If you are likely to be on a medication long term, we will prescribe this to you on a repeat prescription basis. When you receive the first prescription, you will notice a form which lists which medicines you are able to re-order without needing to see the doctor again, and the number of times you can re-order this medicine. Keep this form safe All you have to do is place a tick next to the medicine you are ordering and return the form to reception. Please allow 2 working days for the medicine to be ready for collection from the pharmacy; you will receive another order form with each new prescription for your use. You can request your repeat prescription in the following ways:
Dropping form off at the box at reception (or if closed, through the letter box
Faxing the form to us
Posting the form to us
We plan shortly to accept e-mail requests - more information will follow soon.
Please note that NHS legal guidance states that telephone requests for prescriptions is not safe practice, as there is a significant risk of error of the wrong medication being issued without written confirmation of drug names.
Why does it take two days for repeat prescriptions to be issued?
Brora and Helmsdale practice receives approximately 200 repeat prescription requests on a Monday, and 100-150 requests on other days of the week. Some of our patients are on almost 30 medications. Each of these has to be checked by a GP - it does not simply involve a signature on a form. The GP will want to check each request to ensure that the patient has had all the necessary monitoring that some medications require (many medications can affect blood pressure, blood clotting, kidney or liver function, so the GP will often want to look at the patient record to check that has been done) and also ensure that no medicines can have harmful interactions when taken together (which can happen when multiple medications are issued). This means looking up blood test results in paper files or on computer, checking doses, and consulting online computer systems to check for harmful interactions. The prescriptions, once signed, are then sent to the pharmacist. They will again double check (as an additional safety step) to ensure that doses and potentially harmful interactions do not occur, and then have to dispense each medicine as prescribed. So, as you can see, it takes a lot of work. You can help us by putting your requests in at least 2 days before they are needed, to give us time to do the checks properly.
I need to cancel an appointment. What do I do?
We understand that due to unforseen circumstances people will need to cancel appointments with the GP or practice nurse, and we really value your courtesy in letting us know as early as possible if this is the case, because that means we can offer the slot to another patient. Simply call the reception staff (at either surgery - we have a unified computer system) who will cancel the slot on the practice computer. We would appreciate a minimum of one hours notice - this will still usually allow us to give the slot to another patient in time.
We recognise that we are all human, and are sometimes late or forget an appointment we have made and do not let people know. Once per year is excusable. Twice per year is tolerable. But missing three appointments in a year is unfair on other patients in the community, and as this has become a significant problem, we are now taking action against repeat offenders. See our new practice policy on repeatedly missing appointments for more information.
I've been off work sick for a couple of days. Can I have a sick note/work needs one?
Thousands of GP appointments are wasted in the UK each month because employees make an appointment to ask their GP this question. The Department of Health issues strict guidance which states that all employees who are ill must self-certify their sickness with their employer for the first seven days of their illness and not request sickness certification from their GP. This is to prevent GP appointments being unnecessarily wasted with requests for sicknotes for brief absences from work. We do not issue Department of Health sick notes, even if your employer states they want one, for illness of less than seven days duration. Please see our sick note policy for more details of what to do in this instance when you may pay for a private sick note, or your employer pay for one.
I've had some blood tests done. Do I need to make an appointment to see the GP to get the results?
No, this is not always necessary. The best thing to do is call reception affter a few days to check the results are back before making an appointment, otherwise your time will be wasted. Often, the reception staff will be able to tell you if the results are normal and do not need any further review. If however, you want to discuss you results, you are welcome to book a telephone appointment or face-to-face appointment with the GP if you have any questions. Don't worry; if there is any need for us to repeat a test or we want to discuss the results with you, we will contact you by letter or telephone to book a telephone or face-to-face appointment. Just because we do this does not mean it is bad news, so do not be alarmed if we ask to see you!
Why are Thursday evening appointments only being held at Brora Surgery?
The Scottish Government has asked GPs to trial holding 'extended hours' sessions for patients, primarily so adult working patients who commute/find it difficult to see their GP in the daytime can book appointments. Patients in Brora and Helmsdale are welcome to attend appointments at either surgery, and the evening appointments are open to eligible patients from either surgery. We are only able to offer this service at Brora because of staff safety concerns. Other than the GP, no administration staff are present during extended hours surgeries, and it is not deemed safe to have a sole member of staff working in a surgery after hours. As we hold a GP and practice manager meeting on Thursdays in Brora at this time, we are able to provide a GP while other members of staff remain in the building, thus meeting the safety requirements needed for staff.
