Frequently Asked Questions

Joining the List.
Temporary residents
Certificates and such things
Do I need Antibiotics for this cough?
I have had this cold for a month
My baby keeps getting infections, does he/she have a problem with the immune system?
My baby cries all the time
Baby snuffles
Fever control in children and adults
Use of antibiotics for earache
I have toothache where can I find a dentist?
My period is late, do I need a pregnancy test?
Why are you running so late
Have you had a bad day Doctor, you look terrible?
Clinic Times at the surgery, nurse, travel, blood pressure etc.
Have you got my results?
Have you typed my letter from the Dr, I saw him today
Can you bring forward my appointment at the hospital?
How long will I have to wait for my appointment?
Contact Numbers for local hospitals
Referral & Hospital Appointments

Joining the list.

Please visit the surgery during normal working hours (8.00am - 6pm) and tell the receptionist you would like to register. If you have your medical card, please bring it with you. If you are registering your baby, please bring the form from the Registrar. You are free to see any doctor you choose. The receptionist will complete the registration form and make a screening appointment for you. You can download the appropriate forms and complete before handing them in.

Temporary Residents

If you are only staying in the area for a short time, up to 3 months, then you can register with the practice as a temporary patient. We do not need your medical card but you have to fill out a form. Details of your treatment will be sent back to your own doctor

Certificates and other paperwork

Medical Certificates

When you are unfit to go to work there are a variety of certificates that are used to claim sick pay. If you are off less than 7 days then you can sign yourself off work by filling in a self-certification form supplied by your employer. You do not need a doctor?s certificate. For longer than 7 days come and see a doctor and we can give you a medical certificate (called a MED3). The reason for you being off work and how long you can stay off are written on the certificate. Hand in the certificate to your work. If you are off longer than 6 months then you will have to be examined by a doctor from the employment service. This is called an all work test and it will be decided if you are fit for any work, not just your normal job.

Insurance Certificates

If you are off work and have a private illness or accident insurance then the insurance company will want forms filled out to tell them about your medical problem. We are happy to fill out these forms but make a charge. Fill in your part of the form and leave it with the receptionist. It will be ready for collection in 5 working days.

Solicitors and Insurance Company reports

In some cases your insurance company or solicitor will write to your doctor and ask for further medical details about you. We will only do this if you have given us written permission. Be careful - sometimes you will be asked to give permission for your complete medical record to be released!

Do I need antibiotics for this cough?

Post infectious bronchitis is common and adults who are usually fit and healthy, without underlying disease affecting the lungs, will, on average, cough for 4 weeks after an upper respiratory tract infection (i.e. something that starts as a cold with a runny nose before triggering off the cough). By this stage any fever symptoms should have settled although the cough can be distressing and tiring, particularly if it keeps you awake at night. There is no benefit in taking antibiotics for this problem, some people's cough will settle sooner and for some it will last a bit longer than a month. Elderly patients, those with lung diseases and those with compromised immunity due to disease or drugs require different advice and should come and see us if they are unwell.

I have had this cold for a month

A snotty nose after a common cold infection is not uncommon and will settle without treatment. If you have pain in the eyes, teeth and cheeks then you may have sinusitis and may find decongestant nasal drops or spray effective in relieving symptoms. These are available over the counter without prescription at the pharmacy. Ephedrine drops are the safest. You should not use them for more than 1 week as prolonged use leads to sensitivity causing a rebound congestion of the nose when you stop the drops.

Patients with untreated high blood pressure should not use them as they can elevate blood pressure further and they are dangerous to use with some anti-depressants called monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs e.g. tranylcypromine, phenelzine, isocarboxazid and moclobemide, check with the pharmacist if you are not sure).

My baby keeps getting infections does he have a problem with his immune system?

Find out if your baby is growing and developing normally by bringing him to the baby clinic to be weighed and checking in your red book about the stages of development that you should be expecting to see. If he/she is growing normally then this makes it much less likely that there is a serious problem.

Babies are as susceptible to viral infections as other people and this does not imply a problem with their immune system. If someone in the family brings home a cold/cough then there is every chance your baby will catch it too. Coughs and colds are spread by respiratory droplets and are more common in the winter. Most babies will fight off these infections just like older children and adults and using paracetamol for pain and temperature control can be useful. If their nose is bunged up with thick catarrh making feeding difficult loosening this up with Normal Saline drops can help.

