Appointments

If you need urgent medical attention, please call the surgery on 01258 880210 at 8.30am for an appointment in the urgent morning clinic. You should always tell the receptionist if you or the patient you are calling on behalf of, is experiencing chest pain or breathing difficulties, or you have a child with a rash or a high temperature.

If you call later in the morning and all urgent appointments have been filled, you may be asked to call again at 2pm to be booked in for the urgent afternoon clinic.

For urgent appointments, there is no choice of GP; it will simply be whoever is doing the urgent clinics.

To request a routine appointment:

• use our online system
• phone us on 01258 880210, Monday to Friday from 8:30am
• visit the surgery and speak with a receptionist, Monday to Friday from 8:30am
• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)

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

We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.

Please make sure you are aware of where your appointment is:

Milton Abbas Surgery or our branch surgery at Milborne St. Andrew (DT11 0JY)

If you feel that your problem can be dealt with by telephone, you will be able to book the same appointment as a routine face to face consultation. There are some symptoms that doctors are unable to deal with by telephone. If you are in doubt, please ask the reception staff.

When you speak to the receptionist, please give them a brief account of your problem so that they can get the correct clinician for your problem.

You may be encouraged to see a Nurse Practitioner for colds and flu, ear infections and rashes. The Nurse Practitioner can prescribe or refer a patient to a GP if necessary.

You may also be encouraged to see our First Contact Physio who is the best point of contact for musculoskeletal problems. Our First Contact Physio can give you advice and exercises, as well as prescribe pain management medication or refer you to hospital services if needed.

You reserve the right not to reveal any information to the receptionist if you are not comfortable doing so. However, please bear in mind that all of our reception staff have received training, and have signed documents agreeing to abide by the practice confidentiality policy. Information will help reception staff to deal with your problem efficiently and appropriately.

Home visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability. If you require a home visit, if possible please try to phone reception before 10.30am.

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 arrange a hospital attendance.

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. So a home visit may not be the best option.

If you need help to attend an appointment at the surgery please click here for details of the Neighbour Car Scheme.

The extended surgery hours on a Saturday 8.30am – 10.30am are for pre-booked routine appointments only.

Improved Access to General Services

We are working to improve access to appointments for our patients, in particular at evenings and weekends. If you would like to be offered one of these appointments, please ask reception. These appointments may be at a different site, for example, Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester.

To cancel your appointment:

• use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
• using SystmOnline
• phone us on 01258 880210, Monday to Friday from 8:30am
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

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.

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, face-to-face, or by by video call
• if you need a chaperone
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

Please can we ask that for clinical or medication queries, you complete an eConsult form online as the GP’s no longer take questions via email. This would also include requests for sick notes. 

eConsults submitted before 4pm will be triaged by the GP's and you will get a response by the end of the next working day. eConsults cannot be submitted over the weekend.

To access the eConsult service please click on the image opposite. You can also submit an eConsult from the NHS app.

More details on how to use eConsult

We are a teaching practice. From time to time the doctor will have either a final year medical student or an F2 doctor sitting in with them during the  consultation. If you would rather they were not present during your consultation, please make the receptionist or doctor aware.