NHS Highland Out of Hours Services

CHANGES TO OUT OF HOURS SERVICES

From 1st December 2004, there will be some changes to health services in the Highlands when GP surgeries are closed. The service in the Easter Ross area will operate in much the same way as before.

HOW TO ACCESS HEALTH SERVICES WHEN YOUR GP SURGERY IS CLOSED

• For a life threatening emergency you should still call 999. This is unchanged.
• If you need health advice or care when your GP surgery is closed, you can either call your surgery and your call will be automatically diverted to NHS24 or you can call NHS24 directly on 08454 24 24 24. Again this is unchanged.

HOW THE GP OUT OF HOURS SERVICE WILL WORK

• NHS24 will take your call and provide advice or will arrange for you to be seen by a doctor.
• There will be a doctor on duty locally in Easter Ross throughout the period when your GP surgery is closed.
• If a patient is well enough to travel, they will be asked to come to see the doctor. If they are not, then a home visit will be provided.
• If a patient is well enough to travel but cannot arrange transport to get to the doctor, transport (usually a taxi) will be provided free of charge to the treatment centre and home again. This will be arranged by the NHS.
• The two Treatment Centres are in Dingwall and in Invergordon.
• The doctor will have support from a driver, with local knowledge of the area, and a well equipped four wheel drive vehicle fitted with GPS. The driver will enable the doctor to continue to make and receive calls on the way to and from home visits.
• NHS24 - and the Highland Hub (an Inverness based administrative support unit) - will know where the doctors are at any time and will be in the best position to get a doctor to a patient quickly. It is therefore safer, and more effective, to phone NHS24 than just turning up at a Treatment Centre when the doctors could be elsewhere in the area.
• From 1st December 2004, all surgeries in East Highland are ceasing to offer Saturday morning surgeries, in line with the new contract. Most surgeries have been trying to keep Saturday mornings for "emergencies/urgent cases" only for some considerable time already and these will now be covered by the new out of hours service.