Welcome to Whitehill Surgery
Opening Times
Training dates
WHITEHILL SURGERY will be CLOSED from 1pm on the 18th September 2025 for training/education purposes.
We will re-open the following day at 8.30 a.m.
If you need urgent medical assistance that cannot wait until the surgery re-opens then please dial 111 for the NHS 111 Service; for life threatening conditions please call 999.
Future training closures will be from 1pm on:
Thursday 18 September 2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Tuesday 18 November 2025
Thursday 15 January 2026
Wednesday 11 February 2026
Tuesday 17 March 2026
Please note: We are closed all day for Bank holidays.
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NHS APP
The NHS App helps you to get well, stay well and manage your health care
Its a simple and secure way to:
- order repeat prescriptions
- find NHS services
- view your GP health record
- get reminders and messages
- and much more …
It's free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you need help getting set up online, please use our Digital Assistant, by clicking here, the assistant will walk you through a step by step guide.
Changes to our appointment system coming soon - Monday 22 September
From Monday 22 September we will have a new way for you to contact us to book an appointment and submit general queries. From this date, all requests for an appointment, as well as general queries, will need to be submitted through an online form. You will be able to find this form on our website or, if you are unable to use the internet, you can call us or visit the surgery in person and we will complete the form with you.
The form allows you to describe your symptoms and the support you require or specify your admin request. Depending upon the type of request, a clinician or a team member will review your form and assign it according to priority. You will then receive either an appointment, advice on the most appropriate service, or a response to your general enquiry within the specified timeframe.
Nurse or HCA appointments such as blood tests will continue to be booked by calling the surgery in the normal way.
Why are these changes happening?
NHS England has asked GP practices to introduce online systems that make it easier for patients to request appointments and improve the care you receive. By using the online request form to share important information about your needs, our clinicians can quickly decide the most appropriate care and support for you.
· The system should be fair and equitable. This means those who have the greatest need are prioritised.
· We do not want our patients to experience long telephone waits and uncertainty for appointments.
· Patients should be able to have their needs met by the most appropriately skilled professional.
We have a finite number of appointments that can be safely delivered by a finite number of doctors and other Allied Health Professionals (including Paramedics, First Contact Physiotherapists and Clinical Pharmacists) each day. The number of requests for appointments is higher than the actual number we have available. This is the case for GP Practices across the country. The only way to ensure that the people with the greatest need are given these appointments, is for each request to be screened (or triaged).
This link gives information about some of the reasons for the increasing pressure on General Practice Pressures in general practice data analysis
Here to help
We are here to support you with these changes. If you need assistance filling out the form, please ask our reception team who will be happy to help. Please be patient as we all adapt to this new system. We appreciate your support and understanding during this time.
How to request an appointment
To request an appointment, you will complete a simple online form.
This will be reviewed, and, in some cases, you may ask for more information or a request made for you to send a photo. They will then either offer you an appointment within an appropriate timeframe, or signposted information. We understand that a small number of people will not be able to complete these forms. If this is the case, one of our reception team can complete the form with you. Phoning the practice or attending reception in person will not give you priority for an appointment, so please use the online form if you can.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can someone fill in the form on behalf of the patient?
Yes, the form can be completed by someone else, such as a family member or carer. We will respond to the patient only, unless they have given us explicit consent to contact someone else.
2. What does signposting mean?
Signposting is when we give you information about how to access other support instead of an appointment with us for example we may direct you to the community pharmacy (How pharmacies can help - NHS) or links to online resources to support self-care or self-refer to their services when appropriate.
3. If I am offered an appointment, will it always be with a GP?
We will book you with the most suitable professional. This may be a doctor, but often it may be more appropriate to consult someone else in our team, e.g. a paramedic, specialist nurse, practice nurse, healthcare assistant, First Contact Physiotherapist, Clinical Pharmacist, Health and Wellbeing Coach or a Social prescribing link worker. We will always make it clear who your appointment is with. Sometimes we may suggest arranging a test, e.g. blood test, first.
4. What if I do not agree with the triage decision?
The decision is made by an experienced GP. Our priority must always be patient safety, ensuring those with the greatest need get an appointment the soonest. Please include any essential information on the form you complete. Please use the system honestly and fairly, and if your condition worsens, let us know so we can advise on the next step.
5. Does this affect hospital appointments?
No, this change is for Whitehill Surgery. We do not have any control over the waiting times for hospital appointments.
