Urgent Appointments &Triage Advice

Patients with urgent problems will be seen the same day at our Emergency Triaging Surgery. Patients should telephone the Surgery between the hours of 8.30 am and 10.30 am Monday to Friday.  Patients are asked, if their problem is urgent and if they cannot wait for a routine appointment, they will then have the opportunity to speak to a GP.

If you still need to be seen by our Emergency Doctor after your telephone consultation, you will be given a time to attend our Emergency Triaging Surgery which runs from 10.30 am  - 12.30 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday and from 10.00 am  - 12 noon on a Thursday when the Surgery is closed between 12.30 - 1.30 pm for staff training.

Holiday Vaccinations:

Ravenswood Surgery is now able to carry out Yellow Fever Injections.

Patients who intend to travel to certain destinations should check with our Practice Nurse to determine the correct course of immunisations. 

Please note that a fee is payable for some holiday immunisations, the cost of which can be obtained from Reception.

Missed Appointments:

PLEASE

LET US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Because your  appointment can be given to another patient !!

Patients Who Do Not Attend:

Unfortunately, due to the high number of patients who continually fail to attend for appointments, the Surgery has now adopted a policy whereby any patients who fail to attend three appointments or more in a six month period, will be written to and advised that should they fail to attend one more appointment, they will be asked to register with another GP in the area.

Return Appointments:

Should a GP or Nurse wish you to make a review appointment, please note that our surgeries are only bookable 1week in advance.

Telephone Advice :

If you need to speak to a Doctor, please give your name, telephone number and details of your enquiry to one of our Receptionists and your doctor will ring you back when they are free. The Doctors and Practice Nurse are available at Ravenswood after surgery should you wish to discuss any matter with them. The most appropriate time for speaking to our Practice Nurse is between the hours of 1.30 - 1.50 pm Monday - Friday and your Doctors can normally be contacted between the hours of 1.30 - 2.45 pm

Locum Doctors:

From time to time, during holidays and sickness, we employ the services of a Locum GP who is a fully qualified General Practitioner.

Our receptionists will advise you at the time of making your appointment that we have a Locum Doctor standing in for one of our GP's.

For continuity, we try at all times to book Locum Doctors who are familiar with the Surgery and who have carried out sessions at Ravenswood Surgery on previous occasions.

Home Visits:

If you require a home visit, please telephone the Surgery before 10.00 am and give the receptionist some indication of the problem so that the visiting doctor will know how urgent the visit is. 

House calls that are telephoned in later in the day may be held back until the following date dependent on their urgency. 

Please bear in mind that this service is for patients who are too ill to come down to the Surgery or housebound.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit.  There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the Surgery.

Test Results:

The Practice has a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. We will only release test results to the person to whom they relate until that person has given prior permission for the release of the results or they are not capable of understanding the results. Test Results are given out in the afternoon between 2.00 - 5.00 pm. We would very much appreciate it if you could refrain from telephoning the Surgery in the morning for test results as our telephone lines are normally extremely busy in the morning dealing with appointments and requests for prescriptions. Test Results are not normally given out at the Reception Desk, due to the confidential nature of this information, however, should it not be possible for you to telephone the Surgery for your results, when attending the Reception Desk for these results, please ask one of the Receptionists to take you somewhere private before divulging your test results.

If You Move:

Please tell the Receptionists if you change your address or telephone number.From time to time the surgery may need to contact you regarding test results or cancellation of appointments.   

It makes our job so much easier if we have an up to date telephone number for our patients.  Should you move outwith our boundary area we may not be able to carry on caring for you.

Medical Records:

Patients can normally see their own medical record in the consulting room as the doctor or nurse use it.  Patients can request access to their own written and computer records if requested, although the records may not be removed from the practice premises. Assistance is given by the Practice Manager if access is required to the computer record and in this circumstance a member of staff will stay with you at all time to ensure confidentiality of other patient's records. If copies of a computer printout are required, a charge is made for this to cover costs incurred.  Access to medical records for people outside the health care team (or those involved in the patient's clinical care) is only given with the patient's express written permission. Please speak to our Practice Manager if you require access to your medical records.

