Who to see?

General Practitioner (GP) and Physician Associate (PA) appointments:

Booking an appointment or for any other query is a simple online form which takes a few moments to fill out. We will get back to you within 1 working day. Most of the time this means you’ll get a response the same day. If it’s urgent we will get back to you as quickly as we can.

If you don’t have access to the internet, or would be unable to use the form for another reason, you can still contact the practice on 020 8788 0686 and we will fill out the form on your behalf. You can also call for anything that is too urgent to wait up to 1 working day.

Practice Nurse and Healthcare Assistant (HCA) appointments:
Nurse and HCA appointments can be booked  online via our NEW APPT BOOKING SYSYTEM or via telephone and are usually 15 minutes in duration. Our large team of nurses all have different skills, if you are booking an appointment online, please check the below table to ensure the nurse you book with can see you for your particular issue.

Some appointments may require more than 15 minutes. If you need more than a single 15 minute appointment with the nurse, please phone the practice to book.

Counsellors:
Putneymead have an in-house counselling team which can be accessed without the need of a GP referral. We provide “Direct Access” face to face and telephone appointments. These are available to book online or by calling the practice directly. During these initial consultations, the counsellor will be able to assess whether you would benefit from continued counselling at Putneymead or a referral to another service.

First Contact Physiotherapist: 

What is First Contact Physiotherapy?

First Contact Physiotherapists (FCP) are experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists, who have a number of years experience working in MSK. This means that a patient can see an experienced physiotherapist for an assessment directly at their GP practice, without needing to see a GP or be referred externally.

How to access an FCP appointment?

You do not need to see a GP to get an appointment with an FCP, simply call Putneymead, explain that you are having a MSK problem (joint, bone, muscle, tendon), and they can book you directly with one of the FCP team. You can also ask your GP, or any other practitioner at Putneymead, to do this if you have an appointment with them about something else. There is no referral form required.

What do expect during your FCP appointment?

Your FCP will take a detailed history of your condition, they may also question some of your past medical history to gain a better understanding of your symptoms and to rule out other pathology. They will then assess the joint at fault to aim to gain a detailed diagnosis, which will be explained to you.

The FCP and yourself will then come up with a plan moving forwards, generally this is some rehabilitation exercises and advice on management of your condition. The FCP service is not a physiotherapy treatment service, but your FCP will always make you aware to return if your condition is not getting better.

Student Medical Centre

Booking an appointment or for any other query is a simple online form which takes a few moments to fill out. We will get back to you within 1 working day. Most of the time this means you’ll get a response the same day. If it’s urgent we will get back to you as quickly as we can.

Monday 09:00 – 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 – 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 – 17:00
Thursday 09:00 – 17:00
Friday 09:00 – 17:00   

We are closed every weekend and bank holiday.

Text Messaging - Reminders, Invitations, Results

By providing your mobile phone number and email address you can now have reminders, invites and practice news and results sent to you directly by SMS or email.

This means that we will be able to communicate with you via text, land line phone and email, using automated technology that will enable us to contact you much more quickly and effectively. This will free up our staff to deal with those tasks only a human can do! It is important that you keep us up-to-date with your current mobile phone number and email address.

Types of communication include:

• Automated appointment reminders are sent 24 hours before. You can cancel your appointment by simply replying back to the appointment reminder using the word CANCEL, which immediately frees it up for others to book.
• Targeted health promotion campaigns, such as flu clinics
• Targeted questionnaires to individual patients to help them manage chronic long term medical conditions better
• Reminders to attend specific clinics, e.g. diabetic, CPD, etc.
• Urgent communications: for example, if a GP calls in sick first thing in the morning, all patients in that surgery will be advised by text within minutes.

Of course, you can opt out by sending us a message or advising reception, but you would not be benefiting from the quick and non-intrusive communications from us that the system provides.

If you do not want to receive information by text message on your phone or via email, please inform your doctor or a receptionist when you’re next in.