GETTING HELP WITH: Appointments
For emergencies out of hours
Click HereAnima
You can now contact us via Anima. You can register with Anima using your NHS Login. If you don’t have an NHS Login, you can use your e-mail address.
Please note: when registering for Anima, please set your ‘GP practice’ as Valens Medical Partnership (NE61 1BJ). Valens is the GP practice encompassing all eight surgeries.
We recommend you try to contact us via Anima as it is easier and faster than by phone. Our online service is simple, easy to use, and secure. Our navigation team manages the service during core opening hours and allows us to route you to the right care quickly.
Anima is open for requests from 7:30 AM every weekday and closes at 5:30 PM.
You can also use the online service if you are a parent or carer acting for someone else within the practice.
For advice and treatment from our healthcare team, you can now contact us to arrange:
- Telephone and face-to-face appointments
- Medical advice for common problems
- Repeat prescriptions
- New fit notes/fit note extensions and GP letters
- Results from recent tests
Contacting us by telephone
If you cannot use our online service please help us to manage call demand by considering when you contact us and which option you need.
To book a routine telephone appointment with a GP, please call as close to 8AM as possible.
Our telephone options are:
1. For GP appointments, home visits, or test results
2. For prescription requests and queries
3. For nurse appointments, the COVID vaccination team, podiatry, and District Nurses
4. For insurance and medical reports
5. For referral queries
Our telephone numbers are listed below:
Cramlington: 01670 737283
Seaton Delaval: 0191 237 5458
Seaton Sluice: 0191 298 0901
Ashington: 01670 812772
Morpeth: 01670 502333
Lynemouth: 01670 860212
Pegswood: 01670 515326
Newbiggin: 01670 816921
Translation services
It is important for all of our patients, regardless of background or circumstance, to be able to understand their consultations and take an active part in their care. Where needed, translation services can be provided for patients who cannot speak English, or use British Sign Language. Translation services are provided by Language Empire.
If you or someone you know requires an interpreter for any consultations, please let us know the language you speak. We will amend your medical records with this information to make your ongoing care easier for you to access.
Remote consultation
You may be offered a remote consultation as an alternative to attending the practice in person. If the clinician feels you may require a physical examination or face-to-face appointment, they will arrange this during your remote consultation.
If you agree to a remote consultation the GP or healthcare professional may need to receive and store images taken by patients for clinical purposes; this could include images for the purpose of intimate clinical assessment. This will only be done in the interests of the patient where it is necessary for providing health care and with patient consent.
The approach to video consulting, image sharing, and storage is the same as for face-to-face interactions. If we need to store images on your GP record this will be only for as long as necessary. It is a patient’s choice to share an image either of a patient’s own accord or at the request of the health professional treating you. Refusal to share an image does not prevent access to care and treatment or result in patients receiving an inferior standard of care. Further details about how remote consultation works can be obtained by contacting the practice.
REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS
Set out in the Equality Act 2010 all health and care services have a legal duty to ensure that they adapt and support people with disabilities to be able to access services in a way that they are accessible to everyone else. This includes people with a physical disability, sensory disability, learning disability or a long-term condition such as dementia.
By identifying the need and providing reasonable adjustments in a timely and effective manner it can lead to improved outcomes and experiences for patients and health and care staff.
For more information on reasonable adjustments, click here.
Named GP
All patients have a named GP who is responsible for their overall care at the practice. If you do not know who your named GP is or if you have a preference as to which GP you have, please contact the surgery and the practice will try to accommodate your request.
Medical Students – Consent and confidentiality
Medical students may be present at our practice in order for them to gain valuable clinical experience. Please make the receptionist aware if you do not wish them to be present during your appointment and/or to view your medical record.
This will not affect your care in any way and your right to confidentiality in every aspect of your care is understood and respected.