6. Can I choose which GP I see?
We agree that it is preferable to see the same doctor, particularly when following up a condition you have already consulted them about. Where possible, we will try to accommodate this. Sometimes this will mean waiting longer, but we will not suggest a longer wait unless it is safe. If that doctor is not available within a clinically suitable time, the triaging GP will advise that you consult any doctor in our team, who will have full access to your medical records.
GPs Are On your side
You have probably noticed that something is wrong. Look at the difficulty you have in getting an appointment at your local surgery. When you do get through, it may not be an appointment with a GP at all. Have you lost your regular family doctor? You are not alone.
General Practice is collapsing. Every practice across England is struggling to keep its doors open.
We value our patients. We know that most patients value us too, especially when they need us regularly. You know we can deal with most of your health problems, keep you out of hospital, and have your best interests at heart. The problem is with the mismanagement of the NHS.
Your GP is an expert in general medical practice – trained over 10 years to deal with complex problems, spot serious symptoms, and decide when you need specialist help at the hospital.
But did you know that your practice receives just £107.57 per year for each patient, whatever their health needs. That’s less than the cost of an annual TV licence.
It’s just 30p a day for every patient registered with us – less than the cost of an apple.
We believe general practice deserves a bigger slice of NHS funding so we can train and hire more GPs, deliver the services you require and make it easier for you and your loved ones to get appointments to see your GP and practice team.
GPs want the same things that you do. We believe nobody should struggle to see their family doctor.
General Practice should be as it once was – a familiar family doctor, offering continuity of care in a surgery full of friendly familiar faces within a safe building where you knew you would get the care you needed.
How can you support your family doctor?
Talk to any election candidate who you come across
When candidates from the political parties come knocking on your door, ask them what they will do to save general practice. What will they do so you can see a GP in a modern local surgery?
Clarification on NHS Access to Mounjaro (Tirzepatide)
From 23 June 2025, following approval by NICE, tirzepatide (Mounjaro) will be available in the NHS for eligible patients who meet the strict, nationally-set, criteria.
The current criteria is that patients are those with a BMI of 40 or higher, and with four or more of the qualifying comorbidities (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) will be eligible for assessment to identify their suitability for Mounjaro. Anyone not meeting these criteria will not be eligible for assessment in the first year of the drug being available.
Please do not contact your GP; if you are eligible to be assessed you will be contacted over the coming months and invited to attend an appointment for assessment. Those with the greatest clinical need will be contacted first. (Weight Loss | BOB ICB)
For more information about alternative local weight management services, visit the following websites: Health & Wellbeing – Aylesbury Central PCN
How to make the most of our telephone system
Please remember to take advantage of the telephone QueueBuster feature.
If you are over 10th place you will have the option to be called back. Please make sure you are not calling from an unknown number or we wont be able to reach you, you will then be called back by a member of staff when the call would be at the front of the queue.
If a patient on a mobile phone fails to answer, or is busy, a text message will be sent to inform them that they have missed the call.
If you call back the same day as missing our call the system will prioritise the call, so you do not have to wait in the queue again.
If you get a message saying 'Transfer failed' in the morning this is due to the lines being full. We have limited spaces (65 max at one time) in the queue, as patients complained about waiting times when it was unlimited.
If everyone starts to use the queuebuster option we can increase the quantity of places in the queue, as you will not be holding on listening to the dreaded hold music, this also would mean no more transfer failed messages waiting for a space to open up.
Car Parking at Whitehill Surgery
Car Parking is limited at the surgery so please allow plenty of time to park if attending the surgery for an appointment.
You may need to park off site if there are no available spaces.
Any cars not parked within the designated bays are likely to receive a parking charge notice from the parking company who monitor the car park.
Please note repair work to the potholes is expected to be done on Saturday 16th August, during this time there may be no access to the car park.
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Help the NHS to reduce medicines waste – ‘together we can make a difference’
The local NHS is urging patients to carry out simple tasks to help reduce medicines waste. These include checking how much prescription medication you have at home before ordering more and checking the expiry date on your medicines. You can also get advice from a pharmacist around prescription medicines. From September, patients can join a Digital Café across Bucks, Oxon and Berks West for support and advice on using the NHS App to order your prescription medication – for details on times and locations of these Digital Cafés see click here For further tips and advice visit the StayWellBOB website which includes five short videos on how to reduce medicines waste.
Page created: 24 April 2020