My baby cries all the time?

Crying babies can be very distressing and worrying for parents. If your baby is growing and developing normally then that is reassuring but be aware that unusual crying, particularly if your baby is also unwell in other ways (for example, floppy, drowsy, vomiting, off their feeds, running a high temperature, rash) can be a sign of illness that needs attention.

Infantile colic is common in babies up to the age of three months, particularly after feeds when it can be difficult to find a position in which the baby is comfortable. Try carrying him/her with their chest in your hand, their tummy along your forearm and their legs draped either side of your elbow. Stroke their back and pat their bottom. Some babies are more comfortable draped over your shoulder. Count down the days until they are three months old; colic does not go on for ever but if you feel that you are tired, low, under pressure and feel stressed come and talk to us.

Baby Snuffles

These are often caused by common cold viruses. Find out if someone in your family or one of the baby's child minders (or the children at their house) has a cold. If your baby is generally well and feeding normally you may wish to treat with paracetamol for fever and use Normal Saline drops for catarrh (both available from the pharmacy without prescription). Saline drops (one in each nostril four times daily) will loosen up any thick catarrh and help your baby breath more easily, particularly when taking feeds. Because infants are vulnerable we are always happy to see your baby the same day if you are worried or feel that something is not right.

Fever control in children and adults

We usually advocate alternating ibuprofen and paracetamol every 3 hours(6 hours for each one) in children, and ibuprofen/aspirin and paracetamol for adults. Check the doses on the bottle. Paracetamol is the safest providing the dosage is kept within recommended limits. Aspirin must not be given to children and ibuprofen, although generally safe, can cause indigestion, asthma and upset kidney function in susceptible people. Aspirin tends to have the same side effects as ibuprofen but is more likely to be poorly tolerated.

Use of antibiotics for earache

There is good evidence that most children with earache caused by infection will settle with pain relief treatment only. This does not lead to prolonged illness or complications and for most children we would recommend using just paracetamol and/or ibuprofen as above.

I have toothache, where can I find an emergency dentist?

Registered Patients
If you are registered with a dentist please phone your dental practice, day or night.

Unregistered Patients (Daytime)
If you are not registered with a dentist please phone the Dental Information and Advice Line (DIAL).

Unregistered patients and visitors to Grampian
(Evenings and Weekends)
If you are not registered with a dentist or are a visitor to the Grampian area and are in acute pain please phone G Dens for an emergency appointment.

The Dental Information and Advice Line (DIAL) is available for patients to talk to qualified dental nurses between 9:00am and 4:00pm, Monday to Friday. Please telephone 0845 45 65 990 You can leave a message if you call outwith these times.

The nurses can:

assess your needs,
give you advice for dental problems and
give you information about the waiting lists for practices owned by NHS Grampian.

If you are in acute pain and are not registered with a dentist, they can arrange for an emergency appointment at one of our dental practices in Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire.

For emergency treatment in the evening and at weekends please call GDENS on 01224 558140

G-Dens is an emergency out-of-hours dental service. If you are in acute pain and not registered with a dentist or are a visitor to the Grampian area, please phone for an emergency appointment.

The phone line opens at 5:40pm Monday to Friday and at 9:00am on Saturday and Sunday.

Clinic Sessions

Monday to Friday 6:15pm to 9:15pm

Saturday and Sunday 9:30am to 12:30pm

Christmas Day and New Year's Day 9:30am to 12:30pm

Normal NHS charges apply. All payment method types are accepted

My period is late, do I need a pregnancy test?

If you are sexually active you need to consider pregnancy as a possibility even if you use contraception as no method is totally failsafe except sterilisation. If your period is late by a week or more a pregnancy test will be reliable. They are available to buy from most pharmacies. If you are pregnant and also have abdominal pain and bleeding you need to consider the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy or another pregnancy complication. In this situation you need further advice from your doctor.

Why are you running so late?

