Appointments

A face-to-face appointment can be booked by telephone or calling at the Brora surgery between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00 Monday - Friday. Helmsdale surgery reception is manned between 09:00 – 17:00.  You will speak to a receptionist who will try to book you into a GP of your choice. Some points about appointments:

• Appointments last for 15 minutes, and the doctor will try to deal with the problems you wish to discuss in that time.
•  If, however, you have a number of problems, it is sensible and safer for you and the doctor if you book an extended or double appointment, otherwise they will not be able to deal with all your issues at one visit and they will ask you to rebook a further appointment to discuss any remaining problems. This is fairer on other patients who are waiting after you.
• Please try to be on time for your appointments. If you are more than 15 minutes late your appointment will be cancelled and you will have to rebook a new appointment.
• Patients from Brora and Helmsdale are welcome to use appointments at either surgery if it is convenient for you.

Telephone Appointments

These are an excellent way to discuss issues with the doctor if you need some simple health advice, have a query about your treatment or test results, or wish to decide if you need to see a doctor about a health problem. They will normally be conducted within a couple of hours of you calling the surgery in the morning so are an excellent way gain rapid advice from the comfort of your home; in some cases the GP may even be able to prescribe a treatment over the phone for you, saving you the need to come and wait at the surgery.  You can book a telephone consultation by calling the receptionist and asking for a telephone appointment. She will give you a time when the doctor will call you back to discuss your issues. Please treat these appointments in the same manner as a face-to-face appointment and be waiting to receive the call. 

Urgent Appointments

Urgent appointments should only be requested for problems that you feel need to be seen the same day and cannot medically wait:

•  Please call the surgery as early as possible and say you are requesting an urgent appointment.
• You will be asked to give the reason for this to the receptionist; she may need to ask the GP if this justifies an urgent appointment. If it is felt this could wait for a normal appointment, you will be instructed to make a regular appointment.
•  You will be asked to present yourself at the end of the routine surgery and wait until the GP can see you - specific times are not given
• If two GPs are on duty, you will be seen by whichever GP is free at the time - it is not possible to request an urgent appointment with a specific GP.  

Please use the urgent appointments system fairly with regard to the needs of others. Problems which DO NOT count as an urgent appointment include:

• Running out of repeat prescriptions
• Wanting a sickness certificate
• Minor illnesses that can clearly wait for a routine appointment; e.g. warts,  colds (try calling NHS24 for advice first).
• Problems which are chronic (present for a few weeks) and are not worsening, e.g. headaches, backaches etc.

If you are in doubt, why not book a telephone consultation to discuss your problem? We may be able to sort it out without you needing to see a GP on the same day, or can give you simple advice to manage your problem and bring you to a routine appointment the next day.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else. We recognise that we are all human, and are sometimes late or forget an appointment we have made and do not let people know. Once per year is excusable. Twice per year is tolerable. But missing three appointments in a year is unfair on other patients in the community, and as this has become a significant problem, we are now taking action against repeat offenders.

Minor injuries

Cuts/Sprains/Bites/Falls): what to do?

Although we are not funded to provide a minor injuries service at the practice (this service is provided by the Primary Care Trust and is funded for this purpose at the Lawson/Cambusavie Hospital, Golspie), the practice has decided to provide a GP led telephone triage assessment of minor injuries.  

If you feel the injury is serious or life threatening call 999 and then phone the practice-our GP's are all highly trained in emergency medicine (BASICS) and will attend immediately. If the injury is not life threatening, phone the practice first, tell the receptionist what the problem is and a GP will call you back.

You may be asked to attend the surgery, or for more complex treatment (such as stitching, X-rays, cleaning and dressing of wounds) to the Lawson Memorial Hospital Minor Injuries unit.  Remember you can still attend the Lawson Hospital without phoning in advance as this is a 24 hour GP led minor injuries assessment unit-in some circumstances this may be quicker if your GP is, for example consulting, is on house visits or single handed that day. 

By providing this voluntary practice service we hope we can exceed the expectations of patients in our community, balancing this with the need to use the Lawson Hospital to protect its viability as a minor injuries unit. 

Chaperone Policy

We understand that some examinations can be embarrassing, particularly intimate examinations performed by a doctor of the opposite sex. You may feel more comfortable with another person present (e.g. a nurse, or receptionist), and we will arrange this for you if you request this.

However, sadly, some doctors in the UK have been falsely accused of assault in the past when performing intimate examinations, and therefore the doctor may request a "chaperone" (another member of staff, usually a practice nurse or receptionist) be present for their own protection. This is no reflection on you; the doctor is simply ensuring they follow recommended procedures, particularly when undertaking breast, genital, or rectal examinations on the opposite sex.

If the doctor requests a chaperone and you insist you will not have one present, they may request you see another doctor (e.g. one of the same sex) for the examination unless there is a clear urgent need to undertake action during the consultation.

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 11:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)