Rapid health is our online patient triage system; Rapid Health can be used to access self-care information, submit medical and administrative requests, and even register new patients to the surgery.
Get started with our online booking tool
With Engage Consult you can ask the practice a question, complete an online consultation, and get 24/7 NHS self-care advice. Start here
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Handforth Health Centre
Welcome to our surgery website
Changes from 1st October 2025
Many of our patients may have seen or heard the news about changes coming into effect from 1st October regarding contacting your GP practice for an appointment. As you may already be aware, we already use a triage platform for requesting appointments. These requests are reviewed by a GP each day and prioritised as appropriate. Appointments are then offered accordingly. This ensures that patients are seen as quickly as possible, depending on their clinical need. If you feel you need to be seen on the day, please contact us as early as possible in the morning and the doctor will review your request. This doesn’t guarantee an appointment on the day as the doctor may feel this can wait, or we have reached capacity.
We only have a certain number of appointments available on the day. Once we have reached capacity, you may be directed to an alternative provider e.g. 111 / Out of Hours. Although you can submit a request up to 18:30, we expect this will be for routine requests, as our urgent appointment slots will have been taken by then.
For routine appointments, you may be sent a booking link to make the appointment. This will depend on the appointment you need to be booked into.
As with all GP practices, the number of appointment requests has increased significantly over the past few years. Unfortunately this has resulted in our waiting times increasing too, as Government funding has not kept up with the demand for appointments.
You and Your General Practice
YOUR PRACTICE CHARTER
GP’s and their Practice teams provide the vast majority of NHS care outside of hospitals, supporting you and your family throughout your lives. In a perfect world, we want to be able to offer every patient:
SAFETY – prompt access to a GP or Practice Nurse you trust, with well-staffed surgeries and enough resource so that no patient feels left behind
STABILITY – a family doctor who knows you, your medical history, and your community – without the stress and difficulty of finding it difficult to get an appointment.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE – car that focuses on keeping you well, not just treating illness, with more time for meaningful consultations, joined-up support closer to your home, and modern premises with safe and effective technology.
The Government talks of “bringing back the family doctor” but what politicians promise is often not planned properly or funded fairly to be able to be delivered in reality.
We want to guide you through the NHS, co-ordinate your care, and support you to stay healthy. We want every patient to feel safe and confident in their GP practice – now and in the future.
GP’s are on your side.
THE CHALLENGES YOUR PRACTICE FACES:
Rising demand, fewer GP’s – GP’s care for 17% more patients than in 2015, but with fewer GP’s. Funding has not kept pace, so many patients find it hard to see their GP quickly, leading to the successful scramble to secure an appointment.
Practice closures – around 2,000 practices have been lost since 2010, that’s one in four surgeries, leaving fewer local practices and longer waits or travel for patients.
Funding pressures – practices receive just 31p per patient per day to provide unlimited consultations with our doctors and nurses, making it hard to employ enough staff and sustain services.
Workforce challenges – more GP’s are leaving the NHS than joining. While our staff work tirelessly, system pressures and patient frustration can affect everyone’s morale and wellbeing. We have unemployed GP’s now – and practices lack funds to hire them.
Unsafe workloads – many GP’s see far more than the accepted safe limit of patients per day, often working over 60 hours a week. Recent government changes risk making this worse.
Ageing buildings – 1 in 5 GP surgeries is now over 75 years old – older than the NHS itself which started in 1948. There is very little investment to provide modern facilities fit for today’s needs.
Access versus continuity – Government policy means speed of an appointment comes before choice. This lack of continuity of care, means patients often don’t get to see a familiar face who knows them well.
Demand Management – we always aim to respond to all appointment and advice requests promptly, prioritising those most in need. Sometimes we may need to offer you an appointment on another day or direct you to another, more suitable service.
For safety reasons, urgent medical requests cannot be accepted via our online system. For something urgent, please call us or walk into reception.
The need to prioritise urgent cases can result in longer waiting times for routine/non-urgent appointments.
The new requirement to allow patients unlimited online access for non-urgent medical requests, throughout core hours, makes it more likely that we will have no choice but to create hospital-style waiting lists to meet patient need.
