Appointments

 

Unfortunately we are unable to provide a walk-in clinic for emergency care or for accidents. If you have an emergency of this kind please contact NHS 111 or visit A&E.

How to Book an Appointment

In an EMERGENCY call 999.
Emergencies are situations that cannot be managed at home and may be life threatening. 
Examples of life-threatening condition are loss of consciousness, chest pain and breathing difficulties.

It is important our patients get medical help from the right person at a clinically appropriate time.

Pharmacy First

Most pharmacies can help you with seven common conditions without needing a GP appointment.

Speak to your pharmacist if you suspect you have:

  • Sinusitis (adults and children aged 12 years and over)
  • Sore throat (adults and children aged 5 years and over)
  • Earache (children aged 1 year to 17 years)
  • Infected insect bite (adults and children aged 1 year and over)
  • Impetigo (adults and children aged 1 year and over)
  • Shingles (adults aged 18 years and over)
  • Urinary tract infection (women, aged 16 to 64 years)

Visit your Pharmacy First!

Pharmacy First

Patients can now get treatment for seven common conditions directly from their local pharmacy, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription.

The Pharmacy First scheme was launched by the government and NHS England on 31 January 2024 to give patients quick and accessible care and ease pressure on GP services.

But what does it cover and who will benefit? Here's everything you need to know.

What is Pharmacy First?

Pharmacy First will enable community pharmacists to supply prescription-only medicines, including antibiotics and antivirals where clinically appropriate, to treat seven common health conditions without the need to visit a GP.

What are the seven common conditions

  • Sinusitis
  • Sore throat
  • Earache
  • Infected insect bite
  • Impetigo (a bacterial skin infection)
  • Shingles
  • Uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women

How can I access treatment from my pharmacy?

You can get treatment for these conditions by walking into the pharmacy or contacting them virtually.

GP receptionists, NHS 111 and providers of emergency care will also be able to direct patients to pharmacies, that offer the service, if contacted.

What will happen when I arrive at the pharmacy?

The pharmacist will be able to speak to you privately in a separate consultation room. They may perform an examination or ask to access your medical records.

The pharmacist will be able to recommend the best course of action on an individual patient basis, including by issuing prescriptions for antibiotics or antivirals where necessary.

How will this reduce NHS waiting times?

By reducing the number of patients with common conditions, needing blood pressure checks or oral contraception visiting a GP, Pharmacy First aims to free up 10 million GP appointments a year by next winter for more complex diagnosis.

This will give GPs time and space to see patients with more complex conditions.

Four in five people in England can reach a community pharmacy within a 20-minute walk and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived communities, making access to care quicker and more convenient.

Local pharmacies that offer this service

  • Field Pharmacy - East Peckham
  • Boots
  • Paddock Wood Pharmacy
  • Avicenna Pharmacy - Tonbridge
  • G Currie Chemist - Tonbridge
  • Clark & Coleman - Tonbridge
  • Hadlow Pharmacy
  • East Street Pharmacy
  • Thompsons

If you have a new problem that is not one of the seven Pharmacy First conditions:

Please note: The Care Navigator may send the Anima request on your behalf but will not book an appointment. The Anima request they submit on your behalf is not reviewed any faster than those received from patients directly.

  • Please ensure you are available to take a telephone call from a withheld number and/or attend the surgery that same day if the GP who reviews your Anima feels that is clinically necessary.
  • Requests for Home Visits must be submitted by Anima, ideally before 10am.
  • Home Visits are only possible for patients who are completely unable to attend the surgery because of their medical condition AND have a problem that the doctor feels requires a clinical review. You may be telephoned first by a GP or visited by our Home Visiting Service or a GP.

If you have an ongoing problem that you feels needs to be reviewed:

  1. Please submit an Anima request.
  2. Please specify which member of our team has been helping you with the problem.

If you are unable to attend always cancel your appointment

October Did Not Attend (DNA) Appointments

9,735

Appointments Booked

180

Did Not Attend (DNA)

Please remember that there may be a shortage of appointments and when you fail to attend you have prevented someone else from being seen in your place.

Cancellations notified less than 30 minutes before the appointment time will be recorded as failure to attend (DNA).

Repeated failure to attend booked appointments is a significant waste of NHS resources.

For more information please see our Cancel Appointment page.

Text Message Reminders

We launched a text reminder system on 16th April 2018, please ensure we have your current mobile phone number.

Extended Access

Additional surgeries are held at Trenchwood Medical Centre on Monday evenings between 6.30pm and 8pm and on Saturday mornings between 8am and 12pm. These surgeries are for pre-booked appointments only and there will be limited access to certain support services, eg phlebotomy, at these times.

Our phone lines are not on during this period.

Emergencies will continue to be dealt with by NHS 111, the Out of Hours Service, which is accessed by dialling 111.

Advocates

Advocates help to ensure that a person’s rights are upheld and that their views, wishes and needs are heard, respected and acted on.

Visit NHS Someone to speak up for you

Specimen bottles

If you are requested by a clinician to bring in a specimen, please ensure this is not in a glass bottle as we will be unable to process the specimen.

Please ensure you seal the specimen in a clean plastic bag before handing it over to the Care Navigator.

Tonbridge Primary Care Network

There are lots of different kinds of healthcare professionals working in your GP surgery, besides your GP. They each have distinct roles and specialist skills. When you contact the surgery, you will be offered an appointment with the person who is best placed to help your needs. This is why the person you first speak with when you contact the surgery may ask what you need help with.

You may be offered an appointment with one of our:

  • Advanced Clinical Practitioners
  • Cancer Care Coordinators
  • Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Navigators
  • Children’s Mental Health Practitioners
  • Clinical Pharmacists
  • Healthcare Assistants
  • Musculoskeletal Assessors
  • Nurses
  • Nurse Associates
  • Physicians Associates
  • Paramedic Practitioners
  • Social Prescribers

Find out more on their website.