Appointments

For your convenience, our healthcare professionals provide appointments throughout the day. The Practice will try to provide an appointment with the clinician of your choice. If this is not possible, we will offer you a choice.

The appointment system offers a variety of appointments to suit your needs. Patients can pre-book appointments up to 4 weeks in advance or see the clinician on the same day (subject to availability). Our healthcare team offer both face-to-face and telephone consultations.

Appointments may be booked:

• By the Online Service

• By telephone on 0115 883 26 26 (during Practice opening hours)

• In person at the reception desk (during Practice opening hours)

Rushcliffe Enhanced Access Service

As a Rushcliffe patient you can access routine appointments in the evenings and at weekends. These appointments are best suited for things that will not need ongoing review by your usual practice.
 
You can book through your Practice during opening hours, for appointments between 6:30pm and 8:00pm in the evening on weekdays and between 8:30am and 5:00pm at weekends. If you request one of these appointments, which are outside of usual working hours you will be offered a slot with a Rushcliffe GP, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or First Contact Practitioner at one of four locations across the borough.
 
The location will depend on the day of your appointment.
 
The additional evening and weekend appointments will be available at:

• East Bridgford Medical Centre
• Castle Healthcare Practice in West Bridgford
• Keyworth Medical Practice
• East Leake Health Centre

 
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL EXTENDED HOURS APPOINTMENTS ARE PRE-BOOKABLE ONLY, BY CONTACTING YOUR OWN GP PRACTICE.
 
THERE IS NO WALK-IN SERVICE OFFERED.
  
IF YOU REQUIRE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE BEFORE 8:00AM OR AFTER 6:30PM, PLEASE CALL 111.
IF YOU REQUIRE URGENT MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ANY TIME, CALL 999.

Chaperones

Sometimes it is helpful to both the patient and the doctor to have another person in the room during a physical examination. Chaperones provide reassurance for both the patient and the doctor. For more information, ask to see our policy. 

We would normally prefer patients under the age of 16 years to be accompanied by their parent or guardian. However, we appreciate this is not always practicable and are willing to see patients who are under 16 alone.

Communication Support

The Practice is able to provide support to patients with communication requirements i.e. translation services.

For more information, visit: Accessibility Information

Cancellations 

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order that we may allocate it to someone else.  Please also see the 'Did Not Attend Policy' tab.

If You're Late For Your Appointment

Up To 15 Minutes Late

You will be marked as arrived on the system and every effort will be made to accommodate you being seen. You will be informed that you will need to wait and that you may have to see another clinician. If it is not possible for you to see a clinician, you'll have to rebook your appointment, unless clinically urgent.

Over 15 Minutes Late

You will be informed that you need to rebook your appointment, unless clinically urgent.

Types of Appointments that are Available

Routine Appointments are available up to 4 weeks ahead.

GP's and Advanced Clinical Practitioners offer either telephone or face to face pre-bookable appointments. Nurse Prescribers, Practice Nurses, and Healthcare Assistants offer face to face pre-bookable appointments only. 

Acute Appointments (need to be seen on the day) are only available for urgent medical conditions, that require immediate attention. The receptionist will take brief details about your problem to enable them to triage you to the correct clinician. If your appointment is not medically urgent, you will be offered a routine appointment (as above).

Please note, acute appointments are not for life threatening injuries or emergencies. In the event of a medical emergency, call 999.

Telephone Appointments are extremely useful if you do not require a physical examination.

Please be aware the receptionist may need to ask a few questions to ascertain if your problem is suitable to be dealt with over the telephone.  You will be asked for your preferred contact telephone number and will be given an approximate time period when you will be called by the clinician.

If you miss the telephone call, you will need to re-arrange your appointment.

Please ensure we have your correct contact details.

Practice Capacity

There may be times when the Practice reaches maximum capacity, therefore meaning we are unable to continue to book urgent on the day appointments for the remainder of the day. This decision to safeguard patients already booked in for appointments will only be made when necessary. Therefore allowing our clinicians to continue to deliver safe and appropriate care.
 
Under these rare circumstances, patients will not be left without available options for care. Options may include:

• Call the Practice the following working day at 8:00am to check appointment availability
• Visit a pharmacy for advice
• Call NHS 111
• Visit the Urgent Care Centre
• Visit the Emergency Department

 
For further information on how to access these services, visit: Who To Contact When The Practice Is Closed

Home Visits

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. If you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00am on Tel: 0115 883 2626

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.

