Appointments
Consultations are by appointment and we offer both telephone and face to face appointments, please telephone the surgery to arrange.
Appointments with a doctor are normally at ten-minute intervals. If you have spent over ten minutes with the doctor and still have issues to discuss, the doctor may ask you to make another appointment. This is to help address the lengthy delays that can be so frustrating for waiting patients.
The receptionist team will be happy to help with any queries that you may have about the range of services provided by the surgery and attached staff.
Receptionists are trained to ask relevant and sometimes personal questions, to elicit all the relevant information necessary to help you and to ensure you see the correct health professional for your needs. They are bound by the same code of practice as the Doctors and all matters will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. If you have a particular problem that you would prefer not to discuss at reception, please ask to discuss it in private.
You may be asked to send a photograph/s into the Practice if the problem you have is visible, so that the Doctor or Clinician is able to see it prior to your consultation.
Photographs should be emailed to our clinical mailbox: TAY.gp13284clinical@nhs.scot
~~Please only send photographs if you have been asked to do so by the Practice~~
On-call appointments
We have a limited amount of "on-call" slots each afternoon with the duty doctor which are reserved for urgent on-the-day requests. If you are given one of these "on-call" appointments, please be aware that there is a possibility you may not be seen at your exact appointment time as the duty doctor may be dealing with other urgent matters i.e. home visits or emergency calls.
Patients are requested to use our Self Check-in Screen on arrival, details of which can be found on the above tab.
We encourage patients to attend the same doctor throughout the duration of a particular episode of care.
Minor Illness / Nurse Prescriber Clinic
Our trained and highly experienced practice nurses run this clinic daily. These appointments are offered to those patients who feel they need seen the same day. They can deal with chest infections, upper respiratory tract infections, urine infections, skin infections, eczema, hay fever, back pain for example. Please give the receptionist an idea of your symptoms so that they can give you an appointment with the appropriate person.
Treatment Rooms
The practice nurse team offer appointments Monday to Friday between the hours of 08:30 to 12:30 for blood tests, dressings, etc. Various clinics are usually run between the hours of 13:50 to 17:30.
Please indicate what the nurse appointment is for when booking, as some of the procedures require particular skills or additional time .
APPOINTMENT WASTAGE
"Did not Attend" appointments in the week commencing Mon 2nd March 2020 totalled:
40 minutes of Doctors time and 85 minutes of Practice Nurse time
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.
DNA Appointment Policy
Introduction
Approximately 120 appointments per month are 'Did Not Attend' (DNA), i.e. the patient does not turn up for the appointment and does not contact the surgery in advance to cancel/change their appointment.
The effect of these missed appointments are:
- An increase in the waiting time for appointments
- Frustration for both staff and patients
Policy
If a patient fails to attend a pre-booked appointment a 1st DNA letter will be sent to the patient, advising them on how to cancel appointments in the future to reduce wasted clinician time.
If the patient fails to attend another (2nd) appointment, a 2nd DNA letter will be sent to the patient advising them that should they miss another appointment within the next four month period we will have no alternative but to ask them to find another practice in the area.
Interpreters
We have access to an interpretation and translation service for patients who do not speak English - please let us know if you need this service when booking an appointment.
Telephone Advice
Sometimes you may simply want advice from the doctor or another member of the team. They may not be immediately available and you may be asked to call back at a more convenient time. Please let the receptionist know about whom or what your call concerns, so that the relevant records are available for the call.