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

Please use the NHS Symptom checker

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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 to give patients quick and accessible care and ease pressure on GP services. Pharmacists can now treat and prescribe medication for the following common conditions and ailments:

• Earache – 1 to 17 years
• Impetigo – 1 year and older
• Infected insect bites – 1 year and older
• Shingles – 18 years and older
• Sinusitis – 12 years and over
• Sore throat – 5 years and over
• Uncomplicated urinary tract infections – Women 16 to 64 years

You can get treatment for these conditions by visiting 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.

For more information please see the Department of Health and Social Care website

Pharmacists can also can provide advice and over-the-counter medication for various common conditions such as coughs, colds, flu, as well as everyday issues like aches, pains, and skin rashes. No appointment is necessary to see a pharmacist, and they will let you know if you need to see a doctor. Many pharmacies are open evenings and weekends, and often provide private consultation rooms where you can discuss issues without being overheard.

To find your nearest pharmacy and check opening times, visit the NHS find a pharmacy service

You can often take care of your health conditions without needing to see us. Many minor illnesses and injuries can be treated at home with medicines you can buy without a prescription and by getting plenty of rest. Taking care of yourself is the best choice for a sore throat, cough, or a grazed knee.

If you're not sure if you should take care of your illness yourself, you can call us on 01778 393399 or get medical advice from from the NHS 111 website or call 111

We encourage all our patients to contact us using Anima or by telephone.

However you contact the practice, you will be asked for a description of your acute medical issue. This will be by one of our trained care navigators on the telephone, or by our easy-to-use online form with Anima.

A Triage Doctor will then review your information and decide on the best course of action, whether that involves scheduling an appointment, offering advice over the phone, or directing you to a local service or clinic.

We will aim to get back to you within 24 hours. If we need more information, we might send you a message with a link to provide additional details.

For urgent cases, the Triage Doctor will arrange for an appointment on the same day. Routine appointments may be scheduled for a future date to see your preferred GP. You may receive a booking link by message or we may arrange it over the telephone. Your appointment will be scheduled with be most suitable team member based on your needs. A doctor may see you for general health issues, a physiotherapist may see you for musculoskeletal issues, a nurse may see you for long-term, conditions like asthma or diabetes.

Once all the appointments are allocated, we have an urgent on-call GP for those who feel their medical problem cannot wait until the next day.

Appointments are available from 8am each day.

Ways to book an appointment:

• Use Anima
• Telephone: 01778 393399 - Option 1

We are part of the Four Counties Primary Care Network that provides ‘enhanced access appointments’ between 6.30pm to 8pm Mondays to Fridays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

These appointments will be offered across the Primary Care Network, covering The Hereward Practice and Stamford Surgery. Your appointment may be a telephone call, video call or a face-to-face appointment and you will be advised of the location when the appointment is booked.

As our sites may not be physically open during these hours, patients will be unable to have general queries answered or dealt with during enhanced access opening times.

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

Information and advice for travelling abroad.

Visit our Travel Information page

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00am.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls.

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years. 

NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help, whatever the time, and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls to NHS 111 are free from landlines and mobile phones.
If you have difficulties communicating or hearing, you can call 18001 111 on a textphone, use the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter service if you’re deaf and want to use the phone service.

If you require urgent medical attention that isn't life-threatening, you can go to an urgent treatment centre. These centres, led by GPs, are open for at least 12 hours every day, including bank holidays. They can diagnose and treat various common ailments including sprains and strains, suspected broken limbs, minor head injuries, cuts and grazes, minor scalds and burns, feverish illness in adults, feverish illness in children, and abdominal pain.

To find your nearest urgent treatment centre and check opening times, visit 'find an urgent treatment centre'

Visit an A&E department (also known as the emergency department or casualty) for genuine life-threatening emergencies. These may include conditions such as loss of consciousness, an acute confused state, fits that are not stopping, chest pain, and breathing difficulties.

Less severe injuries can be treated at urgent care centres.

To find your nearest A&E, visit 'find an A&E'

If our services are unavailable, you can get medical advice from the NHS 111 website or call 111. This service will direct you to the most appropriate local healthcare option.

If you are unable to keep your appointment, please give us as much notice as possible so that your appointment can be offered to someone else.

If you are cancelling please telephone us on 01778 393399 as soon as possible, and at least 30 minutes before your appointment time. To save waiting on the telephone you can now leave a cancellation message by selecting option 1 when calling the surgery.  This will enable us to offer your appointment to someone else.

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 and may lead to your registration being removed from our list.