The Surgery
Amersham Health Centre
Chiltern Avenue
Amersham
Bucks HP6 5AY

Used to be 01494 434344 but that no longer works, also used to be 0870 890 2513.

Other numbers at the health centre do exist on Google, etc but these are for specialist facilities at the Health Centre, not the main reception which is what I am looking for.

Many thanks in advance.

I called the Chiltern and South Bucks Primary Care Trust (01494 606606)  who are responsible for the Amersham Health Centre.  Told them I needed a phone number that wasn't 08444 and they gave me 01494 722111.

Got straight through to Amersham Health Centre!

Will post on Unverified Listings

I notice that the website for Amersham Health Centre has both 0844 & 0870 numbers on the main page.

How confusing can you get !!  :-/

The 01494 722111 is on the website btw under Practice Staff, but it's nothing to do with the Surgery side !
We need to talk to the Practice Manager, Joyce Hayes about the cost of 0844 calls from mobiles & call boxes, etc.

They recently moved from the 0870 number to the 0844 number in response to an edict from on high to the effect that people should not have to pay national rate to contact local health care facilities (I'm sure you all know more about the ins and outs of this than I do).

The website has only partially been updated, as you have noticed.

I find the 0844 number inconvenient since I am using a bundled calls package (equivalent to BT Option 3) and these packages always exclude 08xx numbers so as a result I have to pay for calls to my GP.

I dialled the 01494 722111 number again and asked if I was speaking to Reception.  They confirmed I was, so I guess their website is even more confusing as it suggests you get through to health visitors etc.

So I say, dial the 722111 number - it gets you through to Reception for sure.   ;D

Now try booking an appointment to see a Doctor and see what they say !!

DOH !! ::)

You saying that you tried to book an appointment and they actually refused to book you an appointment because you dialled in on that number?

I didn't try to book an appointment because they would ask for patient ID for their appointment system.

If you didn't try to book an appointment, then can I suggest that Theo-Cupier who started this thread and is presumably a patient at that surgery, try to book an appointment and give us some feedback please?

I just tried ringing the 722111 number at 17.52 to see if I could book an appointment.

I got through to an answerphone message stating the opening hours for that line as 9am-5pm Monday - Friday (which is not so for the appointments line) and which directed me to the 08444 number for appointments.

The appointments number does give out of hours coverage (albeit directing you to another 08xx number) so it looks like we're not necessarily on the right tracks with this

I will try again during office hours tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks to all for your help thus far.

Thanks for trying Theo - will be interesting to see what happens when you call during 9-5.  

Under the GP Contract, Doctor's surgeries can officially hand over their reponsibilites to Out of Hours services from 6.30 p.m. until 8.00 a.m. the next morning, and from 6.30 p.m. Friday to 8.00 a.m. Monday.

If they are giving you an 0870 number to call Out of Hours, then that one needs investigating as well as that Out of Hours number will be used by several surgeries within that PCT!

If this surgery has been pressurised to change from an 0870 number (albeit to a 08444), then surely the PCT has the responsibility to pressurise the Out of Hours service to change as well!  The PCT is responsilble for commissioning the Out of Hours providers.

My wife - who has had more to do with the surgery than have I (ah, the pleasures of looking after 3 small children) - tells me that the 722111 number is a direct line to ancillary functions like health visitors etc and not the main reception.

I'll see what shrift I get trying to make an appointment tomorrow, but I sense this may not be the number we're looking for....

I have just tried the 722111 number above and tried to make an appointment.

I was immediately told that this was not possible on this number and that I needed to redial the 08444 number.
>:(

When I protested that this would be more expensive for me to use, I was offered an apology but told that this was just the way of the world. They categorically stated it was not possible to use a Geographic number to make an appointment.

The person I spoke to was of the impression that 08444 was a National Rate number - despite the posters littering the surgery advising that 084xx is a local number which they are using instead of the old national number!
::)

I think this is worth taking further with the practice manager...

wrote on Jul 12^th, 2005 at 9:11am:

I think this is worth taking further with the practice manager...

Good Luck.
Mind you we all subsidise much GP stuff - so why not their 'phones? Of course you could seek an appropriate reduction in their capitation - which was meant to allow for such things...

More seriously - Good Luck   :)