Illness or injury? Not sure where to turn? Advice ASAP Gloucestershire can help you decide.
Urgent appointments
To request a same day urgent appointment (Monday to Friday) during opening times:
- phone us on 01594 542239
Same day appointments should only be booked where you feel urgent care or advice is needed.
You will be asked for brief symptoms, as this ensures our receptionist signposts you to the most appropriate person or service for your needs.
If you do not feel you need to be seen you can request a telephone appointment to obtain urgent advice.
Please note accidental injuries are not dealt with at the surgery as we do not have Accident and Emergency, Minor Injury Unit, X-ray facilities and resources.
Patients suffering accidental injuries rather than illnesses should always attend their nearest accident and emergency or minor injury unit for specialist treatment.
Find urgent and emergency care services – NHS
Routine appointments
You can request a routine appointment in advance during opening times.
You can:
- use the request a routine appointment form
- phone us on 01594 542239
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App) or SystmOne to book an appointment, screening test or vaccination
We will use your answers to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you.
Your appointment
However, you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face at the surgery
- on a video call
- by text or email
Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.
Improved access service
Drybrook Surgery and the other 3 GP Surgeries in the East Forest of Dean (Forest Green PCN) all take part in an extended access scheme. Extended access clinics provide extra appointments for patients in the Forest of Dean.
These include telephone appointments on weekday evenings between 6.30pm and 8pm and face to face appointments on Saturday mornings. A limited number of additional appointments are also available on a same day basis Monday to Friday.
There are a range of professionals offering appointments including GPs, nurses, healthcare assistants and clinical pharmacists.
The clinics are held across all the surgeries in the Forest Green PCN on a rota basis and appointments are bookable by ringing our reception on 01594 542239.
Minor Injuries
There may be times when you feel that one of the minor injuries or emergency departments is more appropriate for your needs. Find urgent and emergency care services.
Missed appointments and late arrivals
If you cannot attend, or no longer require an arranged appointment please inform us as soon as possible, we can then offer your appointment to another patient.
On average 75 appointments are missed with clinicians each month. This results in an average of 25 hours of wasted surgery time monthly and can create a longer than necessary wait for an appointment.
Our clinical team have pre-booked appointments and may not be able to see you if you are more than 5 minutes late. A few patients arriving late will cause surgeries to run heavily behind time.
Please show courtesy to other patients, arrive ahead of your appointment time and allow for the possible need to queue at reception.
Text message reminders
You should now receive information by text message on your phone regarding appointments and health care unless you have opted out.
Data protection regulations (GDPR)
Under the data protection regulations we will continue to contact patients via text messages regarding the delivery of care if they have provided consent to do so.
If practices are sending messages about recommended treatment for the management of a specific health issue, then this is defined as providing appropriate care for patients, not marketing purposes.
If you would like to opt out of any future contact via text messaging, then please let us know.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
To cancel your appointment:
- use your NHS account (through the NHS website or NHS App)
- use the GP online system: SystmOne
- use the cancel an appointment form
- phone us on 01594 542239 during opening times
If you need help when we are closed
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.
Other ways to contact 111 if you have a hearing problem or need help in other languages.
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
British Sign Language (BSL) speakers can make a video call to 999.
Deaf or hard-of-hearing people can dial 18000 to contact 999 using text relay.
If you need help with your appointment
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, by video call or by text or email
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs
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.
We will of course visit patients at home when it is medically necessary, but it is in everyone’s best interest that this service is reserved only for those who are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.
In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10.30am.
Your GP or ANP 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. Our highly trained receptionists will need to take a few details in confidence about what is wrong. This helps us to decide which visits are most urgent and also which person in the practice team would be most appropriate to make the visit.