Wood Lane Medical Centre has been working with the NHS Digital Transformation Team in a pilot scheme to help support digital improvements within general practice.
We have been reviewing patient feedback received via Friends & Family feedback, NHS Choices, the National Patient Survey 2023 and in person or over the telephone to understand common issues and look at ways in which we can improve access for our patients.
With guidance and support from the Digital Transformation Team, we identified the following areas to focus on and have formulated the following plan:
Telephone Queues
Patients have been unhappy with lengthy telephone queues, particularly at the start of the day when urgent appointments are released.
To address this, we will be introducing a new telephone answer message, with a shorter welcome message and improved guidance and signposting for our patients, directing them to the most appropriate information or advice depending on their medical needs.
Appointment Availability
Feedback from patients has shown that some patients may have to wait up to 5 or 6 weeks for a routine appointment to see a GP. Our plan to address this is to introduce a new system where routine appointments will be released on 2-week rolling basis. Routine appointments will be released each day for GP appointments in 2 weeks’ time.
We are committed to providing at least 50% of our routine GP appointments available to book online via the NHS App or Patient Access. In addition to this, we will also be releasing a number of “on the day” Telephone Triage appointmentsfor online booking each weekday to help release capacity on our telephone lines. This will enable our staff to answer urgent calls from patients and other care providers in a timely manner.
Later routine GP appointments, between 5pm – 5.30pm, will be introduced during the week to provide greater access for patients who work, commute or attend school / college / university.
We will continue to have access to the local Extended Access Hubs who provide additional GP, Nurse and HCA appointments during the evenings and weekends. As well as these local services, we are also able to utilise a new “Same Day Urgent Care” GP service offering both telephone consultations and face to face appointments. This service is currently located in Mead House, Hayes.
PATCHs Not Available
Feedback from patients indicates that access to PATCHS may not be consistent and, on occasions, may have been unavailable for a number of days.
We will endeavour to provide a consistent number of PATCHS available each weekday. However, access to these will depend on the daily level of patient demand and may need to be closed at short notice to accommodate unexpected clinical staff sickness.
PATCHS are released at 7.30am each weekday for both admin and non-urgent clinical enquiries and can be access via the NHS App or our website.
Following the embedding of these improvements, we will be reviewing our system reports and seeking patient feedback so we can continue to monitor access and address any issues.
Thank you for your on-going support.
Smoking Cessation
Smoking cessation services are available in Hillingdon through community pharmacies and through the Smoking Cessation Clinic at Hillingdon Hospital. The pharmacy setting provides an alternative for patients who are unable to attend group sessions.
The pharmacy based service involves a one-to -one consultation with a trained pharmacist at weekly intervals for six weeks. The pharmacist will be able to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy.
The Hillingdon Hospital Clinic has quit rates at four weeks of around 60 %. Appointments can be made on the following helpline – 0800 169 7541
We offer a travel advice and immunisations services.
If you are travelling abroad we ask that you carry out the following prior to booking your appointment:
Please obtain a copy of your immunisation history via the Patient Online Access portal (if you are registered). Alternatively, request a copy of this at reception
Please check the immunisations that you need for your trip on the following websites:
Please complete the Travel Pre-Assessment form (a copy can also be obtained from reception)
The information can be used to determine if an appointment is needed.
If you do need vaccinations we advise you to book at least 6 weeks in advance in order to ensure vaccinations are effective for the time of travelling.
Please note there is a charge for some vaccinations. Please speak to a member of the reception team to find out the up to date information.
Osteopathy is a manual therapy that works on restoring the function of the muscles and joints of the whole body using gentle and/or manipulation techniques.
Anne Wright is a registered Osteopath who operates her private practice from the Medical Centre. She has practised in Ruislip for over 20 years and offers help with conditions such as joint strains, arthritis, sciatica, muscle spasms and headaches. She also uses cranial osteopathy which is a gentle technique for use on adults, children and babies.
Non-urgent advice: For further information
For any additional information or to book an appointment, please telephone: 01895 677179
The NHS Health Check is a health check-up for adults in England aged 40-74. It’s designed to spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia. As we get older, we have a higher risk of developing one of these conditions. An NHS Health Check helps find ways to lower this risk.
The NHS Health Check is a free check-up of your overall health. It can tell you whether you’re at higher risk of getting certain health problems.
