Smear tests are recommended for women between the ages of 25 and 65 every three years unless a previous abnormality has been present.
All Services
Unpaid Carers Support
Get support if you’re someone who cares for a relative or friend.
Bereavement Services
Coping with bereavement and grief.
NHS Talking Therapies (formerly IAPT) self referral
NHS talking therapies, for anxiety and depression is provided by West London NHS Trust and offer evidence-based therapies for people over 18 who have a GP or live in the London Borough of Hounslow.
They can help you with common problems like stress, anxiety and depression. It could be that you’re feeling low, having trouble sleeping, or feeling frightened. These are all things that they can help with.
They offer a range of treatments either online, over the telephone, web-based or in person. There are also a number of different formats such as groups, workshops, couples therapy or individual therapy. They aim to provide individuals with a choice of time, day and location suited to the needs of the individual in a timely manner.
How to access this service
You can ask for a referral from your GP or any other health or social care professional. They will fill in a form explaining how you are feeling.
You can also refer yourself online. You can find out how to refer yourself and more information about the service here https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk/our-services/adult/iapt/iapt-hounslow.
Chargeable Services
Please review our list of non-NHS work that we offer at our GP surgery, which attract a fee. This includes certificates, forms, medical examinations and various travel vaccinations.
Why does my doctor charge fees?
When your doctor is asked to give medical information about you in the form of a report, letter or certificate, the request kick starts a series of processes.
This takes time and is not always straightforward or simple to complete. Some of the information is not available easily and will mean the doctor has to sort and select the right information for the request.
The doctor also must establish who is funding this work and if it is not part of their NHS work, agree a fee for this.
Surely the work is paid for by the NHS?
Many patients see their doctor as the embodiment of the NHS and all that it provides – free care at the point of delivery. However not all work doctors are asked to do is paid for by the NHS and many GPs are self-employed.
This means they must cover their time and costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc – in the same way as any small business. The NHS only pays for NHS work, any work outside of the NHS must be funded by other means and this is why fees are charged.
Why does it take so long?
Your doctor receives large amounts of request and which is often to do with whether your general health allows you to do something e.g. to work, receive benefits, drive, play sport, attend school, own a house, a firearm or it is for insurance, court or other medico-legal reasons.
All requests will vary in complexity, volume and consistency ranging from signing a certificate which can take minutes, to an in-depth report with an examination that can take hours.
What your doctor is signing
When your doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true.
In order to complete even the simplest of forms, they may have to check your entire medical record (some of which may not be accessible on a computer or on site).
Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.
Why does my doctor seem reluctant or say no to this request?
Your doctor is inundated with work. They have to balance their time with treating the sick, keeping their practice afloat and making sure they are doing all of this safely and within their professional duties as a doctor.
With certain exceptions written within their contract, doctors do not have to carry out non-NHS work. However, many choose to for the benefit of you and other families they treat.
Where a doctor chooses to undertake the work, we advise them to inform and always agree a fee in advance of undertaking work.
Should their volume of work prove to be greater or more complex than expected, the doctor will contact you to discuss how to proceed.
What can I do to help?
– Not all documents need a signature by a doctor and can be done by other professionals. Please check the form and accompanying guidance as you may get a quicker response that way.
– If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your doctor if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.
– Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight. Urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this will cost more.
– Don’t book an appointment with your doctor to complete forms without checking with your doctor’s administrative staff as to whether you need to or not.
Get test results
General Information about Test Results
There are different ways you can access the results of tests that have been done at our GP surgery. Please note that results are only available once the doctor has reviewed them.
- Systmonline
If you don’t have access to your results page on Systmonline, please request this in your online account or ask our reception team for help, ideally after 2pm - NHS login (or via NHS App)
- By Phone
You can telephone the practice on 020 8747 4800 if you are trying to view your results online and are stuck.
How long do results take to become available?
When you attend a test of any kind, you will be told how long you should expect to wait for the results. For example, 48 hours is an approximate guideline dring weekdays for routine tests. This is a guideline, and we ask that you wait this time before checking for your results.
