Help Us Help You.  When booking an appointment with a GP or other Healthcare Professional using SystmOnline or the Airmid app, please ensure you:

• note whether it’s a telephone or face-to-face appointment
• note what surgery branch (Lake Road or Cranborne site) you are booking to attend
• provide a reason for the appointment so the clinician can be prepared

A reminder to our patients booking appointments with our Health Care Assistants (HCAs) via SystmOnline that the slots offered are for blood tests only. We offer routine blood test slots through SystmOnline etc. because they are of a defined duration.

Booking a non-routine HCA appointment this way enables our Reception team to find the right appointment slot for the patient. 

For information on our opening hours and what to do when we are closed, visit our Opening Hours page by following this link>>

Booking GP Consultation Appointments

Anyone who requests a GP consultation will receive one the SAME DAY as the request. How the system works:

• At the start of each day (at 7am) all appointment slots will be released to be booked by our patients
• These can be booked online using a Systmonline account, or through the NHS app or Airmid App (email requests to book appointments are not accepted)
• At 8 am our telephone lines will be open and able to receive calls from our patients 
• On receipt of a call, you will be offered a choice of either a face-to-face appointment with the GP or a time to receive a telephone call from a GP.  The timeslot will depend on the GPs daily schedule
• You can also walk into the Lake Road surgery and speak to one of our medical receptionists
• By the end of the day, all patients who have requested to speak with a GP on that day, will have done so either by a face-to-face appointment or by telephone
• The next day the process is repeated with all free and available slots being released for booking that morning
• This means that if you need to see or speak with a GP during the day, you will be able to do so.

Follow this link for more information about the Same Day GP Appointment Booking system including FAQs >>

We offer the ability for patients to book appointments online, which means you can book an appointment 24/7 without having to phone the surgery.  

Patients who have registered to use the SystmOnline Patient Access system can booking appointments online using their SystmOnline login, which is the same login details as the online repeat prescription requests. If you don’t have a SystmOnline login, please email cranborne.reception@dorsetgp.nhs.uk with a photo or scan of your ID (driving license preferably as it has address) and then the Practice will email back the log in details.

If you are not registered to use SystmOnline, you can book appointments using the NHS App.  Find out more on the NHS website by following this link:>>

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 may be removed from the list.

If you have booked an appointment online you can cancel it using SystmOnline or the NHS App.  Nurse/HCA appointments may be cancelled by using our appointment cancellation form by following this link:>>. 

If you would like a chaperone present during your consultation, then please advise the receptionist when booking your appointment or when checking in.

Interpreter

If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the receptionist and she will arrange this for you.

Improving Access to General Practice Services

From Monday 3rd October, we will offer appointments to see a GP, nurse or other healthcare professionals beyond the currently available surgery opening times on weekdays. 

Extra same-day face-to-face or telephone GP consultations will be available at our surgeries on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6.30 pm to 8 pm. Nurse and HCA appointments will be offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6.30 pm to 8 pm.  

Patients can make an evening appointment the same way that daytime appointments are made, either online, via telephone or at the Lake Road Surgery reception. For GP appointments, same-day booking arrangements apply.

Please note that evening blood test appointments cannot currently be accommodated because the pathology lab resources need to be available to process the specimens within the required clinical timeframes.

While the evening slots are available to all patients, please consider booking a daytime appointment time if possible. That way, those who work during the day will be better able to access our health services. 

For more information on how this system works, please visit our Patient Services and Information page here:>>

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 10:00.

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.

A reminder that it is not possible to confirm specific timings for visits to housebound patients.  

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.

Follow this link to sign up to this service by providing your consent on our Text Message Consent form>>

We are a training practice and you may be offered an appointment with a GP registrar. These doctors are fully qualified and will have had experience in several hospital specialities. They are completing their specialist training as a GP.

We also teach medical students and sometimes you may be asked to see the doctor or nurse with a student present. You will always be asked beforehand if this is acceptable and you may ask for the student to withdraw if you prefer to have your consultation in private.