primary Care Service offering both GP, Nurse, Health Care Assistant and MSK (Remote Physio) appointments 6pm and 8pm weekdays and 8am to 8pm weekends. 

The hub locations are in Ledbury, Bromyard, Leominster and Hereford. 

To book an appointment at any of the hubs you can either: 

phone 0800 121 7221;

or contact the surgery in the normal way and we can book an appointment for you (between 8am & 6pm Mon-Fri);

or contact NHS 111 by phoning 111 and asking for a Taurus appointment.

How does the service work?

• Complete a simple form about your problem or request
• Your practice team decide on the best treatment for you
• The practice responds with advice or an appointment within two working days

Please submit a new request using NHS Contact us online.

Nurse and Health Care Assistant appointments are available to be booked online using the NHS App or Patient Access.

If you are making an appointment with the Practice Nurse, it would be helpful if you could indicate to the Receptionist the reason for your appointment, i.e. blood test, as we need to arrange these appointments at special times.

Blood tests that require you to fast are best done early morning.

Young patients can be seen confidentially. If you would like an appointment with the doctor or Nurse please ask the receptionist to make arrangements for you. 

If you have had an outpatient appointment at the hospital and you would like to know if the consultant has written to us, will you please telephone after 15:00, and we will be able to tell you if a letter has been received by the GP.

Most consultants send a letter to the GP within 2 weeks of the appointment (unless they are awaiting further test results).  

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient.

If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

Please call us if you need to cancel your appointment. You can also text to cancel your appointment.

If possible please try to telephone reception between 9:00am and 10:00am if you require a home visit.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as 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.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of severe illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Surgery.

Outside of normal surgery hours you can call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency.  NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help, whatever the time.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

You should use the NHS 111 service if you urgently need medical help or advice but it's not a life-threatening situation.

Call 111 if:

• You need medical help fast but it's not a 999 emergency.
• You think you need to go to A&E or need another NHS urgent care service.
• You don't know who to call or you don't have a GP to call.
• You need health information or reassurance about what to do next.

How does it work?

The NHS 111 service is staffed by a team of fully trained advisers,  supported by experienced nurses. They will ask questions to assess your symptoms, then give you the healthcare advice you need or direct you straightaway to the local service that can help you best. That could be A&E, an out-of-hours doctor, a walk-in centre or urgent care centre, a community nurse, an emergency dentist or a late-opening chemist.

Where possible, the NHS 111 team will book you an appointment or transfer you directly to the people you need to speak to. If you need an ambulance, one will be sent just as quickly as if you had dialled 999.

If a health professional has given you a specific phone number to call when you are concerned about your condition, continue to use that number.

Typetalk or textphone

If you have difficulties communicating or hearing, you can use the NHS 111 service through a textphone by calling 18001 111.

Calls are connected to the TextDirect system and the textphone will display messages to tell you what is happening. A Typetalk Relay Assistant will automatically join the call. They will talk back what you've typed to the NHS 111 adviser and, in return, type back the adviser’s conversation, so you can read it on your textphone's display or computer. 

In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.

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.

Colwall Surgery is a GP Training Practice and Dr Newey is the GP Trainer supporting one trainee GP at any one time. The Trainee will be a qualified doctor and will have worked in a hospital and have attend regular post graduate education.

Trainees will play a full part in the practice team with surgeries, telephone consultations, home visits and practice meetings. For most of the time they will work independently, but are closely supervised by Dr Newey and her GP colleagues. They are learning by experiencing the various challenges that General Practice gives, as well as having tutorials and joint surgeries where another doctor is present.

Another useful form of learning is to video consultations and you may be asked to consent to this. The recordings are used in a teaching session between the trainer and trainee only and not shared outside the practice. We hope that the patients will support the GP Trainees during their time at Colwall Surgery.