Please note that we have a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. We will only give test results to the person they relate to unless that person has given prior permission for their release or if they’re not capable of understanding them.
Please note that the results of tests carried out during hospital visits are not normally sent to the practice.
Why have I been asked to have a repeat test?
If a doctor asks you to have a repeat test, it is usually because:
- The result was borderline or unclear, and the doctor wants another sample to monitor the situation or to re-check the results.
- The result is abnormal, and the doctor cannot interpret the result without further tests and has asked you to come in for more tests.
Please do not worry if the doctor has asked you for a repeat test. The doctor will speak to you or request to see you directly if they need to discuss the results.
Get a sick note for work
The NHS provides sickness certification only after seven continuous days of illness. If you need a sick note to cover this period of sickness you should complete a Self-Certification (SC2) form which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.
Online Services
All patients can now use a range of NHS services online. This is now the standard way of accessing NHS services in England. Before you call or contact the surgery, try the options below first.
You can still contact the practice by phone or in person, this is just another option, which other patients have found is more convenient and saves them time.
Below are some of the main online services we use in our GP surgery:
SystmOnline
SystmOnline allows patients or someone acting on behalf of the patient to proactively manage their care. SystmOnline is available as an online service if you prefer to use a computer.
- view your GP health record – you can request full access to view your record, please send a PATCHS request and we can arrange this
- order repeat prescriptions
- send messages to the practice – whilst this is possible, we would prefer PATCHS to be used for queries
SystmOnline
PATCHS
To help manage online requests from patients, we use PATCHS.
This is an online form where you can tell us what you need help with by answering a few simple questions. You can use PATCHS to contact us about a health query or concern, or to ask for help with an administration query related to your health. If you already have your NHS Login, you will be able to log in to PATCHS using that. If not, you can register through the link below.
PATCHS is a way to access your GP practice Online but like all appointments there are a limited number per day. Once these appointments are filled PATCHS will be closed until the next day.
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You can register for PATCHS via your registered branch practice website. You’ll be asked to enter your email address and set a password.
Once you have registered, you can access PATCHS by clicking the link on your registered branch practice website or opening the PATCHS app on your smartphone. Login by entering your registered email address & password.
Choose the appropriate option and answer a few simple questions to help your GP understand your problem.
Your answers are sent to your GP who responds as quickly as possible. Initial responses may be via online message or phone, with face-to-face or video consultation appointments scheduled if necessary.
NHS login
Setup your NHS login
Create an NHS login – click here to do this for the first time
Already have an NHS login?
Great – this means you can use your NHS login details to access care on many patient websites and apps (e.g. NHS App / Patient Knows Best / PATCHS). Just look out for the NHS login icon as shown below in examples:
NHS App
- view your health record – securely access your GP health record, to see information like your allergies and your current and past medicines. If your GP has given you access to your detailed medical record, you can also see information like test results and details of your consultations, you can also see scheduled or previous dates for hospital or GP appointments which can be extremely useful
- register your organ donation decision – choose to donate some or all of your organs and check your registered decision
- view your NHS number – find out what your NHS number is
- order repeat prescriptions – see your available medicines, request a new repeat prescription and choose a pharmacy for your prescriptions to be sent to
Antenatal Care (Maternity) Self-referral
Self-refer for antenatal care to the hospitals shown
- Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital (East Acton)
- St Mary’s Hospital (Paddington)
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (Chelsea)
- West Middlesex University Hospital (Isleworth)
or
find maternity services elsewhere in England
You should start your antenatal care as soon as possible once you know you’re pregnant. You can do this by referring yourself directly to maternity services near you. This is usually done by filling in an online form on your local hospital or NHS trust website.
Antenatal care is the care you get from health professionals during your pregnancy. It’s sometimes called pregnancy care or maternity care. You’ll be offered appointments with a midwife, or sometimes a doctor who specialises in pregnancy and birth (an obstetrician).