Can another health professional help?
Sometimes a GP may not be the most appropriate healthcare professional to deal with your ailment. Other professionals such as pharmacists, opticians and dentists may be better placed to help.
Access to Doctors
Our ‘on-call’ clinical team of Doctors and Advance Nurse Practitioners deal with urgent problems and home visits (for housebound patients only). We have specialists available within our team to help with a variety of other problems. You have access to Listening service, Psychology Liaison (PALMS) for mental health, Physio for joint and muscle pain problems, Pharmacy support for medication queries, and the Community Treatment Centre Specialist nurses for wound care, blood tests and some chronic disease management check ups. We also have links to Social Services through our Link Worker known as SOS (sources of support) and Debt and Benefits advice.
We would appreciate your help when asked for information by our admin team:
- To give an idea of the problem. This helps us direct you appropriately. We can also prevent unnecessary visits for you to the practice when you might be more efficiently looked after by another member of the Health and Social Care team.
- Requested prescriptions will be available within 48 working hours of your request unless there are any issues that make your prescription request difficult. This might include supply issues or ordering of items that are no longer safe or indicated clinically. Please check with your Pharmacy first to see if the prescription is ready to collect there. If you experience any issues and need to call in please avoid busy times such as start and end of the day, or consider e Consult.
- Please contact us as soon as possible if cancelling/rearranging booked appointments. Failing to turn up has a huge impact on appointment availability
- You can phone for results between 14:20 and 15:00, Pm, Monday to Thursday, but we will contact you if your results are abnormal in most cases.
- Please call for a home visit before 10.00 am wherever possible. Home visits are for housebound patients only and after 10:00 the day is already planned and visits might have to be put in for the next working day.
Routine appointments
To request a routine appointment :
- Please phone during opening hours. Lines open at 08:00 and often demand outstrips supply unfortunately. You will be able to use e Consult as well which you might find more convenient.
- You can use consulting online thought e Consult during opening hours. You will receive a reply to any requests made this way within 48 working hours, but we endeavour where possible to reply the same day.
- Attending reception between 08:00 and 09:30 in person is difficult for us to deal with as it is often the busiest time on the phone lines. We are unable to arrange appointments in person at this time as the call queue is prioritised.
When you get in touch, the more information you can provide our team will allow us to direct you more efficiently to the correct clinical or admin person to deal with your problem. This might often someone other than the GP. You might be offered help from our team of Doctors & Advanced Nurse Practitioners, or our Practice Nurse. We also have a range of other allied health professionals such as Physio, Psychology Liaison, Listening Service, Pharmacy Support, Health Visitors and the Community Treatment Centre Nursing team.
Advanced Nurse Practioners – You will often be offered an appointment with one of our very experienced ANP’s. Our ANP’s are qualified to deal with most conditions seen by GP’s. They can prescribe and refer you to the Hospital where needed, and you may be seen more quickly.
This practice offers NHS Near Me video appointments, powered by the Attend Anywhere system.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
Cancel your appointment:
- Please phone us as soon as you can during opening hours
- If you are late for an appointment you may be asked to re-book. This is because the clinics are always full and the clinician will likely have moved on. Even if the clinician is running late, there are no gaps.
Routine vaccinations
Vaccinations help protect you and your family from many infectious diseases. You’ll be offered different routine vaccinations at different times, depending on your age and circumstances. For most routine vaccinations, your local health board will invite you by sending you a letter when you become eligible.You do not need to contact them to arrange your vaccinations.
You may be invited to a new location to receive your immunisations instead of your GP practice.
Your appointment
However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:
- by phone
- face to face at the surgery
- e Consult
- video
Appointments by phone e Consult or video can be more flexible which often allows us to help you sooner.
If you need help with your appointment
Please tell us:
- if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond. This might reduce availability and take longer to arrange but we will try where possible to facilitate this.
- if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, or by face-to-face. There are some conditions that are needed to be seen face to face but we can help to decide that with you.
- if you need an interpreter
- if you have any other access or communication needs
If you need help when we are closed
The 111 service provides urgent care information and support if you think you need A&E but its not life-threatening, and advice when your GP, pharmacy or dental practice is closed.
Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
When to call 999
You should only call 999 in a medical emergency, when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.
- Emergencies can include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Cardiac arrest
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- An acute confused state
- Chest pains
- Breathing difficulties
- Severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
- Severe allergic reactions
- Severe burns or scalds
- Major trauma, such as a road traffic accident or fall from a height.
If you are unsure if it is an emergency, call NHS 24 on 111.
What happens when you call 999
An operator will ask which emergency service you need. If it’s a medical emergency, ask for the ambulance service. The ambulance service will ask some questions to find out what has happened and arrange the most appropriate help.
Further information is available on the Scottish Ambulance Service website.
By only calling 999 for serious illnesses or injuries, it means that people who need essential treatment can get it as soon as possible.
Home visits
Please call for a home visit before 10.00 am wherever possible. Home visits are for housebound patients only, and after 10:00 the day is already planned. Late requests for home visits might have to be put in for the next working day.
Additional information about your appointment with us
Can I bring someone to accompany me to the Appointment?
We are generally very happy for patients to bring with them a carer, relative or even a friend. This often helps, particularly when they know you well and it allows them to tell us any observations they would make about you, which can help us in undertaking our assessment. Ultimately this will lead us more quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and therefore help you more.
Also, having someone with you means they can prompt you to ask questions that you may have forgotten, and after the appointment they can help in reminding you what was discussed.
Occasionally we might ask for them to leave but this would be unusual.
If you require interpretation services please contact us in advance of you appointment and we will arrange this.
Chaperone Policy
We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.
You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.
Giving Consent for Treatment
You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.
Your valid consent (agreement to the course of action) is needed for the treatment that’s offered to you before any physical examinations or treatment can be given. If you haven’t given your consent, you can accept or refuse treatment that’s offered to you.
It’s important to be involved in decisions about your treatment and to be given information to help you choose the right treatment. When making treatment choices, you’ll often discuss the options with your doctor or another healthcare professional.
If you have a suspected infectious disease
Please inform reception if you suspect an infectious disease, as this will enable us to deal with it appropriately during your visit to protect you, other patients and staff.
Interpreter
If you require an interpreter to attend with you when you see your Doctor please notify the receptionist and this will be arranged.
Intimate Examinations
During your care, a doctor may need to examine you in order to provide you with the best care. Occasionally this may involve an examination of intimate areas. We understand that this can be stressful and embarrassing. If this sort of examination is necessary:
- We will explain to you why the examination is necessary and give you the opportunity to ask questions.
- We will explain what the examination will involve, including whether you can expect it to be painful or uncomfortable.
- We will obtain your permission before carrying out this examination You will be offered a chaperone.
- At all times we will respect your privacy during the examination and while dressing and undressing.
Your doctor and the nursing staff will be happy to discuss any concerns you have about this.