We may unfortunately sometimes face challenges beyond our control:
1. difficulties with accessing services at the local hospitals and long waiting lists 2. workforce challenges – not enough GPs to look after you 3. the need to provide our teams with compulsory NHS training and education 4. unforeseen events 5. NHS IT challenges with old and slow equipment 6. lack of investment in practice buildings and development 7. public health emergencies
– Our core contract hours are Monday – Friday, 8am – 6:30pm – Our consulting times are between these hours. – Please note at certain times, e.g. lunch or the ends of the day, a clinician may not be present in the building (e.g. out on home visits). – In an emergency, please dial 999 for an ambulance or attend the nearest Accident & Emergency department
WE BELIEVE PATIENTS DESERVE MORE
At present, GP’s and their teams are under huge pressure – caring for more people with fewer resources. Without proper investment, the safety, stability and continuity of care that patients value most are at risk. As your GP practice, we will always do what we can to deliver the best service possible for you and your family. With the right resources and support, we could expand our services, employ more staff, and deliver the safe, timely and personalised care you deserve. Please remember that our current GP contract funds patient care on average at 31p per day per patient, which is not enough to meet rising demand and to provide the care you and your family deserve.
So please bear with us – and thank you for your support as we try our best for you and your family.
The full NHS England’s You and Your General Practice document can be found here should you wish to read further.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION – AI Medical Scribes
Enhancing Patient Care with AI Technology
At Handforth Health Centre, we are committed to providing you with the highest standard of care. To help us achieve this, we use an advanced AI-powered tool to assist our clinicians in documenting consultations, allowing them to focus more on you rather than administrative tasks.
What is Our AI Medical Scribe?
Our AI Medical Scribe is a secure and intelligent system designed to listen to consultations and generate clear, concise medical notes for your records. This tool streamlines documentation, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. Clinicians always review and approve the notes before they are added to your patient record.
How Does This Benefit You?
Enhanced Consultation Experience: With automated notetaking, your clinician can dedicate their full attention to you, fostering better communication and understanding.
Accurate Medical Records: The AI scribe helps maintain clear, precise, and comprehensive documentation, improving the quality of your care.
Time Efficiency: Reducing paperwork means clinicians have more time to focus on addressing your health concerns.
Your Privacy and Consent Your privacy is of utmost importance to us. Our AI Medical Scribe complies with strict data protection standards to ensure your information is handled securely and confidentially.
Your Choice Matters: If you prefer not to use the AI Scribe during your consultation, you can opt out at any time. Your care will remain unaffected, and your clinician will take notes manually instead.
No Obligation: The use of the AI Scribe is entirely optional, and we fully respect your decision.
How to Opt Out If you wish to opt out, simply inform our reception team when booking your appointment or let your clinician know at the beginning of your consultation.
111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It’s fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you.
NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.
In case of a life-threatening emergency, please dial 999.
REBUILDING GENERAL PRACTICE
The NHS is under extraordinary pressure, and this is particularly true of General Practice. The staff at Handforth Health Centre, and other practices up and down the country, are working hard to continue to look after your health but we are under more pressure than patients may realise.
We have seen strikes in other areas of the NHS in this last year due to reduced pay and exceeding workloads and we wanted to make patients aware of some of the issues we are facing as well as some of the ways that you can help support our Practice.
We are extremely proud of all our staff who continue to work hard to provide patient care in the face of all these difficulties over recent years. We have a great population of patients under Handforth Health Centre, and we are thankful for the patience and gratitude they have shown over the years. Our ask is for you to continue to be patient with us during these difficult times and us all to continue to show respect to one another.
Below are some of the simple ways that you can help ensure we continue to provide services to you safely and efficiently.
You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms and get instant advice, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record and more.
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AccuRx Triage
Please be aware that our accuRx patient triage system will be switched off each day at 6:00pm and opened up again at 6:00am the following morning (except for over a weekend when it will re-open on a Monday morning). If you require medical attention within this time, please contact 111 or 999 in an emergency.
