Ways to book an appointment

• Appointments can be made by telephone on 01254 360105
• Via an Online App
• In person

Our receptionists will ask you for a brief reason for your appointment, you of course do not have to provide this information, but it will help us, to help you get the best person/service to help with your problem. If your problem is one which you wish not to disclose to reception, please say 'personal'. Our receptionists have undertaken Care Navigation training and are aware of local services within the area which may be better placed to help you. Please note, Monday 8am is always our busiest time, try ringing on another day if it's non-urgent.

Types of Appointments

• Routine Appointments - These can be pre-booked with a Doctor of your choice; this also gives you better continuity of care. 
• Urgent/Same day - On the day appointments - These appointments are for urgent acute issues. These can be booked by calling at 08.00 on the morning or booking online via the NHS or MyGP app, These appointments are limited and are booked on a first come first served basis and may not be with a Doctor of your choice. We may offer you an appointment at a "Spoke Clinic" - this will be an appointment with a Doctor within the Blackburn with Darwen area. 
• We offer both face to face and telephone appointments.
  

Pharmacy First Scheme

The practice can book patients with the pharmacy for the following conditions:

Urinary Tract Infections in women aged 16 years to 64.

Acute Sore Throat ages 5 years and over.

Acute Sinusitis ages 12 years and over.

Acute Otitis Media (ear infections) ages 1 year to 17.

Infected insect bites ages 1 and over.

Impetigo ages 1 year and over.

Shingles Adults 18 years and over.

The pharmacist will assess the patient and if appropriate they can prescribe medication.

NHS App

You can book appointments, check results, order prescriptions, get self care advice, receive messages from the practice including appointment reminders, triage requests including admin and medical queries, test results, access to medical records. If you would like access to the app please make sure we have your current mobile number. 

Online requests Online Consultations / Prescription Requests / Admin Requests   click here  

If you need any help to access the app please ask a member of staff.

Spoke appointments

The practice is a member of Blackburn with Darwen's Local Primary Care GP federation. Local Primary Care federation runs a GP extended access service that provides additional appointments (including late appointments) at four neighbourhood spoke surgeries (Barbara Castleway HC , Shadsworth, Little Harwood and Darwen). Patients can be booked into one of the four spoke surgeries via the practice receptionists accordingly.

Weekend Asthma nurse clinics and Smear clinics are also provided at Barbara Castleway HC. Please ask at reception to book.

ON ARRIVAL

Please book in at reception when you arrive. If there is a significant delay in surgery, we will inform you.

APPOINTMENT LENGTH

Please remember that an appointment is for 10 minutes; for 1 problem and 1 person only. If you require a longer appointment, please advise the receptionist when you book your appointment, or if you need consecutive appointments for more than 1 person in the family.

This is so that the doctor can deal with each problem safely and also help keep clinics running to time.

CANCELLING APPOINTMENTS

If you cannot keep an appointment, please inform us as soon as possible so that it can be offered to someone else.

HOME VISITS BEFORE 10.30AM

A home visit can be requested by telephoning surgery before 10.30am if possible. Home visits are primarily for those who are truly housebound due to illness. The receptionist will ask for your symptoms (this is so that urgent cases can be given priority). Home visits are at the discretion of the Doctor and you may be asked to attend the surgery if this is more appropriate. Ill children will almost always be seen more quickly if they can be brought to surgery.

999 CALLS

Your nearest A&E Department to Blackburn is the Royal Blackburn Hospital. If yourself, or anyone is experiencing severe chest pain, suspected broken bones, a stroke, loss of consciousness or loss of blood you should go to your nearest A&E or dial 999.

AMBULANCE BOOKINGS

Transport for patients who have a clinical condition which would result in them not being able to make their own way to a hospital appointments can be arranged by contacting 0800 0323240.

MINOR INJURIES

The nurse-led minor injuries service is a walk-in clinic and operates Mon-Fri 08:30-18:00 from:

Barbara Castleway Health Centre

Simmons Street, Blackburn. BB2 1AX

Tel: 01254 617400

Darwen Health Centre

James Street West, Darwen. BB3 1PY

Tel: 01254 226666

They can treat only very minor injuries occuring in the last 48 hours such as cuts, blisters and grazes.

There are also larger Minor Injuries Units at:

Acorn Centre Minor Injuries Unit

Acorn Primary Health Care Centre

421 Blackburn Road

Accrington

Lancashire

BB5 1RT

Open 7 days a week from 8am until 8.30pm.

Rossendale Minor Injuries Unit

Rossendale Primary Health Care Centre

Bacup Road

Rawtenstall

BB4 7PL

Open 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm

These two MIUs can treat the following conditions:

• Sprains and strains

• Broken bones

• Infected wounds

• Minor burns and scalds

• Minor head injuries

• Insect and animal bites

• Minor eye injuries

• Injuries to the back, shoulder, and chest



CARE NAVIGATION

You may have noticed that we now ask for a brief outline of your problem when you call to make an appointment at the practice. This is because we have developed a new role in the practice - called a care navigator - to help you to see the right health professional first time. We have trained a number of staff to take on this new role. Our care navigators will work with you to fully understand what your needs are and ensure that we help you with your problem efficiently and conveniently. Their goal is to ensure that you get the right care at the right time in the right place with the right outcome.

