Appointments

Please note, GP appointments are 10 minutes long and doctors see patients every 5 to 10 minutes all day. Please be mindful of this as you may need to prioritise one or two problems in your consultation. Dealing with multiple problems will cause doctors to run late.

During this particularly pressurised time we ask patients to be aware of this and bear with us when we are especially busy. Please also bear in mind that 8:30am is not necessarily the first appointment of the day, doctors sometimes see patients before this time at their own discretion, which are extra appointments and may cause them to run late even first thing in the morning. 

Ways to book

• Contact us online
• If you are unable to do so please telephone 01227 462197 / 01227 462311

Please note you are currently unable to book GP appointments via the NHS app

• Monday to Friday 8.15am to 5pm
• We have early morning blood tests available
• Please book all nurses appointments via telephone or reception

You must give your employer a doctor's 'fit note' (sometimes called a 'sick note') if you've been ill for more than 7 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.

Visit our Sickness Certificates page

Information and advice for travelling abroad.

Visit our Travel Information page

If you need a home visit please contact the surgery before 10.00am. We ask you to request a home visit only if it is absolutely necessary as the facilities for consultation and examination are much better in the surgery. When you phone for a visit please state the nature of the problem, and give the address and telephone number.

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 illness or disability. Doctors will not be able to visit patients who reside outside of our Practice area.

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 Health Centre.

Practice Nurses may occasionally make routine home visits to patients.

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. 

Please read our chaperone policy

Extended evening surgeries 

6.00pm to 8.15pm Wednesday and Thursday evenings for pre-bookable telephone appointments only.

After 6.30pm our telephone will relay a message on how to contact the out of hours service.

The surgery doors will be locked after 6.30pm.

Saturday appointments 

Available for our patients at Bridge Health Centre and the University Medical Centre. These are run by doctors and nursing staff from across our South Canterbury Primary Care Network of 3 surgeries: New Dover Road, Canterbury Medical Practice and the University Medical Centre, and available for any patient registered at any of these 3 surgeries. Please telephone reception to book a Saturday appointment.

Sunday appointments 

Limited numbers available bookable in advance held at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and run by a clinician working for the Primary Care Network.

Consultations are by appointment only. To make an appointment, contact the surgery during the above weekday hours. You may also book a telephone consultation. Some appointments are always reserved for urgent consultations, which are triaged first by a GP over the phone. Patients may choose to see any available doctor (but bear in mind choice may not be possible if the problem is urgent).