New appointment booking process

From the 1^st of April, if you require an appointment with a member of the team at North Avenue Surgery please select option 2 on 0141 641 3037 or 0141 641 1000 at any time of day between 8.30am – 6pm. From here you will speak to one of our reception staff that have undergone additional training and are now termed Patient Care Advisors (PCAs). The PCA will ask for your details to identify you on our clinical system and a brief indication of why you are calling. From there they can direct you towards the most appropriate member of staff or organise a callback. Your GP is not always the most appropriate person to see and there may be other clinicians that are more qualified to deal with specific problems/conditions.

It is important that everyone uses our system wisely to ensure that we are available for serious health problems. Our Patient Care Advisors will be advised to triage all calls, so please ensure you provide them with as much information as you can so that your call is dealt with appropriately and efficiently. Please note that our PCAs are strictly bound by our confidentiality policy.

As you will appreciate, any change can have teething problems – with this new system we ask for your patience and understanding and encourage you to feedback any issues you have experienced so we can address these promptly and adapt our system accordingly.

Extended Hours

Extended hours run on a Tuesday Evening between 5:30pm and 7:30pm and Thursday Evening we have 2 Advanced Nurse Practitioners available from 5;30pm until 6:30pm.

Arriving Late for Appointments. 

If you are 10 minutes or more late for an appointment with a GP or Nurse, the Reception Team will advise you that they will message the GP or Nurse, to check whether the GP/Nurse will see you.

It will be at the GP’s/Nurse’s discretion as to whether you are asked to wait until the end of their surgery or whether you will require to re-schedule.

Please note that if you arrive late for the start of your appointment, this will mean that you are also reducing your appointment time with that GP and you may have to make another appointment to discuss other symptoms not covered in the timeframe remaining at your appointment slot. Your appointment slot is 10 minutes.  This is out of courtesy and fairness to your fellow patients.

Practice Nurses

In a number of cases it might be worth considering an appointment with a Practice Nurse rather than a doctor. The nurses see patients who are diabetic, asthmatic, hypertensive, have coronary heart disease, have had a stroke, or suffer from epilepsy. They, also, take blood, offer cervical screening, administer travel vaccinations, administer adult vaccinations, run the annual influenza programme for patients over 65 years and patients with a specific illness,  give family planning advice and offer ECG monitoring.  Information on these services is available from reception.

Interpreting Services

If you do not speak English and have no-one who can interpret for you please speak with one of the receptionists. They will ask for details of your nationality, spoken language etc and organise an interpreter for you via the Glasgow Interpreting Service.

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. 

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)

Home Visits

These are intended for those who are either genuinely too ill to attend the surgery or are housebound.  Please note that lack of transport is not a reason to request a home visit.

Requests for home visits should be made before 10:00am by telephoning the surgery and selecting OPTION 2.  The duty doctor will arrange a home visit for you if this is the best course of action. This may be with one of our fully qualified Nurse Practitioners who can prescribe medication that may be required.

You can also be visited at home by a District Nurse 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.