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Fit Notes (Sickness Certificates/Sick Lines)

Your GP may provide you with a Fit Note to certify absence from work where this is seven or more days duration.

Self-Certificate form SC2 can be completed by patients themselves for absences of less than seven days. Please note Fit Notes for less than seven days duration are not contractually obliged to be provided by the NHS and may incur a charge to the patient.

Fit Notes also allow for your GP to suggest some temporary changes to your work (e.g. phased return, lighter duties) to facilitate you back to work appropriately.

Continuation of a Fit Note may be done by telephone request if this has already been agreed by your GP. Please note that we are legally obliged to review, from time to time, patients who require continuing Fit Notes and therefore you may be asked to make an appointment.

The guidance surrounding returning to work changed significantly upon the introduction of Fit Notes in recent years. You no longer require a final date or signing off line to enable you to return to work. If you feel well enough, you can return to work at any point during the period a Fit Note covers. Employers are still often unaware of the change in Fit Note procedure and as such we receive requests for “final lines/signing off lines” not infrequently. These will be declined and you should direct your employer to the Guidance on Fit Notes for Employers page on the UK Government website by clicking here.

The workload in General Practice in the UK has considerably expanded in recent years and, as such, requests for “signing off lines” will be treated as a non-NHS service and charged for accordingly.

Test results

As our telephones are very busy in the early morning, we ask you to telephone for test results (eg blood, urine, x-ray) after 10.00am.

To ensure confidentiality, we only release results to the patient, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed in writing. For this reason a member of staff will ask you to confirm your details.

All test results are checked immediately by a doctor before being directed to the GP who originally asked for these to be done.  When you phone for these, staff can only give out the comment posted by the GP reviewing this for you.  Any further queries you may have (for example if you have ongoing symptoms) can be answered by means of a routine telephone consultation.

Repeat prescriptions

These can be ordered throughout the day via our computer generated telephone ordering service.  When calling the surgery there is now an option for placing an order for your repeat medication.  Your name, date of birth or address should be left along with what you wish to order.  If you require something which is not on your repeat list simply state what this is for and it will be added to the special prescription requests.  These are issued at the discretion of the duty doctor. Medication requests may be declined if a patient has not had the medication prescribed recently (or ever), if a GP has already requested a review with the patient, or if the exact reason for the request (condition being treated) is uncertain.

Due to an increased workload prescriptions will now be processed for collection 2 full working days later.

All prescriptions ordered before 4pm on that day may be collected after 4pm two full working days later. Those ordered on Friday before 4pm will be available on the following Tuesday at 4pm. Please plan accordingly. We ask that patients respect the health needs of others by not using up urgent telephone appointments or face to face appointments to request prescriptions.

Special prescription requests are at the discretion of the GP, only urgent requests will be ready after 5pm the same day after discussion with the GP.

If you regularly use a local pharmacy, we will be happy to have your prescription put in the pharmacy bag ready for collection as long as you have notified them to collect this for you.

All prescriptions are FREE in Scotland.  This now enables a range of medicines to be accessed without seeing your GP.  Your local pharmacy is able to dispense these medicines for minor ailments directly.

Appointments

We have a wide range of appointments available.

  • ADVANCE APPOINTMENTS for people who need to organise a visit to the GP which perhaps includes getting away from work, using a babysitter, travelling from a workplace.   All nurse appointments are made in advance.
  • ON THE DAY APPOINTMENTS which are filled on a daily basis.  We provide enough appointments for those who need to be seen by a GP.
  • ROUTINE TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS for those patients who feel they do not need to see the GP face to face and perhaps only require advice or clarification of an enquiry.
  • EXTENDED HOURS on select evenings 6pm-7pm.

We try to make sure you see the doctor of your choice but if they are not available we may ask you to see another doctor.

HOME VISITS: If you are too ill to come to the surgery and you think you require a visit at home, please call the surgery before 10am and mention this. At least three patients can be seen in the Practice for every one home visit, so if you are mobile please come into the surgery to be seen. We reserve home visits for the genuinely housebound elderly/frail and terminally ill patients. Sometimes parents worry about bringing children or babies in to the Practice; it is widely recognised that young people are better examined in medical facilities where lighting and medical equipment can help to ensure a safe and adequate examination to exclude serious illness.

How To Register

We have an open list and welcome requests for registration from patients living in or moving to the practice area.

You can register by bringing along your NHS medical card or completing a form available from reception. We will also ask that you provide us with some identification e.g utilities bill, passport, driving license.

We recommend that new patients undertake a health check with a practice nurse so that we may assess any care or medication you may require whilst we await your medical records.

For further information Click Here 

Changing Your Personal Details

If you change name, address or telephone number, please let us know by calling or writing to us. If you move outside the practice area you may need to find a doctor in your new area. There are instructions on what to do when you move to a new area on the back of your NHS medical card. If you change your mobile phone number, please let us know and verify that you are happy for us to use your details to contact you.

Complaints Policy

We take complaints very seriously. If you would like to make a complaint regarding the surgery or the services we offer, please contact the Practice Manager by telephone or, if you prefer, in writing.
We adhere to all accepted legislation for following complaints as advised by the NHS.
Every effort will be made to address your concerns and all complaints are responded to.

Access To Medical Records

The practice is registered and complies with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Any request for access to notes by a patient, patient’s representative or outside body will be dealt with in accordance with the Act.

Please contact the Practice Manager for further information.

Using This Website

The medical information on this website, and on any sites linked to from this website, gives general advice only and SHOULD NOT be used as a substitute for the personal advice patients receive when consulting a GP.