Please see our useful helpsheet and information regarding the roles of the different Clinicians within the Surgery to assist in the booking of appointments.  Appointment Helpsheet

Minor illness/Emergency appointments are available to book on the day by calling the Surgery on 01438 715044.

Advance bookable appointments are bookable for 1, 5 or 10 days in advance.

Appointments will release at:

• 8am for mornings
• 12pm for afternoons

Appointments will be available to:

• book online  (only advance appointments)
• by telephone
• in person

Please note that clinicians will only deal with one issue per appointment.  This will enable clinicians to keep to time and assist in social distancing in the waiting rooms.

We ask that you arrive at your appointment on time and not too early before to prevent overcrowding.  If you are early, please wait outside.

On entering Bridge Cottage Surgery, we ask that you wear a face covering if you have a respiratory infection.

If you have COVID symptoms, please do NOT come into the Surgery.

Telephone Results only slots are available to book at any time by calling the Surgery on 01438 715044.  You may only book a telephone results only slot if you have received a letter requesting you to do so.  The GP will call you, either in the morning or afternoon, to discuss your results but not any other issues.

Online Consultation

You can contact Bridge Cottage Surgery for any administrative and/or clinician related issues by filling out an eConsult.  Our eConsult platform is open during surgery opening hours, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.  You can access the eConsult system by clicking here   Please enter as much details as possible regarding your symptoms.

Our clinical team is made up of GPs, Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses, a Clinical Pharmacist, Social Prescriber and Physiotherapist and our reception team may ask you some questions to ascertain who is most suited to deal with your matter.

You may also wish to use the NHS Symptom Checker

or use the NHS 'Is my child too ill for school?' which gives advice regarding different illness and how to deal with them.

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 as early as possible, so visits can be organised appropriately.

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.

Patients can access GP services between 6.30-8.00pm Mondays to Fridays, and between 8.00am to 5.00pm on Saturdays and from 8.00am to 2.00pm on Sundays. 

These extra appointments are at Spring House Medical Centre (across the road from the QEII Hospital - Ascots Lane AL7 4HL).  To find out more or to book an appointment, please speak to one of our reception team or visit the following website:

Ephedra Healthcare Ltd - www.ephedrahealthcare.co.uk

It is likely that you will not see/speak to a GP or nurse from this practice at one of these appointments but the clinician you see will have full access to your records and can complete tasks as if working from our practice.  Do ask our reception team when you call if you would like one of these Enhanced Access appointments. 

When booking your appointment, you will need to give permission for your medical records to be accessed and updated.

There are also a few same day appointments on Saturday and Sunday at the Enhanced Access hub - please call 01707 294358 to book these.

If you need to cancel and re-book an Enhanced Access appointment please contact our reception team.  When our practice is closed you can call 01707 294358 to leave a message.

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 or a text message informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

To cancel an appointment, you can call the Practice on 01438 715044, option 1 or cancel online.

Please attend your appointment on time, if you are late you may not be seen. If you are not seen you will not be able to rearrange your appointment until the next working day-except in the event of an medical emergency that requires immediate attention.

If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see a clinician, please notify the receptionist and we will arrange this for you.

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.