Ileach Update 9th October 2021
Changes to Appointment Booking
Despite the rising Covid-19 cases on the island, we appreciate that some of our patients are becoming frustrated with having to go through telephone triage in order to get a face-to-face appointment with a doctor. With this in mind, from Monday 11th October we will be reopening a number of book-ahead face to face appointments with the GPs which can be booked directly without requiring a telephone appointment first. These appointments would be best used for conditions that require examination such as joint problems, skin conditions, ear problems etc. We are still having to keep to a 1 metre distance in our waiting areas so these slots will be limited to start with. All urgent, ‘on the day’ appointments will continue to be offered as a telephone call in the first instance, but as always if the GP should need to see you face to face this will be arranged with you.
In order for this system to work, we need your help and support as patients. Before booking, please carefully consider the following:
Is my condition a medical emergency? If so, dial 999
Can I manage this condition without medical attention by following advice available at www.nhsinform.scot, or through any of the self-help links available on our website?
Can my condition or query be dealt with over the telephone? If so please continue to choose a telephone appointment when booking a contact with a GP.
As before, our team will ask you to give some information as to the reason for your request to see a GP. It is important that you give as much information as possible to allow our admin team to guide you to the most appropriate appointment. If you are requesting a direct face-to-face appointment with a GP, you must give the reason for this when booking the appointment – if you do not give a reason, you will be offered a telephone appointment first. All of our staff are bound by the same confidentiality rules as our clinical team and we take any breach of this extremely seriously.
If you develop symptoms that could be consistent with Covid-19 prior to attending your face-to-face appointment, please immediately isolate along with your household and contact the surgery as soon as possible to postpone or cancel the appointment. You should then organise a PCR test by calling 01496 305308 as soon as possible. Further information regarding testing, household isolation and who requires a test can be found via the Test and Protect section of the Covid-19 advice at www.nhsinform.scot.
Urgent (on-the-day) telephone appointments
Also from Monday 11th October, we will slightly change the way that we offer urgent on-the-day telephone appointments. These can be booked for urgent conditions that cannot wait for the next routine telephone slot by calling your registered practice, but the receptionists will no longer be able to tell you which GP the call back will be from. The GPs will work through the list of urgent telephone appointments from across the three practice sites, so you will receive a call back from the next available GP. This is to allow the GP team to support each other in managing appointment demand and workload across the three sites. We hope that this means that you will be called back sooner, and as usual if you need to be seen face to face this will be arranged with you at the time. If you wish to speak to a specific GP, this will only be possible via the routine, book ahead slots, either by telephone or face to face.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we implement these changes, all with the aim of making accessing appointments easier and more convenient while maintaining the safety and well-being of our staff and patients.