Our NHS Health Checks are carried out by our Health Care Assistants
Did you know you can access your medical record via the NHS app, to find out more, view the video below:
Medical/Insurance Reports | Forms | To whom it may concern
If you have a medical/insurance form that you need a Doctor to complete, please fill in an online consultation form here
If you would like to request a To whom it may concern letter, or request for a full copy of your medical records and prefer not to use the NHS app, please submit a request via Blinx Online Form
Please note, we require consent when providing information to third parties, so please ensure you have signed the consent form included on your report before handing it in.
Please note: we advise up to 2 weeks for medical/insurance, forms, lettersto be completed from the date we receive payment.
Subject Access Requests (Copy Notes)
If you have a Subject Access Request (need to request copies of your medical history), please request this in writing by submitting a request via Blinx Online Form
Non-urgent advice: Please Note
Requests can take up to 30 days to complete, please keep this in mind when requesting. This can be extended to an additional 30 days, depending on the size record/request.
Additionally, we do not charge for these requests; however, in certain cases we may ask for a fee to be paid i.e. the request is unfounded, excessive, repetitive. For more information regarding this please see our Policies.
Family Planning
Family planning appointments are offered every week. If you are unable to attend a weekday appointment we also offer weekend appointments at our hub sites.
We offer advice on all aspects of family planning and our services include Emergency Contraception, Oral Contraception, and Injectable Contraception. If you are on the pill please check your blood pressure every 12 months, a blood pressure machine is available in reception.
If you run out and are not able to see us immediately and you do not have an up to date blood pressure reading, we will give you an additional supply for one month only.
Sexual Health and Contraception Services for Hillingdon
London North West University Healthcare provides sexual health services across four boroughs, HIV care and a range of outreach services via our partner organisations.
Dr Shapiro offers a Cryotherapy clinic on a Tuesday afternoon – once per month. This clinic is for the treatment of superficial skin problems using specialised freezing techniques. Appointments for the Cryotherapy clinic should be made after an initially consultation with on of the doctors.
We ask all patient to complete a consent form and bring it to their cryotherapy appointment. This form can be obtained from a member of the reception team or by downloading a copy by clicking the button below.
Please contact us on 01895 632 677 to arrange an appointment.
Don’t ignore your cervical screening invite – it saves lives!
We recommend all women between the ages of 24 and 65 to have cervical smears. Invitations for smears come from both the practice and the local health authority. The smears are carried out by our nursing team, please ring reception on 01895 632 677 for an appointment. Smear tests are always done in the surgery and we offer appointments every week. You may also receive a text message where you can book into a clinic yourself.
Smear resultstake approximately3 weeks to come back and the health authority will send you a copy of your results. If you have not received these after this time, please contact the surgery to enquire further. We do not normally contact patients to advise of normal results however if there is anything abnormal to report or further actions required we will contact you directly. There are many reasons why a smear result may be abnormal so please contact the surgery if you wish to discuss this further.
If you do not wish to have a cervical smear for any reason we will ask you to come in and see the doctor or nurse and sign a disclaimer form to decline the smear test. Even if you decide to decline the smear test, we are obliged to continue to invite you for this important cancer screening periodically.
If you would like to find out more information, you can visit:
Click on the different tabs below to find out more information relating to blood tests:
How can I book a blood test?
If you have been asked to have a blood test, we run phlebotomy clinics Monday to Thursday at various times, please call us 01895 632 677 to book. You may also sometimes receive a text message from us that will allow you to self-book into a clinic.
If you feel like you need a blood test, you will need to first book an appointment with us to discuss with a GP and/or complete a Blinx Online Consultation Form.
How can I discuss my results?
Please be aware that we can only discuss results that we have have requested. If your consultant has requested your results, you will need to contact your consultant to request these.
If we have requested a blood test, and we need to discuss the results with you, we will contact you directly.
If you are not contacted by us, but you still would like to discuss your results, you will need to contact us to book an appointment to speak with a GP. Or if you would just like a copy of your blood results, you can view these on the NHS App, and/or you can request a copy via Blinx or email us.
Please be aware, when checking the NHS app for test results, these can sometimes be uploaded by the laboratory prior to a GP at the surgery having the opportunity to review the results. Please keep this in mind prior to contacting us.
Hillingdon Hospital & Mount Vernon Hospital no longer offer a walk in service for non-urgent blood tests requested by their GP. If a doctor from Hillingdon or Mount Vernon Hospital has asked you to have a blood test before your next appointment, you can book with the below link.
Please note, this does not apply to patient sent directly from an outpatient clinic on the same day or those requiring specialised tests that need to be processed on the same day. These patients will be will be seen at the hospital without the need to book.
