Family medicine
Your routine appointment for anything that is new, worrying, or has not settled on its own. Twenty-five minutes with a clinician who keeps your record.
- From
- £95
- Length
- 25 minutes
- Wait
- Same or next working day
Paediatrics
Appointments for children from birth to sixteen, in a clinic with a door on the waiting room and clinicians who examine children well.
- Appointment length
- 30 minutes
- From
- £110
- Typical wait
- Same day for unwell children
Under-fives clinic on Wednesday mornings is £85. Siblings seen in the same visit are £55 each.
Children are not small adults, and the thing that makes paediatrics difficult is that the serious presentations are rare, early, and look very much like the common ones for the first few hours.
What that means practically is that the examination matters enormously, and that the instruction you are given on leaving matters just as much. A child who is well enough to go home at four in the afternoon may not be at midnight. The job is to make sure you know, precisely, what that would look like.
The under-fives clinic
Wednesday mornings at Northgate, running as a drop-in between 08:30 and 11:30. It is intended for the things that do not feel big enough for an appointment: a rash that will not settle, weaning that is not going well, sleep that has fallen apart, a worry about words or walking.
No appointment is needed. Expect to wait, and expect the waiting room to be loud.
This appointment is for
- A child who is unwell and you want seen today rather than tomorrow
- Recurrent problems — chest, ears, tummy, skin — that keep coming back
- Feeding, sleep, growth or development you are not sure about
- A second opinion when you have been told to wait and see, twice
Step by step
What actually happens
From booking to follow-up, with how long each part takes. No stage of this is a surprise.
- 1
Call, and we will tell you how urgent it is
Within 30 minutes of callingUnwell children are triaged by a clinician, not a receptionist. If your child needs to be seen today we will find a slot. If they need to be somewhere other than here, we will say so immediately.
- 2
Arrive at a waiting room with a door
Northgate has a separate children's waiting area. A distressed toddler does not have to be distressed in front of a full room.
- 3
The examination
30 minutesThirty minutes, most of it unhurried. We examine children in whatever position they will tolerate — on a lap, standing up, mid-tantrum. We explain each step to the child as well as to you.
- 4
Safety-netting, in writing
Same dayYou will leave knowing exactly what to watch for, what would mean coming back, and what would mean going straight to hospital. This is written down, because nobody remembers it at two in the morning.
- 5
A direct line for 72 hours
72 hoursAfter an urgent appointment you get a number that reaches a clinician, not a queue, for three days. Most parents never use it. It is still the thing they say mattered most.
How quickly can an unwell child be seen?
Same day, every weekday. Call before 10am and it will usually be a morning slot. We hold urgent paediatric capacity back deliberately and do not release it for routine booking.
My child hates being examined. Is that a problem?
No. It is the normal case, not the exception. Dr Mensah in particular is very good at getting what he needs from a child who has decided this is not happening, and a child who is crying is giving us useful information about their chest.
Do you give childhood vaccinations?
We give travel vaccinations and some catch-up schedules. Routine childhood immunisations are best given by your NHS practice, where they go onto the national record automatically. We will tell you if you are behind schedule.
Can you see a teenager on their own?
Yes. From around thirteen we will usually offer part of the appointment without a parent present, with the young person's agreement. Confidentiality and its limits are explained to them directly.
What if my child needs a hospital?
We phone ahead and speak to the on-call paediatric team ourselves, so you arrive expected rather than joining a queue cold. We will tell you which hospital and why.
You might also need
Video consultations
A full appointment with your own clinician, by video, for the many problems that do not need you to be in the room — and an honest answer when yours does.
- From
- £70
- Length
- 20 minutes
- Wait
- Same day, including 07:30 and 19:00 slots