From Monday 23 August 2021, how you access URGENT on the day appointments will be changing.

If you have something that absolutely cannot wait for a routine appointment and you feel that you definitely need urgent on the day attention from a GP, we would ask that you telephone the Practice between 8.00am and 8.30am, Monday to Friday.

If you call out with these times, you will be offered the nearest routine telephone appointment, although you can still request an on the day urgent telephone appointment, as we are aware that there will be still be a need during the day for these appointments.

If there are any appointments the GP feels is not urgent and can be dealt with routinely, you will not be called back by a GP, but a member of the admin team will be asked to call you back to make a routine telephone appointment.

When requesting an appointment, you will be asked the reason, as the more information you give, the better chance you have of being directed to the correct service and your needs being met.

We have freed up more face to face appointments, but for the moment, you will still need a telephone call with a GP first to access one of these, as Covid restrictions have not changed for us.

We hope that this will make access fairer for those that genuinely need on the day attention and easier for the GPs to prioritise those most urgent.

We would ask you to be patient and kind as we transition to this new way of working and thank you for your understanding.

The Scottish Government requires General Practice and other healthcare settings to have different infection control and physical distancing guidance to other places such as hospitality and
shops.  This is to help reduce the risk to Practice staff and to people attending the Practice who may be at greater risk if they catch Covid 19.

The following rules still apply in General Practice:

• wearing of face coverings by patients and the public (unless you are exempt)
• physical distancing of 2 metres in waiting rooms
• contact your Practice by telephone in the first instance
• wearing of PPE by staff
• screening of all patients for Covid 19 symptoms

Please support your Practice team by complying with this guidance.

Please be aware that current Covid infection rates are on the rise.  This may affect patient care here at the Practice.  Please be aware that if any of our Clinicians need to self-isolate, appointments may have to be cancelled at short notice.  Please be assured that all emergency requests will still be dealt with.  We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

GUIDANCE FOR HOUSEHOLDS WITH POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS INFECTION

Please see NHS Inform website regarding when and how long you would need to self-isolate due to Coronavirus.

If you have a general query about the COVID-19 vaccine, please look on the NHS Inform website or telephone the National Helpline on 0800 030 8013 which is open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

Please avoid calling with any general queries about the COVID-19 vaccine as we are unable to give you any more information at this stage and we need to try and keep phone-lines open for people who are unwell and needing medical care.  

If you think you should have received an invitation to your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment by now, or if you have lost your invitation letter, please provide the following information using this link or email NHS Highland directly on [email protected]

Please see NHS Highland website for further information regarding JCVI Groups.

Aged 18-39, please see NHS Highland website regarding Board Run Clinics.

These drop-in clinics are open to people aged 18-39 who have not yet received their first dose of vaccine. Please attend if you have not received an appointment or you were unable to attend your scheduled appointment.

Drop in clinics do not require an appointment and you can arrive at any time during opening hours. Please wear loose clothing / short sleeves. Please be advised that you may have a short wait when you arrive depending on demand.

Unpaid carers:

Eligible unpaid carers can register for their coronavirus vaccine, and are asked to do this through the COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013.

The criteria for accessing vaccination are as follows:

Certificates and proof of vaccination:

A service that allows people travelling abroad to access their record of vaccination status themselves has launched.

A vaccination status letter can be downloaded from the NHS Inform patient portal or –  for those not online – requested in the post via a Freephone Covid Status Helpline 0808 196 8565.

Only those planning to travel to a country or territory where a record of vaccination status is needed as an entry requirement should download the record or request it.

While there are no countries currently requiring vaccination status to travel, international travel restrictions can change quickly requiring such measures to be in place.

The measures are intended to ease the burden on the NHS by removing the need for people to ask their GP for a status record.

As Scotland’s vaccination programme progresses, vaccination status will be replaced by digital Covid Status Certificates, which will include vaccination and testing data to be used for outbound international travel.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith said: “Given the risk of returning with infection, and especially of introducing new variants of the virus, we continue to be highly cautious about international travel. Everyone should continue to limit their travel abroad and while I understand the need for some people who want to reunite with family, when it comes to holidays, my advice continues to be play it safe and staycation this summer.  For those that do need it, this new service will provide people with a record of their vaccination status for outbound international travel.  They should only access their record if they are planning to travel within 21 days and it is a requirement of their destination.”

If you have never received a unique username, you can sign up for one by using the ‘recover username‘ option.  Your username can be found on your invitation letter received by NHS Highland, not the Practice invitation letter.  You will need to know when you first had your Covid Vaccination.  If you are unable to give the exact date, please enter an approximate date.  Please avoid calling the Practice for this information.

A Freephone Covid Status Helpline will allow people to get the record posted to them.  It can be contacted on 0808 196 8565.

The Scottish Government continues to urge a highly cautious approach to international travel, given the risk of new variants. The four UK Chief Medical Officers have said that green-list status should be the exception, rather than the rule, with countries added to the list only where there are very good reasons for doing so.

 If you are intending to travel abroad you should:

• check the entry requirements for your destination country on the UK foreign travel advice pages
• get up-to-date information from the website of your destination country
• check the re-entry requirements for your return to Scotland
• only request a vaccination record if it is absolutely required and you are due to travel in the next 21 days

NHS Inform – Get a record of your Covid Vaccination

Many thanks for your ongoing patience and cooperation.

If you have any comments/suggestions/complaints, please direct these to [email protected]

As a Practice, we have devised a patient information leaflet regarding the wearing of face coverings in the Practice.

Please see attached for further information.