News

Weight Loss Injections

For women under age 55 years prescribed weight loss injections privately

We have been informed by your private prescriber that you are taking weight loss injections. Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) may mean that your contraception pills do not work effectively. If you are using the contraceptive pill, please use condoms for four weeks after each dose change, to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. This does not apply to Semaglutide (Ozempic). Please contact the practice for a routine appointment if you want to discuss your contraception.

For women prescribed weight loss injections privately and prescribed oral combined HRT or oral progesterone (Medroxyprogesterone /Norethisterone / Utrogestan) in combination with oestrogen
patch / spray / gel

We have been informed by your private provider that you are using weight loss injections. These may have an impact on the effectiveness of your HRT to adequately protect your endometrium (womb lining). Please do contact the practice for a routine review so that we can discuss potential alternatives.

NHS Prescribing and Advice Requests

We have received a high volume of queries regarding prescribing of weight loss injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro following the published approval by National Institute for Clinical Excellence and Scottish Medicines Consortium. However the funding for this has not yet been agreed either centrally by Scottish Government or locally by any Health Board in Scotland and therefore GPs are not in a position to prescribe these medications. We are also not in a position to provide specific advice or counsel patients regarding the safety or appropriateness of these injections prescribed in the private sector. However, we can give general medical advice regarding weight loss, diet and lifestyle and refer to NHS Lothian Weight Management services. If you wish for this please make a
routine GP appointment. We have also been advised by NHS Lothian against referring to the
Lothian Weight Management Service specifically for weight loss injections at this time. We will update this section once we havereceived approved guidance regarding this.

PSA testing in the Practice

PRACTICE CLOSURES

The practice will be closed on the following public holidays:

FRIDAY 18th APRIL 2025

MONDAY 21ST APRIL 2025

MONDAY 5TH MAY 2024

MONDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2024

THURSDAY 25TH DECEMBER 2024

FRIDAY 26TH DECEMBER 2024

Please ensure you order any medication due in advance of these dates.

PRIVATE SCREENING INVESTIGATIONS

It has become increasingly common for people, often with no symptoms, to have extensive “screening” investigations done in the private sector. This can be problematic for a number of reasons. 

• Many of these tests would not be done in the NHS, and are lacking in evidence as useful screening tests. The normal reference ranges for many of the tests can be different from the ranges in NHS labs making it difficult to interpret
• In many cases NHS GPs would not be familiar with interpreting the tests performed in the private sector in asymptomatic individuals. For these reasons, we would encourage people who have had private screening to make arrangements for follow-up of any abnormal results within the private sector, following the principle that the person arranging the tests should be responsible for following up any abnormal results
• If you have had private tests which have identified a clearly abnormal result for which GP follow-up would normally be carried out within the NHS, we would be happy to discuss this with you in a routine face to face GP appointment. However we will not be able to discuss multiple mildly abnormal results, particularly from tests which would not have been arranged within the NHS
• We would request that you not send us these reports. If there are clearly abnormal results that you have been advised requires GP follow up please make a routine GP appointment and bring along the relevant information.

TELEPHONE CALLS

***PLEASE NOTE INCOMING & OUTGOING TELEPHONE CALLS MAY BE RECORDED FOR TRAINING AND MONITORING PURPOSES***

Diazepam & Flying

We have made the decision to no longer prescribe diazepam to patients for fear of flying. For information about this and alternative support please click on the following links Diazepam Flying Policy Cramond.docx; Benzodiazepines for flying - patient leaflet NHS lothian.pdf