Through specialist training, our team can now offer more choice on who to see in the practice and help you get to the right health professional fast. Our care navigators never offer clinical advice or triage; this is about offering you the choice to see other more appropriate health professionals, often quicker and without the need to see the GP each time.

For example, we often get calls that can be dealt with by an optician, the pharmacist, or the nurse, that you may not be aware of if you haven’t visited the practice in a while.

By working this way, it helps us to free up time for GPs to care for our patients with complex or serious health conditions and it means that you will find it easier to get a GP appointment when you need one. More importantly though, it means you are seen by the most appropriate health professional that is best placed to deal with your problem each time you visit us. The choice is up to you.

Pringle Street Surgery offers patients the facility to book, view, amend, cancel and print appointments online.

You can now receiving messages through the NHS App Messaging Service.

This is a convenient and secure way for Pringle Street Surgery to send you messages about your care.

What to expect from Pringle Street Surgery messages

• appointment reminders

• changes to opening times

• sick notes

• referral information

We will only send you a message if we need to contact you, for example if we have an update about your care.

We may continue to send you some information by SMS (text) message while we transition to using the NHS App Messaging Service.

If you do not want to receive messages from the NHS App Messaging Service

Contact Pringle Street Surgery to discuss your preferred contact method.

How to check if you have a message

You will receive messages here, in 'View messages from your GP surgery and other NHS Services.'   

The best way to keep up with your messages is to download the NHS App on Google Play or the App Store and turn on notifications.

To check your messages:

1. Log in to the NHS app.

2. Go to View your messages.

3. Select View messages from your GP surgery and other NHS Services.

4. Then select [GP surgery name]. 

Get NHS App notifications when we send you a message

To turn on notifications:

1. Log in to the NHS app.

2. Go to More.

3. Select Account and settings.

4. Then select Manage notifications.

5. Use the toggle to turn notifications on or off.

You will see a new notification from the NHS App the next time we send you a message. Your notifications will tell you that you have a new message from your GP. 

You will still receive our messages if your notifications are turned off, but you will not see a notification on your device when you have a new message.

Your privacy while using the NHS App:

If you want to find out how the NHS uses your information, read the NHS account privacy policy.

OUT OF HOURS SERVICE



When Pringle Street Surgery is closed there is always a Doctor available for emergencies with the Out of Hours Service.

You can contact the out of hours doctors by dialling 111 .

*Please Note

The out of hours service is not designed for true medical emergencies or accidents. When it is better for you to access the emergency services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital Emergency Department, please do.

NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help wherever you are, and whatever the time.

You can call NHS 111 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and all calls from landlines and mobiles free of charge when you need medical help fast, but it isn’t a 999 emergency.

Chronic disease management including Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure

NHS Health Checks

Childhood immunisation

Smears (cervical cytology)

Flu, Shingles and Pneumococcal vaccinations

Some joint injections

Contraceptives - including coils and hormone implants

Certain Travel Vaccinations - please complete the travel form at least 6 weeks prior to travel.

For more information, please see reception.

Vaccination is carried out according to the NHS vaccination schedule.

SCREENING PROGRAMMES

Cervical Screening

Cervical screening (smear tests) are routinely every 5 years from ages 25-64 years, unless an abnormality is found.

NHS cervical screening uses HPV primary testing.

Smear tests can be carried out at surgery with the nurse or on weekends in the smear spoke clinics.

Bowel Cancer Screening

The NHS National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme routinely invites all individuals aged 50 to 74 to complete a home-testing kit (FIT) every two years. If you're aged 75 or over, you can call the bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 6060 every 2 years to ask for the test.

Breast Screening

The NHS national breast cancer screening programme invites women aged 50 to 70 in the UK for mammograms every 3 years. The first invitation arrives between ages 50 and 53, with screenings continuing until the 71st birthday. Women over 71 can self-refer for screenings every 3 years if they wish by calling 01282 805301.

Aortic Aneurysm Screening

The NHS National Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening programme is a free, one-off ultrasound scan offered to men during the year they turn 65 years old to detect swelling in the main artery. Invitations are sent automatically by the NHS.

NON-NHS SERVICES  

Certain services such as private sick notes, private prescriptions, insurance claim forms, vaccination certificates, some medical examinations e.g. HGV & PSV, fostering medicals and certain travel vaccinations are not covered by the National Health Service and charges are made in line with BMA recommendations. Please ask at reception for details. We prioritise NHS work and are under no obligation to carry out non-NHS work. Please note, fit to fly/play sports/travel/study letters are NOT carried out.