IM&T:

The EMIS system is operational within the practice and this multi-user system is active during all consultations. The system is utilised in many ways, repeat prescriptions, patient registration, cervical screening, call/recall clinics, morbidity data, opportunistic screening, appointments, consultations, referral letters, templates, payroll, accounts, RAH Carenet, email, internet. 

We are now a paperlight surgery, and all our communications between patients and the surgery are now logged on the computer. This does not mean that patients paper notes will no longer be held at the Surgery, we are attempting to streamline our services and become more efficient.

Disabled Patient:

Access for disabled patients is available at Ravenswood Surgery and a specially designed toilet is available at Ravenswood Surgery. 

Access is also available at Ravenswood for patients with prams, pushchairs and buggies. Some doctors have consulting rooms upstairs, but a room is available downstairs for your consultation if required. If you have difficulty climbing the stairs, please inform the receptionist at the time of making your appointment and she will arrange for the doctor to see you in a consulting room downstairs.

If you require any further specific help, please ask at reception.

(eg.  Hearing Induction Loop)

Complaints and Suggestions:

We aim to provide a high quality service and are very interested in hearing how our systems could be improved.

Furthermore, if you are unhappy with any aspect of our service or your treatment please contact our Practice Manager, Mrs Stewart, who will be happy to listen to your suggestions or criticisms and initiate any appropriate action.

Our Complaints Procedure complies with Health Board regulations and should you have any reason to complain, your letter will be acknowledged within 2 working days and a reply sent to you within 10 working days.  Obviously, we hope that prior to you having to write a letter of complaint, the matter can be resolved by discussion.  Again, please do not hesitate to raise your complaint with our Practice Manager in the first instance and hopefully an amicable resolution could be achieved at this point. 

We are continually striving to improve our service. 

Any helpful suggestions would be much appreciated and a suggestion box is located in the waiting room.

Patients Rights, Responsibilities:

You will be treated with respect and as a partner in your care.

Being a partner means that you too have responsibilities :

We will :

We  respectfully ask that you :

As patients you are responsible for your own health and that of any dependents.

It is important that you adhere to information and advice given to you by health professionals and co-operate with the practice in endeavouring to keep you healthy.

Sources of Information:

Leaflets and other written information about various illnesses and conditions are available on display and from the practice nurses.

Please note:

The Practice does not produce any leaflets of their own.

Violence against surgery staff:

Zero Tolerance Policy

The practice has a zero tolerance policy towards aggressive behaviour, abusive behaviour, aggressive comments, cursing and/or swearing, physical contact and/or aggressive gestures.

The practice will request the removal of any patient from the practice list who is aggressive or abusive towards a doctor, member of staff, other patients, or who damages property.

Confidentiality:

Information Sharing

The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation.  Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:-

Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services, e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Walking : 

Even the smallest effort can improve your quality of life and make you feel healthier and livelier. 

As walking is a very good exercise which most people are able to do, and don't need special equipment for, then why not get started on your fitness campaign. 

Simply start by walking for 15 or 20 minutes at a brisk enough pace to get your heart beating faster, 3 times a week regularly. When you can easily walk for an hour you are ready to move on to swimming, cycling or running!

 Car parking at the surgery

Car Parking is available off Thomson Avenue at the rear of Ravenswood Surgery.

From time to time due to the number of clinics which are being held at the Surgery, the car park can be full.  If this is the case please park with consideration for other people.

Would patients please refrain from double parking or block other members of the surgery in, especially where the parking is reserved for doctors.

Please remember that your doctor may have to attend an emergency house call and require immediate access to his vehicle.  Your co-operation in this matter would be very much appreciated.

Healthy Eating  :

A healthy diet doesn't need to be a boring one.   Health experts tell us we are all eating too much fat, salt, etc. but what exactly does that mean?

Why not speak to your doctor or nurse or pick up some of our information leaflets so you can enjoy a healthier diet.

