Appointments

Appointment system for GP’s

Routine appointments with GP’s can be booked up to 6 weeks in advance.  We also release a number of routine appointments each day at 8am & 2pm these are offered on a first come first served basis so every patient is not guaranteed an appointment.   You may be asked to call back on another day if there is no availability.  If something is urgent and cannot wait please make the medical administrator aware and you will be added the urgent duty doctor triage list for that day.  If an appointment is required the duty doctor will arrange this with you or you may be called by the administration team.  There may be some occasions where the duty doctor decides the issue can wait for a routine appointment and you will be advised of this. 

We offer face to face and telephone appointments.  Not all issues can be dealt with over the telephone, the medical administrator will ask you for a brief description of the issue and advise on the correct appointment type.

If you have more than one issue you wish to talk about, it may not be possible to deal with them in one appointment and you may be asked to book another appointment.  Please discuss the most important issue first.

The number of routine appointments that are released each day varies as the GP’s may be involved in other things such as, teaching medical students, training with registrars, home visits and also care home visits.  GP’s also need time to interpret results from tests and read and process correspondence from consultants and outpatient clinics.  GP’s also need time to complete requests from patients for insurance claim forms, acute prescription requests, patient referrals and other administration work.

Appointment availability can also change at short notice in times of emergency leave and or staff sickness. 

Please call 0131 3365432 to book appointments this line is open 8am - 1pm then 2pm - 6pm Monday - Friday

Our Practice Nurse team are here to see patients in the surgery. 

To arrange a Practice Nurse appointment:

• Telephone the surgery reception on 0131 336 5432
• The medical administrator will ask you what the appointment is for and provide you with an appointment date and time to attend

Pharmacy First

Some conditions can be dealt with by any pharmacy through pharmacy first and the medical administrators may ask you to try the pharmacy in the first instance for certain conditions.

Pharmacy First Plus

Some pharmacies also offer pharmacy first plus for some common clinical conditions.  Please note not all pharmacies offer this service.  As this requires additional training to become an independent prescriber, it is advised you check with pharmacy if this available and what times it is offered.

Please use the following link for conditions suitable for pharmacy: Conditions for Signposting Pharmacy First.docx 

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 10am.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. A 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. The receptionist will ask for a few brief details to assist the doctor in determining the urgency of the call and your co-operation with this is appreciated. Due to other commitments, we cannot always guarantee that a particular doctor will visit.

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 or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

To cancel your appointment:

• phone us on 0131 336 5432, Monday to Friday from 8am - 6pm if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment

This is a training practice and each year we have a fully qualified doctor attached to the practice to gain experience in general practice. We sometimes record consultations on video for teaching purposes, but your permission will always be sought, and you will be free to consult in private if you prefer.

We are also involved in the education of medical students from University of Edinburgh.  These students spend time at the surgery shadowing different members of the team.  If a student is shadowing a doctor or nurse, you will be asked if you are happy for them to be present during your consultation.  If you would prefer for the student not to be present, please let your doctor or nurse know and they can leave the room during your appointment.

The practice is involved from time to time in research studies. Patients' consent would always be sought prior to their involvement.

Evening/weekend cover is provided by NHS 24. They can be contacted on the FREE NHS 24 NUMBER - DIAL 111

The NHS 24 website provides good general health information at all times of the day

Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

Please tell us:

• if there’s a specific doctor, nurse or other health professional you would prefer to respond
• if you would prefer to consult with the doctor or nurse by phone, face-to-face
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs