Orchard Medical Centre

Appointments

Booking an Appointment

To make an appointment for a consultation with a GP or nurse please telephone reception during the appropriate time window.  We offer Extended Hours appointments from 7.30am. If you require an early morning appointment due to work commitments, please ask the receptionist when booking.

Please note that all telephone conversations are recorded. If you are unable to keep an appointment or do not need the appointment any more, please cancel it in good time so that it can be given to someone else.  If you fail to attend three appointments or more without letting us know, we might ask you to register with another GP Practice.  Appointments are intended for one person only.

Many routine services don’t need a consultation with a GP or nurse and are best handled by Reception. For those in the list below, please always discuss with Reception staff first, before requesting a consultation. When booking a consultation you might be asked if it is for any of the items on this list.

  • test results
  • continuation of sick lines
  • forms and letters
  • repeat prescriptions

Other Primary Care Services

Do consider if a different primary care provider other than your GP/nurse would be more appropriate for your ailment – see Other Primary Care Services. Obvious ones are Dentists for Teeth and Opticians for eyes!

Registering for Online Appointment Bookings and Repeat Prescriptions

Please print and complete the Registration Form, and post it with a photocopy of a valid form of Photo ID (eg. Driving Licence, Bus Pass) to the Medical Centre. Your login details will then be emailed to you.

Home Visits

For patients who need a face to face consultation, the best place is in the Medical Centre wherever feasible. Home visits are appropriate for genuinely housebound patients only, in practice the frail, very elderly and terminally ill.  Regrettably, transport difficulties cannot be taken into account when considering if a house call is appropriate. A nurse or GP will telephone you to discuss the problem and to allow them to decide if a home visit is appropriate.  An alternative arrangement may be advised. This could be attending the surgery, attending the local Accident and Emergency department or collecting a prescription.

Video Consultations

Consultations by video are available. Appointments should be booked using the same procedure as for regular consultations. Follow the guidance in the Video Consultations Patient Information Leaflet.

Out of Hours

The out of hours service for urgent medical problems is provided by Lanarkshire Health Board/NHS Trust and not by the surgery. Outside our core surgery hours, calls to the surgery are re-directed to the NHS out of hours service, NHS24. Alternatively you can telephone NHS24 directly on 111. A nurse will advise you of further action.  In a life-threatening emergency dial 999.  The NHS website www.nhs24.scot, provides further information.

Teaching and Training

Although not a training practice, students do attend from time to time.  We hope that you will help the students to learn about general practice.  However, you will be informed of their presence in advance and if you do not want them to attend a consultation, your wishes will be respected.  This will not affect your care in any way.

 

 

Date published: 8th October, 2014
Date last updated: 19th December, 2023