Welcome to
TILLICOULTRY MEDICAL PRACTICE
Appointments & Enquiries: 01259 750531
District Nurses: 07768 707 631
Health Visitors: 01259 750350
PRACTICE CLOSURES
Public & Local NHS Holidays 2024/25
FRIDAY 29TH MARCH 2024
MONDAY 1ST APRIL 2024
MONDAY 6TH MAY 2024
MONDAY 3RD JUNE 2024
MONDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2024
MONDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2024
WEDNESDAY 25TH DECEMBER 2024
THURSDAY 26TH DECEMBER 2024
WEDNESDAY 1ST JANUARY 2025
THURSDAY 2ND JANUARY 2025
For urgent medical care when the Practice is closed please telephone 111 or follow the link for useful self-help guides on NHS Inform https://www.nhsinform.scot/self-help-guides.
Important Information for Patients Attending Private Hospitals and Clinics
Due to long waiting times for investigations, specialist appointments and operations within the NHS, some people are deciding to attend private hospitals and clinics, locally and abroad.
If you are thinking about using a private health care provider, either by self-funding or private health insurance, we strongly advise you to consult one of our doctors beforehand to discuss things such as your expectation of treatment and follow up. Your GP will not usually be in a position to recommend a specific specialist and you are advised to do some research when deciding whether a health care provider is safe and suitable.
Please be aware that Tillicoultry Medical Practice is contracted to provide health services in line with our General Medical Services contract, on behalf of NHS Forth Valley, and is not under any obligation to follow any request from private health providers.
Please follow the link for further information: Information Leaflet
Stop Smoking Clinics
Face to Face clinics to stop smoking have resumed. Please visit nhsforthvalley.com to see venues. Please contact 01786 433293 to arrange an appointment, or visit your local Community Pharmacy. You are more likely to quit and stay stopped with medication and support from our expert advisors. Why not give us a call and improve your mental, physical and financial health. Referrals can also be made by calling 0800 848484.
Breastfeeding Campaign
Recently the Scottish Government, using their Parent Club website, released a Breastfeeding Campaign. This breastfeeding campaign offers tips, advice and support to both mums who have anxieties and concerns about breastfeeding away from home, and to partners on how they can provide practical and emotional help for mums who want to breastfeed and are facing challenges. Free resources can be found in link below.
Breastfeeding Campaign (prgloo.com)
Community Nutrition website
http://www.nhsforthvalley.com/nutrition
Infant Nutrition
https://nhsforthvalley.com/health-services/health-promotion/nutrition/infant-feeding/
Coronavirus Guidelines
Most people no longer need to take a coronavirus test and should follow guidance on staying at home if unwell. Testing remains available to specific groups in order to protect highest risk settings and support clinical care.
Coronavirus, and other respiratory infections such as flu, can spread easily and cause serious illness in some people. Vaccinations are very effective at preventing serious illness from coronavirus but there's still a chance you might catch coronavirus, or another respiratory infection, and pass it on to other people. Please follow the link for further information. https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19
Appointment System
Routine 15 minute GP appointments are now released one week in advance, there are a mixture of face to face and telephone consultations available to book. Routine Advanced Nurse Practitioner appointments are also available to book one week in advance.
When calling for an appointment a member of our team will ask you to give them a little information about your problem, this is to ensure that you are directed and appointed to the person or service that will be most suitable to help you. This information is entirely confidential. For urgent symptoms that cannot wait for the next routine appointment you can be added to the daily telephone triage list, this is run by our Advanced Nurse Practitioners. To allow our GPs and Nurses to see more of our patients face to face, we have had to stop the all-day triage list and limit the amount of triage available, please if possible try to call before 10.30am.
An Explanation of Receptionist Signposting
Your NHS now offers lots of community services and self-care options that you can access without needing to see your GP first. When you request an appointment at your surgery, one of our receptionist team will ask you the reason you are calling. If you tell us the reason for your call, the receptionist may will be able to give you information about services or self-care options that you could access for your symptoms. For example the minor ailments service at your local pharmacy, NHS Pharmacy First Service for further information and guidance for patients.
You do not have to say what your symptoms are if you don’t want to, but if you do it might get you the help and information that you need more easily and quickly. This way, when you really do need to see a GP, there will be a free appointment for you and the GP will have more time to spend with you. We very much hope that this system will make the best use of the services available both at the Practice and in the wider community.
*Receptionists are NOT trying to be doctors or make medical assessments. They are duty-bound to respect your confidentiality, in exactly the same way the GPs are.*
For further information, please see the NHS inform website https://www.nhsinform.scot/
Please remember the GP is not an EMERGENCY SERVICE.
Prescriptions
We cannot issue extra or early medication as the supply chain will not cope. Routine prescriptions will all be sent to your usual pharmacy unless otherwise agreed. Please tell the receptionist when you request your prescription which pharmacy you would like your prescription sent to, they require up to 5 days to dispense the medication. Arrangements for clinically urgent prescriptions will be discussed on an individual basis.
Patient Email
If you have been asked by a clinician or member of staff to email photographs or information please use this email address fv.tmppatients@nhs.scot
This facility must not be used unless you have had a telephone consultation with a clinician or spoken with a member of staff. Prescriptions received in this mailbox will not be processed.
SPIRE (Scottish Primary Care Information Resource)
NHS Scotland is improving the way it uses information from GP patient records. SPIRE is a service that will allow small amounts of information from GP practice records to be used to help doctors’ surgeries, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government to improve care and plan services, and to help researchers to learn more from patient information held at GP practices.
A new campaign is underway to inform patients across Scotland of the benefits of the service, and the confidential and secure way in which GP patient records will be used to help plan and improve health care services. You have a choice about your patient record being used in this way. To find out more go to spire.scot or call NHS Inform on 0800 22 44 88.
If you decide you would like to opt-out the form is available from reception.
Norovirus
Norovirus causes diarrhoea and vomiting and is one of the most common stomach bugs in the UK. It is also called the 'winter vomiting bug' because it is more common in winter, although you can catch it at any time of the year. It can be very unpleasant but it usually clears up by itself in a few days. You can normally look after yourself or your child at home.
Try to avoid going to your GP, norovirus can spread to others very easily.
Please call your GP or NHS 111 if you're concerned or need any advice.
For full details of the symptoms of Norovirus and what to do please visit https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections/norovirus
(Site updated 05/11/2024)