Sinusitis, sore throat, ear infection and hay fever.
Assessed and treated by a GMC-registered GP
Prescriptions, sick notes and referral letters included
A written treatment plan after every appointment
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Every condition below has its own page covering symptoms, causes, how it is diagnosed, whether it can be treated online, and when to seek urgent help.
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Most of what arrives here is self-limiting and needs reassurance more than antibiotics. Where treatment genuinely helps, it can usually be arranged the same day.
Hay fever is the notable one: when pharmacy antihistamines aren't working, the usual reason is a missing nasal steroid or poor spray technique, not an inadequate tablet.
This is a category where a great deal turns on looking inside things we cannot see. Ears, throats and eyes are examined with instruments, and no video call substitutes for that.
What a consultation genuinely gives you here is triage and a plan — what this is, how long it should last, what would mean you need to be seen, and whether treatment would change anything.
Most sore throats are viral, and most get better without antibiotics whatever is done. Even bacterial tonsillitis typically shortens by only about a day with treatment.
We prescribe where infection is genuinely likely and not otherwise — and we earn nothing from prescribing. What you get instead is a clear expected timeline and specific reasons to seek help.
Spray technique, which is where most of them fail: aim outward toward the ear on the same side, not up the middle. Use the opposite hand. Breathe in gently rather than sniffing hard. Aiming at the septum causes the nosebleeds people blame the spray for.
NHS Pharmacy First covers sore throat, earache in children, sinusitis and infected insect bites at many pharmacies — free, no appointment, and faster than us.
Free NHS hearing tests and hearing aids through audiology, and free eye tests for several groups including over-60s, children, and people with diabetes or glaucoma in the family.
Ear candles, which do not work and cause burns and perforations. Decongestant sprays used beyond a few days, which cause rebound congestion. Air purifiers and nasal filters. And depot steroid injections for hay fever, still advertised privately and no longer recommended in the UK.
Because most sore throats are viral, and even bacterial tonsillitis typically shortens by only about a day with antibiotics.
What you get instead is a clear answer on what this is, how long it should last, and the specific signs that would mean you need to be seen. Unnecessary antibiotics cause thrush, diarrhoea and resistance without shortening the illness.
Difficulty breathing or swallowing, drooling, or a muffled voice — that is A&E, because the airway may be at risk.
And a sore throat or hoarseness lasting more than three weeks needs an urgent referral, particularly in a smoker. That is the one people wait on.
Usually they never were enough on their own. A nasal corticosteroid spray is the most effective single hay fever treatment, and combining it with an antihistamine works considerably better than either alone.
Most people missing control are missing that second half.
Probably not — almost nobody is. Aim outward, toward the ear on the same side, never up the middle. Use the opposite hand — right hand, left nostril — which produces the angle naturally. Breathe in gently; do not sniff hard.
Aiming at the septum causes nosebleeds and delivers the dose to the wrong place.
No — and that is a genuine limitation rather than a technicality. Diagnosing an ear infection properly needs a view of the eardrum.
What we can do is assess how likely infection is, give you a clear plan, and tell you what would mean you need to be seen. Many pharmacies now treat earache in children under NHS Pharmacy First, free and without an appointment.
Olive oil drops for several days often resolve it, and that is worth trying first.
Never use cotton buds — they push wax further in and cause most of the problems. Removal is done by audiology or private clinics; and please avoid ear candles, which do not work and cause burns and perforated eardrums.
That is an emergency — seek urgent care today. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss can often be improved by steroid treatment started within days, and the window closes.
It is frequently mistaken for wax or an infection and waited out, which is exactly what loses the hearing.
Most viral sinusitis improves within ten days without antibiotics.
What warrants review: symptoms beyond ten days, or worsening after initially improving — the classic double-worsening pattern. Urgent: swelling around the eye, severe headache, or visual change.
No — and this is widely misunderstood. Conjunctivitis requires no exclusion from school or nursery. Most is viral and self-limiting.
A painful red eye with reduced vision or light sensitivity is different, and that needs same-day assessment.
Usually not, but two patterns need assessment: tinnitus in one ear only, and tinnitus that pulses in time with your heartbeat.
Most tinnitus is associated with hearing loss, and treating that hearing loss is often the most effective thing available. Free NHS hearing tests are worth using.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 29, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews
