Who Do I Call for Same-Day Telephone GP Advice on a Weekend? Your Options in the UK 2026

On a Saturday or Sunday, a private telephone GP is often the fastest way to speak to a doctor in the UK. NHS 111 is free and always available for advice, but when you need an actual consultation, a prescription, a fit note or a referral at the weekend, a private phone GP can usually speak to you within hours. At The Online GP by The Wellness, weekend phone consultations run Saturday and Sunday from £59. Here is how weekend access works and which route fits which problem.

Your weekend options, honestly compared

NHS 111 is the free starting point: trained advisers triage you day and night and can book out-of-hours GP appointments when needed. What you cannot choose is timing, and the out-of-hours queue on a busy weekend can mean hours waiting for a call back. Pharmacies are the other free-route workhorse, open on weekends and now treating several common conditions under Pharmacy First, including sore throats, earache in children, sinusitis, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.

A private telephone GP sits alongside these: you get a named doctor, at a time you book, with enough time to deal with the problem properly, and with the prescriptions, fit notes and referral letters a weekend illness often needs. Urgent treatment centres and A&E remain the right place for anything severe: chest pain, difficulty breathing, signs of stroke, severe injuries or a child who is seriously unwell.

What a weekend phone consultation can sort out

Most weekend problems are everyday ones that cannot wait for Monday: a child with a fever and a rash, a urinary infection, a migraine, a flare of back pain before a work trip, a chesty cough that is getting worse, food poisoning, a mental health wobble, or a forgotten repeat prescription when your own surgery is shut. A telephone GP can assess all of these, send a private prescription electronically to a weekend-open pharmacy, issue a fit note for Monday morning, or arrange a specialist referral so it is waiting for you rather than starting the process on Monday afternoon.

Where a problem needs a physical examination, such as a mole, an ear that needs looking into or a joint injury, a responsible phone GP will tell you and arrange an in-person appointment instead. At The Online GP by The Wellness, weekend in-person appointments at Unit 4, 10 Portman Square, London W1H 6AZ run alongside phone and video slots.

How to speak to a doctor this weekend

Weekend appointments at The Online GP by The Wellness run Saturday and Sunday, including evenings. Phone consultations are £59, video £150 and in-person £220, with prescriptions, fit notes and referrals included when clinically appropriate. To book for this weekend, message us on WhatsApp, book your consultation or call 020 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions

Who do I call for same-day GP advice on a weekend?

NHS 111 is free and open all weekend for advice and triage. If you want an actual consultation with a doctor at a time you choose, with prescriptions or paperwork included, a private telephone GP can usually speak to you within hours on a Saturday or Sunday.

Can a phone GP prescribe at the weekend?

Yes. A private prescription is sent electronically to a pharmacy that is open near you, and in London many pharmacies trade on Saturdays and Sundays, so most common medications can be collected the same day.

Is a weekend phone consultation safe for children?

For many childhood illnesses, yes: fever, rashes, coughs, earache and stomach upsets are routinely assessed by phone or video, and the doctor will direct you to in-person or urgent care whenever examination or observation is needed. A child with breathing difficulty, floppy or unresponsive behaviour, or signs of severe illness needs emergency care, not a phone call.

What does a weekend private GP cost?

At The Online GP by The Wellness the rate is the same seven days a week: £59 by phone, £150 by video and £220 in person. There is no weekend surcharge.

Can I get a fit note at the weekend for Monday?

Yes. If you are unwell over the weekend and will not be fit for work, a weekend consultation can assess you and issue a fit note the same day, so it is in your inbox before Monday morning.

References

NHS. NHS 111 online. nhs.uk, 2026.

NHS England. Pharmacy First: conditions pharmacies can treat. england.nhs.uk, 2025.

NHS. Urgent treatment centres. nhs.uk, 2025.

Written by The Wellness Team and medically reviewed by The Wellness Clinical Team. This article is for information only. In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.