Appointments

Every effort will be made to see patients with urgent medical matters during surgery hours.

If you need to be seen please telephone 01862 892203 as soon as possible after 08:00.

If an appointment is not available and you feel you need to be seen you will be asked to give a brief description of the problem so that urgency can be assessed to assist triage on busy days or if doctor is out on calls. Your details will be passed on to the duty doctor or nurse practitioner who will phone you back. On many occasions the duty doctor/ nurse practitioner can deal with matters by telephone but if they require you to be seen they will arrange this during the phone call.

To make an appointment to see a doctor please telephone 01862 892203 or call at the health centre during opening hours 08:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday. The receptionist will try to give you a time that is convenient to you and with a doctor of your choice. If this is not possible the receptionist will suggest an alternative time or another doctor who is available.  They will also ask if your issue can be dealt with by phone or by the nurse practitioner.

Each appointment is for 10 minutes and the doctor can only deal with one or two problems at a visit. It is not possible, however, to adhere rigidly to 10 minute appointments. The surgery may be running ahead of or behind schedule depending on the nature of preceding patients’ problems. Patients who are more ill may require more time. We would request your understanding and patience.

If you feel you will need more time please ask the receptionist for a double appointment.

If the doctor specifically asks you to make a longer appointment or a combined appointment with a nurse, then please ensure that this is what you ask reception for (e.g. coil insertion or joint injection).

Please inform the receptionist if you have a time constraint (e.g. a bus to catch) and we will do our best to see you as close to your appointment time as possible if the surgery is running late.

Each appointment is for named patient only.

This is on a 3 week rotating basis once per week on Tuesday early evening, Wednesday early evening and Thursday morning.

This practice offers NHS Near Me video appointments, powered by the Attend Anywhere system.

NHS Near Me Information

NHS Near Me is a video consulting service which allows patients to attend their appointment from the comfort of their own home or wherever is convenient, using their own computer, smartphone or tablet device.

To use this service you must have a booked video appointment with the practice. Your clinician or booking staff will be able to advise you whether a video appointment is suitable for you.

More information about NHS Near Me use in NHS Scotland is available here.

Click here to watch a youtube video about NHS Near Me how to use Near Me.

Attend my appointment or make a test call

If you are ready to attend your video appointment, or you want to make a test call before your appointment is due, click here to start video call (please ensure you are using Google Chrome  on a Windows or Android device, or Safari on Apple devices). If you make a test call this tests your device, connection, speaker and camera, it does not make a call.

Attending an NHS Near Me Appointment

For Technical Requirements to run an NHS Near Me video call click here Technical Requirements

For Troubleshooting tips if you experience difficulties using NHS Near Me click here Troubleshooting tips

Home visits are at the discretion of the doctors. When the condition of the patient suggests that a home visit may be required please contact the surgery before 10am where possible, on telephone number 01862 892203.

Home visits are for people who are genuinely too ill to visit the surgery. A rash or a temperature does not prevent patients coming to the surgery and will not endanger others. In the time it takes a doctor to do a single house call, four patients can be seen in surgery, which is also well-staffed and better equipped.

The vast majority of problems - acute and chronic - are best seen at the surgery.

Our reception staff may ask for further information to enable the doctors to prioritise home visits. A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or arrange an ambulance or even arrange hospital attendance.

We can of course be contacted at any time in an emergency.

It is NOT a patient’s right to receive a house call. Although we try to help as much as possible, the NHS does not consider lack of transport alone an appropriate reason for a home visit.

You can now register to receive information by text message on your phone regarding appointments and health care. 

If you wish to register for this messaging service please speak to the reception team.

However you choose to contact us, we may offer you a consultation:

• by phone
• face to face at the surgery
• on a video call
• by text or email

Appointments by phone, video call or by text or email can be more flexible and often means you get help sooner.

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.

To cancel your appointment:

• phone us on 01862 892203 as soon as possible after 08:00
• reply CANCEL to your appointment reminder text message

The practice closes at 6pm.  Between 6pm and 8am Monday to Thursday and from 6pm Friday to 8am Monday morning please phone 111 (NHS24 Freephone). 

The staff at NHS24 will ask you for information about your health and condition and will advise on the most appropriate course of action.  This may include offering advice over the phone or advising you to attend a pharmacy.  If they feel you need to be seen they will pass your case to Highland Hub who will be in touch to arrange for you to attend the Urgent Care Centre or in some cases provide a home visit.

In an emergency please phone 999 and speak to the ambulance service.

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, by video call or by text or email
• if you need an interpreter
• if you have any other access or communication needs

Medical, nursing, health visitor and midwifery students, Physician Associate students may be working within the primary health care team, under supervision.

You will be asked for your permission prior to any student being involved in your care.

Students are now conducting some appointments on their own with the patients. Following the appointment the full discussion will be reviewed with a GP, before the patient leaves. Although this is slightly more time consuming for the patient it is an invaluable learning tool for our future doctors.