Click here to cancel your appointment
Telephone calls to this practice between 8am and 10am each day will be for appointment requests only.
It has been agreed by the doctors at this practice that our reception staff will ask patients for a brief reason for their appointment request. This will enable staff to signpost patients to the appropriate clinician.
Callers contacting the practice for other matters during this period will be asked to ring back at a later time.
Appointment requests can still be made after 10am together with all other matters, including test results and other general enquiries.
Making an Appointment
Our doctors have time set aside for telephone call backs. If you telephone the practice, our 
receptionists will ask if the problem that you are calling about could be handled by a doctor over the phone. If your answer is yes then you will be offered a "Call Back" appointment by the doctor and if when the doctor speaks to you they feel that you need to be seen, they will be book you an appointment either with themselves or with an appropriate doctor or healthcare professional. If your answer is no then our receptionists will attempt to find an appointment time to suit you, on the same day if possible.
If your request is for a "Follow-Up" appointment with a specific doctor then the receptionist will book you an appointment with that doctor although it may not be on the same day.
A patient will always have the right to see a doctor of their choice and our system does not preclude you from seeking to make an appointment in advance. You may receive a "Call Back" from any of our doctors, but if it is more appropriate for you to speak to a specific doctor, or one who's expertise is more specific to your needs, then an appointment will be made for the you to see or speak to that doctor.
If you attend the practice wishing to see a doctor and there is an appointment available for that day then you will be offered that appointment. If there are no doctors appointments available then we will do our best to satisfy your request by alternative means, but if we are unable to do so, you will be offered a "Call Back" appointment and that "Call Back" will be booked before you leave the practice.
If you have a Patient Access account you can book an appointment with a doctor up to 2 weeks in advance We also offer on the day appointments that are released at 7:30 on the same day. For more information on online appointments, please refer to the separate tab above. You cannot as yet book nurses appointments online as these tend to be very variable in length depending on what the appointment is for.
You can also book appointments through the ASK NHS app where you can talk through your symptoms in complete confidence with Olivia, a virtual health assistant. Patients are offered a choice of available appointment times which they can book or cancel directly from the app.
Also available in the app are local NHS services using the NHS Directory of Service, and access to trusted self-care health and wellness advice by NHS Choices. For further information click HERE.
Nursing appointments and appointments for other specialist clinics such as Diabetic, antenatal and postnatal checks should be booked via our reception team.
Daily Appointments
A selection of appointments are released via Patient Access at 7:30 in the morning so that patients have an opportunity to book them online and then arrive at the surgery in time for them, the remainder are released at 08:00 to be booked on the telephone or via our reception team. This is true for both morning and afternoon appointments. Once all the appointments for the day have been booked, the duty doctor will only see or speak to those that they consider to be emergencies.
When you call you will be offered a choice between a telephone consultation and a face-to-face consultation. Many problems can be dealt with over the phone and do not require a face-to-face consultation with a doctor. If your problem is one of these, please opt for a telephone consultation and leave the face-to-face consultations for those times when you feel you need to see a doctor in person. The surgery phone number is withheld for confidentiality reasons e.g. for telephone consultation calls. Please be aware that when the GP calls you back, this will appear on your phone as a withheld number.
Acute Care Clinics
The Health Centre offers a morning Acute Care Clinic appointments for those with a single acute problem. These are for “On the day (acute)” problems and not for complicated problems or follow–ups.
Patient must be 2 years or over & have a recent history or 1st Episode of the conditions listed:
Coughs
Chest Infections
Sore Throats
Ear Pain
Urine infection
Sinus Infections
Hayfever
Bites & Stings
Infections e.g : Skin, Whitlow, Eye infection
If you request one of these appointments but your problem is inappropriate, you may be asked to re-book.
Pre-Bookable Appointments
A number of appointments are available to be booked up to 2 weeks in advance. These are mainly for follow-ups when the doctor has asked you to return so that you can be seen. Not all follow-ups need a face-to-face appointment; many of them can be dealt with over the phone. Please check with your doctor when they ask you to book a follow-up. These appointments will also be available for those with a non-acute problem such as medication reviews and chronic disease reviews. Pre-bookable appointments are available online via Patient Access and are normally bookable up to 2 weeks in advance of the appointment date.
Improved Access to GP Appointments
Southern Locality "Improved Access" Service
GP practices are working together in this area, called the Southern Locality, to offer patients better access to appointments. This is known as the "Improved Access" Service. This means that you can now book an appointment at Burnham Health Centre or at another local practice:
- Up until 8pm from Monday to Friday
- From 9am until 1pm on Saturday
- From 9am until 1pm on Sunday and Bank Holidays (Appointments available only at Wycombe Hospital, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Threeways Surgery, Stoke Poges)
Southern Locality "Improved Access" GP Surgeries
Patients registered with any GP Surgery within the Southern Locality will be able to access this service. In the Southern Locality these surgeries are:
- Burnham Health Centre
- The Ivers Practice
- The Misbourne Practice
- Denham Medical Centre
- The Hall Practice
- The Allan Practice
- Southmead Surgery
- Threeways Surgery
All appointments need to be pre-booked, either in advance or on the day.
How to book an "Improved Access" appointment
Telephone Burnham Health Centre as normal. If no appointments are available you will be offered an "Improved Access" appointment. The reception staff will be able to tell you where clinics are being held and at what time and day there are available appointments. You may also request an "Improved Access" appointment if that is more convenient for you. Our reception staff can give you more information about the service and book your appointment at an alternative surgery.
If you use the "Improved Access" service and you are offered an appointment at Burnham you will see one of our doctors. If you are choose an appointment at another surgery you will be seen by a GP from that surgery who will have full access to your medical records held at Burnham. The GP will be able to issue prescriptions, arrange for tests or onward referral. The GPs will be able to liaise with their colleagues at Burnham if needed. Your medical records held at Burnham will be fully updated at the time of consultation and be available for viewing at any future appointment at this practice.
"Improved Access" is NOT a walk in service – if you need urgent medical advice after 6.30pm, please phone NHS 111. NHS 111 will enable you to talk to a GP and book an urgent GP appointment if necessary. You can also use our local online symptom checker, Health Help Now (http://bucks.healthhelpnow.nhs.uk/) to help to find the right service in Buckinghamshire for your health needs.
Cancellation of Appointments
If you book an appointment, please endeavour to keep it, we are always short of appointments and can reallocate them to other patients even at short notice
If you cannot keep your appointment please let us know as early as possible so that someone else may be given your appointment time. You can do this by telephoning the surgery, via this website or through Patient Access.
If you have received a text reminder of your appointment, it is possible to cancel that appointment by replying with the word "cancel" to the reminder text.
if not cancelling by text, please include your name and date of birth in the cancellation information.
To cancel your appointment via this website, please scroll to the bottom of the home page and click on the "let us know if you need to cancel your appointment" link under the online services banner.
APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
Our aim is to see every patient when they need to be seen without experiencing long waits and to reduce the number of patients who fail to keep their appointments.
We will try to ensure, should you need it, that you get an appointment on the day you contact us or , if your need is not urgent, at your convenience.
When it is important that you should be seen by the same doctor throughout a period of illness our system is flexible enough to allow this. It is the doctors themselves who are now booking appointments so you should be offered a follow-up appointment by the doctor if they feel that you need one and this can be booked when they see you.