Usually because patients seen before you have required a longer consultation. Some problems are complex or require a long time to sort out. We try hard to give each patient as much time in the consultation as they need and this applies to you as well as everyone else that we see. We budget for ten minutes per patient which gives usually gives us time to manage one major or two minor problems. Problems arise when there are two or more major problems that need to be dealt with today and can't be put off or when seemingly minor problems turn out to be more serious. It is helpful to us to spread minor problems over several consultations but we understand that you would rather deal with all your problems in one visit if possible. If you have more than one thing to discuss please tell us at the beginning of the consultation so that we can use the time efficiently. We would love to have longer appointment slots but cannot do this without more resources.

Have you had a bad day doctor you look terrible?

If we look terrible, we probably feel terrible too. Doctors are normal people, become ill and have problems and bad days just like you. Thanks for noticing though; doctors have feelings as well.

Clinic times at the surgery - nurse, travel, blood pressure etc

You can make an appointment by contacting reception.

Have you got my results?

Pathology and X-ray results from the hospital usually arrive within a few days. We usually tell patients to wait one week for non-urgent results. Some blood tests take several weeks to return because they are uncommon and done in batches in the hospital or are sent to a specialist centre. If your doctor is asking for these he/she will probably tell you about the delay. Cervical smear results are posted direct to you by NHS Grampian but it can take the laboratory up to 2 months to process cervical smears. The receptionists will be able to tell you whether results have arrived but will not be able to give you results over the telephone. If we need to know a result urgently we ask the hospital to phone it through to us.

Have you typed my letter for Dr. xxxx, I saw him today?

Your doctor will usually dictate your letter either whilst you are in the consultation with him/her or as you leave. A log of dictated letters is kept and our secretary will do these as soon as possible in the order they are dictated, although urgent letters are typed immediately and if appropriate faxed through to the addressee. If the urgency of the situation changes, please get in touch with our secretary and she will inform you of the status of your letter and endeavour to type it off if it is still waiting. Try not to bother her unnecessarily as this will delay her work and sabotage our attempts to maintain a very quick turnaround time.

Can you bring forward my appointment at the hospital?

NHS waiting times are currently very long and our patients receive no preferential treatment. We will certainly try to bring your appointment forward if the urgency of your situation has changed but certain urgent referrals are seen within agreed national guidelines. Bear in mind that if you go up the waiting list, someone must come down and ultimately it is the hospital consultants responsibility to determine how to prioritize their very busy workload. Using our secretaries to badger the hospital also delays their work so it would be helpful if you could phone the hospital admissions or appointments clerks yourself in the first instance, or speak to the consultant's secretary directly. Again be aware that they are very busy and more than likely will be unable to speed the process.

How long will I have to wait for my appointment?

Try phoning the appointments clerk at the hospital. Each clinic and specialty will have a different waiting time and usually the consultant will prioritize patients to be seen urgently, soon or routinely depending on the information we provide in our referral.

Contact numbers for local hospitals

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary ARI and all other hospitals can be contacted on 0845 456 6000
or via the web address www.nhsgrampian.org

Referral & Hospital Appointments

In the UK the most common route into specialist care is through referral from a GP. Since GPs hold a unique overview of patients' health and treatment via personal medical records, they are best placed to assess, in partnership with the patient, whether a specialist referral is necessary and to which secondary care service patients should be referred. GPs are sometimes referred to as "the gatekeepers of the NHS", as the right to a referral is not an absolute one and is based on whole person assessment. Certain hospital services, such as sexual health clinics and accident and emergency treatment, can be accessed directly and do not require GP referral.

If a GP decides that a patient needs referring to a hospital specialist they will write a letter to that specialist setting out a brief medical history and the results of any relevant examinations and investigations performed to date. Once the specialist has seen the patient (s)he writes back to the GP explaining the diagnosis, and any prescribed treatment and plans for follow-up. In this way the family doctor is kept informed about what is happening to the patient.

Similarly, when a patient is discharged from hospital a letter is sent to the family doctor with a brief outline of the reason for admission, result of investigation, treatment prescribed and plans for follow-up (including advice for the family doctor as to what is required of him/her). The GP is therefore the focal point around whom all NHS care is coordinated.

The Royal College of Radiologists has set up an excellent online Virtual Hospital Department intended to address some of the fears that are associated with a visit to hospital for x-rays or other scans, and for cancer treatment.