If you would like to speak to a GP we operate a daily telephone triage system. When you call the Practice one of our Receptionists will ask you a few brief questions to give the clinician an idea of the problem ahead of time, they will then call you back to discuss your concerns.

All appointments will initially be a phone call with a clinician who will then arrange an appointment if it is clinically appropriate to see you. This will allow us to provide a high level of care to those patients who need clinical input in a more time efficient way.

You can also use our online eConsult service, see below for more details. We are increasing the use of online consultations and telephone triage to support infection control and protect patients and staff.

Appointments for our Nurse led clinics and blood tests are available to book in advance.

eConsult can be used as an alternative to a GP appointment or telephone consultation.  You can choose from an A-Z list of common illnesses or selecting the body part affected, you will be then take through a short questionnaire about your symptoms. Once you have completed this your form is emailed to the practice and you will be contacted.

Please note: the eConsult service is only available during our normal surgery    opening hours and is not monitored outside these times. Advice, information and signposting is still available through the eConsult platform outside of our opening hours.

NHS Healthier Together has been designed to allow you to access care for your child much more easily. If your child is unwell and needs to be seen by a healthcare professional, instead of having to call your GP surgery, your surgery may offer you the option to use the app to directly inform them about your child’s symptoms. They will then contact you to decide what needs to be done. And if you are seeking help when your GP surgery is shut, it will direct you to NHS 111. Lots of other parents have already downloaded it and have found it extremely useful.

You can also download the app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

It is important that you inform us if you cannot attend your appointment, this will allow us to offer it to another patient and enable them to be seen.  You can email, use your SystmOnline account, or call us to let us know.

If you fail to notify us an entry will be marking in your medical records. Persistent failure to notify us may result in your removal from our list.

We have a text message service available to all our patients which allows you to receive confirmations and reminders about your upcoming appointments, along will health promotion information and information regarding clinics.

If you do not wish to receive any text messages, please let us know and we can remove your number from the list.

Please remember: it is crucial that you keep us up-to-date with your current contact details when you change address, telephone numbers or email addresses. Failure to do so may result in an SMS or letter being sent to the incorrect recipient. 

Ringwood Medical Practice is registered as a training practice and supports newly qualified doctors under the supervision of Dr Rachel Barrass-Stones and Dr Kate Knight.

Dr Anne Wilson and Dr Alistair McHardy supervise our medical students from Southampton, Oxford, Brighton and Sussex Medical Schools.

Occasionally you will be asked if you would mind seeing your doctor with a medical student present. You are quite at liberty to decline if you would prefer to see your doctor alone.

It will sometimes be necessary for the doctor to ask for a chaperone to sit in on a medical examination. This is for the protection of both doctor and patient. A patient can request a chaperone to be present during their examination. Full details are held in the policies and procedures file available from reception.

If you require an interpreter for your appointment please notify the receptionist and we will arrange this for when you visit.

Home visits are at the discretion of you Doctor. Please do not ask your Docotor to visit you at home unless you, or a family member, are genuinely too ill to come to the Surgery. A rash or temperature does not prevent you from coming to the Surgery and will not endanger other. Simply tell the Receptioist upon arrival.

If your condition, or your family members condition, does require a Home Visit, please let us know before 10:00 that morning.

You can be visited at home by a Community Nurse, if you are referred by your GP. You should alos be visited by a Health Visitor if you have recently had a baby, or if you are newly registered with the Practice and have children under the age of 5 years old.

Partnering Health Limited are offering a wide variety of extended access appointment times, with a range of clinical staff, on the ground floor of Ringwood Medical Centre or at Lymington Hospital. These clinics run every evening and during the weekends, please see below for a breakdown of these appointments.

Please note: In order of us to book you in to any one of these appointments we will need to electronically share your medical record electonically (please CLICK HERE for more information) with Partnering Health Limited. This will enable both organisations to provide continuous and consistant care. We can only do this with your permission, and you can revert this back at any time, at your discretion.

If we are running to capacity and cannot offer you an appointment that day you will be offered one of the following:

Monday to Friday: 18.30-21.30

Appointments are available with a variety of clinical specialists, including: a GP, a Practice Nurse, a Mental Health Practitioner, a Universal Care Practitioner and a Physiotherapist, each working a specific day.

Saturday: 08.00-18.00

Appointments are available with a GP or a Physiotherapist during the morning or afternoon, respectively.

Sunday: 09.00-14.00

Appointments are available with a GP throughout the morning.

Monday to Friday: 18.30-21.30

Appointments are available with a variety of clinical specialists, including: GPs, Practice Nurses, Mental Health Practitioners, Universal Care Practitioners and Physiotherapists.

Saturday and Sunday: 08.00-22.00

Appointments are available with a GP throughout the day, and with a Practice Nurse, an HCA or a Physiotherapist during the morning.

Running alongside this service is the Urgent Treatment Centre at Lymington Hospital, open from 08.00-21.00 daily.