Appointments

 

For non-urgent issues, please follow the guidelines below and choose the right service. An appointment may not be necessary.

This will help us to be more efficient by making an appointment available to you when you need it the most.

Book an Appointment

Check Your Condition First

Many conditions can be treated without the need to see your GP.

 

Pharmacy and Self-Care

See a Pharmacist

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

Patients suffering with any of these conditions can be treated with an appropriate antibiotic/antiviral medicine at participating community pharmacies through the Pharmacy First scheme:

  • Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection (Women aged 16 to 64 years)
  • Shingles (Aged 18 years and over)
  • Acute Otitis Media (Children aged 1-17 years)
  • Acute Sinusitis (Aged 12 years and over)
  • Infected Insect Bites (Aged 1 year and over)
  • Impetigo (Aged 1 year and over)
  • Acute Sore Throat (Aged 5 years and over)

Learn more about the Pharmacy First scheme.

Find a Pharmacy - NHS

Urgent (Same Day) Appointments

To request an appointment for today (Monday to Friday):

If you are unable to complete an Anima request, please contact us on 01892 530329 and we will complete an Anima request with you over the phone.  Please note that the receptionist will need to ask questions about your medical condition.

Book a Routine Appointment

Reception is open on weekdays from 8am to 6.30pm.

Appointments may be booked in advance, but each day some slots are reserved for emergency consultations only.

The phone line is closed between 1.15pm and 2.15pm for administrative purposes.

Ways To Book

  1. Request an appointment online
  2. Via the NHS App
  3. Telephone: 01892 530329

Please don’t be offended if you are asked what the problem is when you ring to book an appointment. This is called Care Navigation and it’s about helping you get to the service you need! Find out more about Care Navigation 

Enhanced Access Appointments

Enhanced Access Appointments 

These appointments are not necessarily at Lonsdale Medical Centre 

Pre bookable and same day appointments are available: 

  • Weekday evenings between 6.30pm and 8pm 
  • Saturdays between 9am to 5pm at two GP hubs in Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone. 

Your appointment may not be with your regular GP.  The clinician will have access to your health records. 

Appointments may be face-to-face, telephone or video consultation. 

How to book 

Ask our receptionists which evening and weekend appointments are available to you.

Find more information about Enhanced Access Appointments here.

How to get proxy access

In most cases you will need to contact the GP surgery of the person who wants help, to ask for proxy access.

The GP surgery will make sure the person giving access understands and agrees to it, where needed.

You may both have to fill in a form and prove who you are using photo ID.

NHS - Request proxy access

How To Get The Most From Your Appointment

Make a list of what you want to ask the GP

  • Write a list of things that you want to discuss with the GP.  
  • Show the list to the GP.  
  • The doctor will deal with two problems during one visit and may ask you to make another appointment. 

Make sure you understand what the doctor is telling you
It may help to make notes if you think you might not remember what the doctor is telling you.  Ask the GP to explain if there is something you don’t understand.  

Dress appropriately
If you might need to undress for an examination or roll up your sleeve for an injection or blood pressure test, please wear suitable clothing so that valuable time isn’t wasted while you undo elaborate zips, buttons and fastenings.

Take responsibility for your own health

  • Take your medication as advised by your doctor.  
  • If you stop taking any medication – tell your GP and ask them to remove it from your repeat prescription list.  

And finally … please be patient and nice to our extremely dedicated receptionists!

The NHS App

Use The NHS App

Owned and run by the NHS, the NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

Find out more and download the app

Visit the NHS website to learn more

Please see our NHS App page for more information.

Video Consultations

Guidance if you have been offered a video consultation

This animation will help you if you have been offered a video consultation. This is where you speak to a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional using the video camera on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

The animation is available in Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Italian, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Urdu and British Sign Language. 

Sickness Certificates (Fit Notes)

You must give your employer a doctor's 'fit note' (sometimes called a 'sick note') if you've been ill for more than 7 days in a row and have taken sick leave. This includes non-working days, such as weekends and bank holidays.

Visit our Sickness Certificates page

Travel Vaccinations

Information and advice for travelling abroad.

Visit our Travel Information page

Home Visits

We understand that this is not always possible to come to the surgery. If you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10am.

  • You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice.
  • The GP will decide if you need a home visit and if it is urgent. Please give us as much detail as possible when you ask for an appointment.
  • If you are housebound a community nurse may visit.
  • If you have recently had a baby or are a new patient and have a child under five, a health visitor may visit.

Life Threatening - Go to A&E

Call 999 or go to A&E now if:

 
  • you or someone you know needs immediate help
  • you have seriously harmed yourself - for example, by taking a drug overdose

A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a medical emergency.

Find your nearest A&E

Change or Cancel an Appointment

Please give us as much notice as possible so we can offer your appointment to someone else.

Ways to cancel

  1. Telephone us on 01892 530329.
  2. Cancel an appointment online

Chaperones

You are very welcome to be accompanied by a trusted friend or relative at your consultation if you wish.

Read our Chaperone Policy

Out of Hours

Improved Access Opening Times

Evenings/Weekends
On the 1st October 2018 Improved Access was launched nationwide. You can now see a GP or other healthcare professional during:

  • weekday evenings between 6.30pm and 8.00pm (some practices offer early morning appointments)
  • Saturdays and Sundays/Bank Holidays

These appointments offered could be:

  • At your registered practice
  • At another local GP practices
  • At another local NHS service - such as a General Practice Hub

What type of appointments will be available?
Evening appointments between 6.30pm to 8pm Monday to Friday will be offered by a practice in your local area. These appointments will be offered by a range of clinical professionals. Some practices in your local area may offer early morning appointments. 

On Saturdays, a clinical professional will be available between 8.00am to 12.00pm at a practice in your local area (times may vary).

On Sundays and Bank Holidays a GP will be available between 9.00am to 12.30pm at a hub in Tonbridge or Maidstone.

Who can book these appointments?
Improved Access appointments are available for all patients in west Kent, regardless of where they are located. This means that patients can be seen by a clinical professional 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. It will be unlikely that you will be seen by your normal GP and it is likely that you will have to go to a different surgery to your registered practice for these appointments.

How can I book an appointment? 
In order to book these appointments, you contact your surgery reception staff as normal. You will not be able to phone the reception staff on Saturdays, Sundays / Bank Holidays or between 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Life Threatening

Call 999 or go to A&E now if:

 
  • you or someone you know needs immediate help
  • you have seriously harmed yourself - for example, by taking a drug overdose

A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a medical emergency.

Find your nearest A&E

Sevenoaks Urgent Treatment Centre

Based at Sevenoaks Hospital  the service is open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week 365 days a year, and has one GP, providing up to 32 appointment slots per day.

The service is suitable for patients for same day appointments, who cannot wait 24hrs to be seen.

Patients can be seen by a GP in the UTC by obtaining an appointment through NHS 111.

Non-urgent

Use NHS 111 if:

 
  • You need help now, but it's not an emergency

There will be someone to provide you with advice and to direct you to a clinician if it is necessary.

Visit NHS 111 Online