An unhurried consultation covering treatment, review and referral — with time to actually talk.
Assessed and prescribed by a GMC-registered GP
Prescriptions sent electronically to a pharmacy
Monitoring and follow-up included where it is needed
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
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
Twenty minutes changes what is possible in a mental health consultation. It is the difference between a hurried decision and an actual conversation.
The appointment covers how you have been, what has helped before, and what the sensible next step is — which is not always medication.
Options include talking therapy and self-referral routes, antidepressant treatment where appropriate, and review of medication you are already taking.
Do not wait for an appointment.
Severe depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder, an eating disorder or complex risk need specialist in-person care. We will say so honestly and help you reach it rather than treating something we should not.
An underactive thyroid, iron deficiency and B12 deficiency all present as low mood and fatigue. Worth excluding before treating as purely psychological.
For mild to moderate depression and most anxiety disorders, CBT performs comparably to medication and its benefit lasts longer after stopping. In England you can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies without a GP letter, free.
Antidepressants work, and are worth taking when indicated. They are not addictive, though they do need reducing gradually rather than stopping abruptly.
Side effects usually come before benefit. Anxiety can briefly worsen. Full effect takes four to six weeks. Knowing this in advance is why early follow-up matters — most people who stop do so in week two.
Treatment usually continues six months beyond recovery, then reduces gradually.
Antidepressants commonly cause nausea, sleep disturbance and sexual side effects, particularly in the first weeks. Anxiety can briefly worsen before it improves, which is why early follow-up matters.
Never stop an antidepressant abruptly — it should be reduced gradually with advice.
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please do not wait for an appointment. Call 999 or go to A&E if you are in immediate danger, or call 111 or the Samaritans on 116 123 at any time.
Remote care may not be appropriate for severe depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder or complex risk, and the GP will tell you honestly if that is the case.
Side effects usually arrive before benefit. Nausea, disturbed sleep, headache and jitteriness are common in the first one to two weeks and usually settle.
Anxiety can briefly worsen before it improves, which is genuinely unpleasant and entirely expected. Most people who stop an antidepressant do so in week two, before it has had a chance to work — which is precisely why early follow-up matters.
Usually at least six months beyond feeling better, and longer after repeated episodes. Stopping as soon as you feel well is the commonest cause of relapse.
Never stop abruptly. Discontinuation symptoms — dizziness, electric-shock sensations, flu-like feelings, vivid dreams, irritability — are common and can be considerable, particularly with paroxetine and venlafaxine.
Reduce slowly, in steps, over weeks to months, and more slowly at the lower doses, which is where most of the difficulty is. This is not addiction — antidepressants are not addictive — but the body does adjust, and coming off properly takes planning.
For mild to moderate depression and most anxiety disorders, CBT performs comparably to medication — and its benefit lasts longer after it stops.
In England you can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies without a GP letter, free. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent routes. This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it is under-used because people assume they need a referral.
Options include CBT, guided self-help, counselling, and digital programmes — some available immediately while a waiting list moves.
Several treatable physical conditions present exactly as low mood and fatigue:
Exercise, with genuine evidence for mild to moderate depression. Sleep, addressed directly. Reducing alcohol. Social contact, which is the thing depression removes first and which matters most.
St John's Wort has some evidence — but it interacts dangerously with contraception, antidepressants, warfarin and several other medicines, so tell us if you take it.
Severe depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder, an eating disorder or complex risk need specialist in-person care. We will say so honestly and help you reach it rather than treating something we should not.
Antidepressants are among the cheapest prescriptions there are. Sertraline, fluoxetine and citalopram are inexpensive generics. We earn nothing from what is prescribed.
NHS Talking Therapies takes self-referrals in England — no GP letter, no charge. For mild to moderate depression and most anxiety disorders, CBT works comparably to medication and its benefit outlasts it.
We will point you there whether or not medication is also appropriate. Waiting lists vary, and digital and guided self-help options are often available immediately.
Check the therapist is registered — BABCP for CBT, BACP or UKCP for counselling and psychotherapy. "Therapist" and "life coach" are not protected titles in the UK, and anybody may use them.
Many registered therapists offer reduced rates, and charities including Mind provide low-cost options.
No supplements, no "mood" products, no packages. We sell nothing.
And we will not recommend private therapy where the free NHS route would serve you as well — for most people, it will.
Do not wait for an appointment.
No, and it is not always the right answer.
For mild to moderate depression and most anxiety disorders, talking therapy works comparably to medication and lasts longer after stopping. In England you can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies free, without a GP letter.
Medication is genuinely useful for moderate to severe depression, and often best combined with therapy.
No — they do not cause craving or dose escalation, which is what addiction means.
But the body does adjust, and stopping abruptly causes discontinuation symptoms — dizziness, electric-shock sensations, flu-like feelings, vivid dreams. These are real and sometimes considerable, particularly with paroxetine and venlafaxine.
The answer is reducing slowly over weeks to months, not avoiding treatment.
Some benefit by two to four weeks; full effect at four to six.
Side effects come first, and anxiety can briefly worsen before it improves. That is expected — and it is why most people who stop do so in week two, just before it would have started helping.
Usually at least six months beyond feeling better, and longer after repeated episodes.
Stopping as soon as you feel well is the commonest cause of relapse — feeling well is the treatment working, not evidence it is no longer needed.
Worth checking, and routinely missed. Thyroid disease, iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, sleep apnoea and perimenopause all present as low mood and exhaustion.
Alcohol is a depressant and is very often part of the picture, which is worth being honest about.
They overlap considerably and the distinction matters. Burnout is tied to circumstances — it lifts on holiday and returns on Monday; depression generally does not lift.
Burnout sometimes needs the circumstances changed rather than the person treated, and an antidepressant will not fix an untenable job.
They should not, and if they do, that needs reviewing. Some people describe emotional blunting — feeling flattened rather than better — which is a recognised effect and a reason to change dose or drug.
Say so rather than putting up with it. The aim is to feel like yourself, not to feel less.
Common, under-discussed, and a frequent reason people stop without telling anyone.
Please raise it. Reduced libido, delayed orgasm and erectile difficulty can often be managed by changing dose or switching — and it is far better addressed than endured.
A small amount is not dangerous with most — but alcohol is a depressant and works directly against the treatment. It also worsens sleep and increases the sedative effect.
Honest advice: cutting down considerably makes the treatment work better.
It has some evidence for mild depression — but it interacts dangerously with several medicines, including hormonal contraception, other antidepressants, warfarin and epilepsy medication.
It causes unintended pregnancies every year. Tell us if you are taking it.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 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