Castle Healthcare Practice Address

The Practice address is:

Castle Healthcare Practice
Embankment Primary Care Centre
50-60 Wilford Lane
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 7SD

NG2 7RN can also be used on sat-nav devices to get to the Practice.
 

Parking

There are 119 onsite car parking spaces and dedicated parking bays for bicycles and motorbikes. These are for patients of Castle Healthcare Practice, Muster's Medical Practice, My Local Chemist (pharmacy) and Response Physio & Sports Therapy (physiotherapy).

Patients are able to park in the car park for up to two hours (clamping is enforced). Vehicles and their contents are left in the car park at their owners risk. Castle Healthcare Practice does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage.
 

Step-Free Access & Lift

Embankment Primary Care Centre is fully DDA compliant. There is step-free access to all floors of the building via the ramp at the front of the building, and the lift which goes from the car park (underneath the building) to the ground and first floors.
  

PPE

Please visit the Covid-19/Coronavirus Information page to view patient and staff PPE requirements.
  

Checking-In

When you enter the building via the front entrance or exiting the lift on the ground floor, Castle Healthcare Practice reception and self-arrival screens will be on the left side.

Self-Arrival Screen

When you arrive for your appointment please use one of the self-arrival check in screens wherever possible. It is very simple to use. Simply touch the screen lightly and select your date of birth and the initial of your surname. The screen will confirm your arrival to reception, the clinician's name and an appropriate waiting area. If you are late for your appointment an error message will appear asking you to report to reception.

Please remain in the waiting area and keep a close eye on the electronic patient call board for your name to be displayed. The screen will show your name, the name of the doctor and their room number. Should you have any difficulty, please advise the receptionist.

Reception

When checking-in at the reception desk, the receptionist will ask you to confirm your identification details. The receptionist will confirm which clinician you'll be seeing and will direct you to a waiting room area to wait for your appointment.

If your appointment is during the 'Enhanced Access Service', please go straight to Castle Healthcare Practice reception to check-in.
 

Waiting Room

The Practice has three waiting room areas:

• Ground Floor Front - The seating area by the front entrance and Castle reception.
• Ground Floor Back - The seating area at the rear of the building by Castle reception.
• First Floor - The seating area upstairs.

Within each waiting room area there will be hand gel facilities and patient information screens.
 

Accessibility & Communication

Please visit the Accessibility Information page for information on how to let us know if you have any communication support needs.
  

Facilities

There are patient toilets and baby changing facilities located on both floors.
 

External Services

If you are attending an appointment for the following services, you are not required to check-in:

• Ultrasound 
• Diabetic Eye Screening
• Orthopaedics
• Midwife

Take a seat in the first floor waiting room upstairs, and wait to be called in. Please note reception staff do not have access to appointment diaries for these services, therefore will be unable to assist in any queries.

Health Checks

Patients Aged 40-74

The NHS Health Check is a check-up for adults in England aged 40 to 74. It can help spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia.

The check will take about 20-30 minutes. You will be asked some simple questions for example, about your family history and choices which may put your health at risk. We will record your height, weight, age, sex and ethnicity and take your blood pressure. We will do a simple blood test to check your cholesterol level. You will be given personalised advice on how to lower your risk and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

For more information, visit: NHS - Health Checks

Patients Aged 75 And Over

To help you remain as fit and as healthy as possible we like to see you at least once every 12 months.  Please arrange an appointment with a Practice Nurse around the time of your birthday each year.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

Your employer can ask you to confirm that you've been ill. You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work. This is called self-certification.

If you're sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer may ask for proof of your illness. Most employers ask for a fit note from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - 'Fit Note' or 'Sick Note'

Employees must give their employer a ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) if they’ve been ill for more than seven days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.
 
Employees can get a fit note from the following healthcare professionals:

• GP or hospital doctor

• registered nurse

• occupational therapist

• pharmacist

• physiotherapist

The healthcare professional needs to assess the employee’s fitness for work before giving a fit note. Please note not all clinicians provide this service.
 
For more information, visit: GOV.UK - Taking Sick Leave

Did Not Attend Policy

Please note that due to an increase in the number of wasted appointment through patients’ non-attendance, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:

If you repeatedly fail to attend appointments over a 12 month period, you may be removed from the Practice list and be required to find an alternate Practice to register.

If you cannot attend your appointment for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible, giving at least 24 hours’ notice. We can then offer the appointment to another patient.

Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.