Making an Appointment
Please telephone or call at the surgery you are registered with to arrange a suitable time. We try to ensure that non-urgent appointments are within two working days of request although appointments with a doctor of your choice may take longer. We are sure you will agree that priority must be given to urgent appointments. Please give the receptionist as much information as possible so that they may assess the urgency of your appointment. Appointments are also available to book online.
Emergency Appointments / Triage List
We run a doctor triage session every morning to improve our service to you. When you contact the surgery and ask to see a doctor that day you will be asked if your problem is urgent for today. Our receptionist will ask for your full name, contact telephone number and details of your condition.
All this information is then passed to our triage doctor who will phone you back to assess your needs. Please be available to receive a telephone call from the doctor on the telephone number you have provided.
You must phone the surgery back if you have not been contacted by 11:30am.
If you cannot wait for assessment because your condition will not permit this, then you should go to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Accident and Emergency Department.
- Urgent cases are seen on the day.
- Tell us if you are in a telephone box. We will ring you back. Say immediately if your call is an emergency.
Home Visits
Our doctors typically see five patients in the practice in the time it takes to do a single home visit. For this reason, we ask our patients to come to the practice if at all possible. However, we can visit you at home if your condition means you cannot attend.
Where possible please ring before 11:00am to arrange a visit and let us know if your condition is urgent. The doctor may telephone you to ascertain if a visit is a priority or medically indicated.
Text Message Reminders
All our patients with a mobile number on their record are eligible to receive text message reminders for upcoming appointments and health information.
The service is completely free, we will never disclose your information to anyone else and you can opt out of the service at any time by informing the practice.
Evening & Weekend Appointments
COVID-19 pandemic update
This service was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, however a decision has now been taken for it to resume.
The Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, service restarted on Saturday 5 September 2020. All other services restarted on Monday 7 September 2020.
Your appointment may be carried out virtually over the phone or via video consultation where appropriate.
Evening and weekend appointments are now available with GPs, practice nurses and other healthcare professionals for routine pre-booked services.
The Fylde Coast NHS is committed to improving access to primary care services. This includes making appointments available at times that are convenient to patients.
If you:
- find it difficult to attend an appointment during the working day;
- are a busy parent with small children;
- or rely on working carers to take you to appointments;
then this service is here to support you.
About the service
The Fylde Coast NHS has arranged for additional appointments to be provided outside of normal GP practice hours by the Fylde Coast Integrated Urgent Care Service.
The service offers pre-bookable and same-day routine primary care appointments with a range of clinicians including GPs, nurses and health care assistants.
Please be aware that this is not a walk-in service – you must have an appointment.
The service employs local clinicians from the Fylde Coast, where possible.
| Day | Freckleton | Fleetwood | Blackpool | Garstang & Over Wyre (alternate) |
| Monday | 6.30pm to 9.30pm | 6.30pm to 9pm | 6.30pm to 8pm | |
| Tuesday | 6.30pm to 9.30pm | 6.30pm to 9pm | 6.30pm to 8pm | |
| Wednesday | 6.30pm to 9pm | 6.30pm to 8pm | ||
| Thursday | 6.30pm to 9.30pm | 6.30pm to 8pm | 6.30pm to 8pm | |
| Friday | 6.30pm to 8pm | 6.30pm to 8pm | ||
| Saturday | 8am to 2pm | 8am to 2pm | 8am to 8pm | 8am to 2.30pm |
| Sunday | 8am to 2pm | 8am to 2pm | 8am to 8pm |
Appointments
An appointment must have been booked in advance of visiting the service.
When your GP practice is open
To book an appointment, contact your GP practice.
When your GP practice is closed
Appointments may also be booked when the service in Freckleton, Fleetwood, Blackpool and Garstang and Over Wyre is open, by calling 01253 952950.
Appointments are for pre-bookable and same-day routine and not for urgent care. If urgent care is required please call NHS111 for advice.
When you book an appointment the practice will ask you for consent to share your detailed GP record with the clinician providing the care.
Should you need to cancel your appointment please contact your GP practice. If your GP practice is closed, please call 01253 952950 to cancel.
Where to go
Blackpool:
Whitegate Health Centre
150 Whitegate Drive
Blackpool
FY3 9ES
Freckleton:
Freckleton Health Centre
Douglas Drive
Freckleton
PR4 1RY
Fleetwood:
Fleetwood Health and Wellbeing Centre
Dock Street
Fleetwood
FY7 6HP
Garstang:
Garstang Medical Practice
Kepple Lane
Garstang
PR3 1PB
Over Wyre:
Over Wyre Medical Centre
Wilkinson Way
Preesall
FY6 0FA
DNA Register
Every month hundreds of appointments are wasted because people book them but then fail to attend without cancelling. Sometimes even on the same day of booking. This means they are not available for anyone else to use and they have to wait longer to see the doctor, paramedic practitioner, nurse etc.
To try and stop this happening we have introduced the DNA register for patients who did not attend a surgery appointment on at least 3 occasions in the last 3 months.
If you are on the DNA register you can book appointments in the usual way but MUST either cancel or confirm in advance that you will be attending. If you do not confirm, the appointment will be cancelled and made available for another patient to use. If you then come in for your appointment, you will not be seen, but will be asked to rebook for another time.
When you book your appointment we will remind you of the need to confirm and the time frames for this which are:
| APPOINTMENT TIME | CONFIRMATION WINDOW |
| 8:00am – 11:00am | 1:30pm – 4:30pm previous working day |
| 11:01am – 3:00pm | 3:30pm – 6:00pm previous working day |
| 3:01pm – 8:00pm | 8:00am – 1:00pm same day |
Remember, the previous working day could be before a weekend or bank holiday.
It’s easy to CONFIRM or CANCEL – simply phone 01253 620725 (Adelaide Street) or 01253 763556 (Harris Medical Centre). You will remain on the DNA register until you have completed 6 months of full attendance.
Appointments can also be cancelled by replying CANCEL to your appointment reminder message or by using online services.