 Information Act

The Freedom of Information act 2000 obliges the Practice to produce a publication scheme.  A publication scheme is a guide to the 'Classes' of information the Practice intends to routinely make available.

Details can be found by clicking      HERE 

Smoking:

We are keen to give all our patients who smoke as much help as possible to stop.

Please ask at reception or at any consultation for information and support.

Ante-Natal Care:

The Ante-Natal Clinic is carried out by one of our Community Midwives on a Thursday afternoon between 1.30 - 3.00 pm.

If you wish to leave a message for the Midwife, our Receptionists will be only too glad to do so and this will be passed on to her on a Thursday afternoon.

Family Planning:

The practice provides full family-planning advice. Coil fitting and removal along with Diaphragms (caps) are carried out at the Family Planning Clinic in Johnstone Health Centre.

The morning-after pill is also available on prescription but you must be seen first by one of the doctors or our practice nurse, Sister Anne Gillanders.

Please phone the surgery for an urgent appointment.

Please telephone the surgery as soon as possible for this service as time is extremely important.

  Your Local Chemist Can Help:

Ask your chemist for advice about choosing the right medicines for common ailments

Your chemist can advise you if you are unsure about seeing a doctor

They can offer advice about a  problem if you are not sure what is causing it.

Ask for advice about staying healthy

Be sure to tell your chemist if you are taking other medicines - some medicine are not compatible.

Repeat Prescriptions:

If you are on regular medication, your doctor may not need to see you each time you require more tablets. 

They will give you a repeat prescription instead.  If you leave this at reception during working hours, the prescription will be ready to collect 24 hours later.  If you are not able to collect your prescription, please send a stamped addressed envelope with it. 

Please note that the Surgery also has a Repeat Prescription Line (01505 327497) which is open Monday - Friday from 10.00 am - 12.30 pm. 

Requests for repeat prescriptions outwith this time will only be accepted in extreme cases of emergency. The surgery operates a prescription collection service with various local chemists  - please ask at reception.

May we take this opportunity to offer our congratulations on your new arrival.  

We will be visiting you in the next few days with the midwife.

The health visitor attached to our Practice is Anne Woodrow & Staff Nurse Avril Shepherd. 

They can be contacted at Health Centre,

60 Quarry Street,

Johnstone PA5 8DZ 

Phone: 01505 324348. 

A Drop in Clinic for Advice & Weight is held at the Health Centre on a

Monday between 10:00am & 11:30am

Children's immunisations :

Our recommended vaccination schedule is as follows:-

Age of Child & Recommended vaccination

Out of Hours:

Between 6.00 pm and 8.00 am  Monday-Sunday, the surgery is closed.

In order to obtain medical advice at these times, please telephone 01505 331979

(please have a pen and paper handy). 

When the surgery is closed a recorded message will give you the number of NHS24, telephone number: 08454 242424.[local call rate] You will be given advice by either a qualified Nurse or a GP, however, you may be asked to attend the Centre or if necessary a home visit will be carried out for the seriously ill or genuinely housebound. 

This centre for out of hours is based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley in the Geriatric Day Hospital just next to the main entrance of the hospital.  Please note that attendance at this centre is by arrangement only, and you can't just 'drop in'.  All calls to this service are recorded.

Please note that this service is for emergencies only.  

If your problem can wait until the following day, please telephone your GP first thing in the morning. Please note that out of hours cover is now the responsibility of Argyll & Clyde Health Board.

Further advice and information can also be obtained from NHS24 whom you can call direct on 08454 242424 or visit www.nhs24.com

IN SERIOUS EMERGENCIES DIAL 999 FOR AN AMBULANCE

Looking After Your Health:

Choosing the right food for your health is very important.  Eating a good balance of food, taking regular exercise and not smoking gives the best chance of living a fit and healthy life. 

»»IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION ««

PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE ALTERING YOUR DIET.  

Remember eating well is about balance.  For example, we do need fat in our diet, but not too much!

HEALTHY EATING can help prevent many illnesses such as heart disease, obesity, constipation, bowel trouble and tooth decay.