From S. Sweeney

Saturday, 7 November 2015

Hi, national monitoring of GPs rates the Hebden Practice quite highly, which couldn't be said of the practice in Todmorden which has had a number of problems in recent years. I think this is borne out by my personal experience and that of family members. Having said that, it makes sense to register with the nearest practice and you will probably find that it is usually up to the practices which area you come under.

From Anne H

Saturday, 7 November 2015

What I would say is think about it very carefully rather than going off anecdotal evidence. It seems that people moan about their GPs wherever they are, so a few derogatory remarks don't necessarily mean it will be better somewhere else.

The waiting times can be as long as 3-4 weeks if it's not urgent or if you want to see a specific doctor, but I've never waiting that long personally, because I'm happy to see any doctor or a nurse practitioner if it's appropriate.

If you have a problem that you feel needs a same-day appointment, the duty doctor will call you back and use his/her clinical judgement to decide if it's urgent, in which case you will get an appointment the same day. Or you can book a telephone advice call.

You can still use the Walk-in Centre at Tod if you get sick at the weekend or a Bank holiday. It's closer than A&E and will be much closer than Huddersfield if they close A&E at Halifax! (It's in the same building as the Todmorden Group Practice, but completely separate - confusing!

It's also worth looking at the GP Patient Survey.

From Jenny B

Monday, 9 November 2015

Firstly, you register with a GP in your catchment area, so Todmorden v Hebden Bridge wouldn't usually be a choice.

Personally, having knowledge of both Practices, I would choose Hebden Bridge. There are 3 venues within the group so you can generally get an appointment quite soon.

The online booking works fine if you are arranging a routine appointment.
If you need a same day one, you can usually get in after a telephone triage type call or see one of the nurses.

Ours is a good Group Practice with lots of services offered locally that other surgeries do not offer.

From Susi Harris

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Not enough people know that there are actually two GP practices in the Todmorden Health Centre (as well as the Walk-in service which operates from there at weekends).

The Calder Community Practice is upstairs, has much better access times and does accept patients from Hebden Bridge (on the understanding that they cannot guarantee to visit them at home).

Previously

HebWeb Forum: Local GP appointments about to get worse! (Jan 2013)

HebWeb Forum: Getting a doctor's appointment (June 2011)