Your guide to your general practice surgery

New ways to get help from your surgery

You should contact your general practice if you:

  • Have an urgent care need
  • Have an illness that does not improve with self-treatment
  • Are worried about your health
  • Have an ongoing health issue
Stethoscope icon with yellow background

New ways to get help from your surgery

Today, surgeries include a wide range of health professionals as well as digital care options for people wanting to manage health conditions from home.

Who might you see?

Your general practice team includes trained experts who can help with a wide range of issues.

When you reach out to your practice they can guide you to the right person. Often, the quickest way to get this advice is via the online forms, which then frees up the phone lines and front desk for those who are unable to use online access.

Here are a few of the skilled professionals who might work alongside the GPs in your surgery and who might be able to help you:

A male GP sat at his desk in a GP surgery.

  • Pharmacists – for advice about medication and repeat prescriptions

  • First contact physios – for muscle and joint concerns

  • Mental health practitioner – for emotional wellbeing

  • Social prescribers – to help with wellbeing and linking people to helpful services

  • Care coordinators – to organise support in the community

  • Nurses & healthcare assistants – for tests, checks and ongoing care

  • Digital coordinators – for support with digital tools such as:

    • Health apps to manage certain health conditions from home
    • Online forms to request help
    • Symptom checkers
    • Prescription ordering
    • Text reminders and updates

    For more information about the ways digital tools can help visit the digital tools page.

Need help now?

If you or someone you care for, feel unwell, often your general practice surgery will be the first place you think to contact.

However, it might be quicker to visit your local pharmacy, who can now prescribe treatment for a range of minor illnesses. See the pharmacy page for more details.

A female receptionist in a GP surgery smiling at the camera from behind her desk.

Also, depending on your reason for wanting to see a GP, there might be various self-care methods that you can try while you wait for an appointment. For more details about these, see our self-care page.

To get an appointment with your general practice surgery, the quickest way is via the online forms, which then frees up the phone lines and front desk for those who are unable to use online access.

You will find the link for this on your surgery’s website or social media page. Some surgeries have an option to book via the NHS App.

The team will then help direct you to the best person to help.

Remember…

Just because the pharmacy and self-care are listed as options to consider, the NHS is here for you, and it’s important to consider how urgent your care needs are.

If you, or someone you care for, needs help or advice more urgently than your general practice surgery can provide, then contact 111.

In the case of an emergency, call 999 or head to your nearest emergency service.

Mental health support is here 24/7 – feeling overwhelmed or in crisis? Call Connection on 0800 652 0190 — available 24/7, even over the bank holiday weekend.

General practice is changing to help more people get the right care, faster, whether that’s face-to-face, over the phone, or online.

You don’t have to figure it out alone, contact your surgery and they’ll guide you.