Appointments
We aim to help you get the right care, from the right person, at the right time.
When you contact us, our reception team may ask for a brief description of your problem. This helps us direct your request to the right person or service. Receptionists are trained to ask these questions and treat your information in confidence.
Depending on your needs, you may be offered an appointment with a GP or another member of the team, or advised to contact another service such as a community pharmacy, optometry, dental services, NHS 24 or the emergency services.
You can check your symptoms and find out what to do next using the NHS 24 symptom checker, or see our Self help page for trusted advice and local services.
Who is best placed to help you?
Before requesting a GP appointment, please consider who can best help with your problem.
Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Can assess symptoms, diagnose illness, prescribe medication, and arrange tests or scans where appropriate.
Advanced Physiotherapist
For muscle, joint, back or mobility problems, our physiotherapist may be the most appropriate person to see you.
Practice Pharmacist
For medication questions, medication reviews or prescription queries, our pharmacist may be able to help.
GP
Best suited to complex, ongoing, uncertain or serious medical problems.
How to arrange your appointment
Phone the practice
Check how busy our lines usually are before you call: routine calls are answered fastest in the early afternoon.
Call 01968 675 576 and choose the appointments option. Please phone between 8:30am and 5:30pm to book. For a same-day appointment, please phone before 10am. If your problem becomes urgent, contact us immediately whenever our lines are open — do not wait until the next morning.
Tell us briefly what you need
Our reception team may ask for a short description of your problem so we can direct you safely and appropriately. This is treated in confidence.
Attend, cancel or rearrange
Please attend on time. If you no longer need your appointment, cancel as early as possible so we can offer it to someone else. See how to cancel or rearrange online where available or by phone.
Between 8:00am and 8:30am, and between 5:30pm and 6:00pm, our phone lines are reserved for serious medical problems that cannot wait — for example palliative care — and for calls from other health and care professionals. All appointment booking, including on-the-day appointments, starts at 8:30am.
If you are running late
Please phone as soon as possible. If you arrive late, the clinician may not be able to see you. This depends on how late you are, the type of appointment, the clinical urgency, the needs of other patients, and whether any reasonable adjustments are needed. If we cannot safely see you, we may need to offer another appointment.
Home visits
Home visits are for patients who are housebound or clinically unable to attend the practice. Lack of transport is not usually a reason for a home visit. If you think you need one, phone as early as possible and explain the medical reason you cannot attend.
A GP or other appropriate clinician will assess the request and decide whether a home visit is clinically necessary or whether advice, an appointment at the practice, pharmacy care, community services, NHS 24 or emergency care would be safer or more appropriate. A request does not automatically result in a visit.
If the practice has to cancel
Unexpected staff illness, emergencies or serious disruption may occasionally mean we have to cancel at short notice. We will contact you as soon as practical, normally using the contact details held on your record. Calls back are prioritised by clinical urgency, so a follow-up call may not be immediate.
Where capacity allows, we will try to offer a suitable alternative. We cannot guarantee a same-day replacement, the same clinician or the same appointment type. Tell us if your condition has worsened or you believe the matter has become urgent.
Service limitations
- Appointments are allocated according to clinical need, staff skills and available capacity; a particular clinician or time cannot always be guaranteed.
- Reception can care-navigate and pass on factual information but cannot diagnose, interpret results, prescribe or give clinical advice.
- Private reports, insurance forms and other non-NHS work are completed only as capacity allows and cannot take priority over NHS care.
- Hospital-requested tests, results and follow-up normally remain the responsibility of the requesting hospital team unless responsibility has been clearly transferred.
- Online and telephone services may be limited during IT, power or telephone disruption; urgent safety information will be published where possible.
Minor illnesses, dental and eye problems
Some services are designed to be contacted directly.
- Community pharmacy: for many common minor illnesses, your local pharmacy may be the best first point of contact through NHS Pharmacy First Scotland. See our local pharmacies.
- Dentist: for tooth pain, gum problems, dental swelling or mouth injuries, contact your dentist directly.
- Optician: for eye pain, red eye, flashes or floaters, or sudden changes in vision, contact an optician first.
Find local services on NHS inform: pharmacies, dentists, opticians, A&E and minor injuries units.
Mental health support
You do not always need a GP appointment first. The Midlothian Mental Health and Resilience Service (MHARS) offers same-day access to a trained mental health practitioner on 0800 118 2962 (daily, 8am to 8pm, no referral needed). See our Mental health and wellbeing page for this and other support options.
If you are in immediate danger, call 999. If you are distressed, in despair or need urgent emotional support, call NHS 24 on 111.
If you have symptoms of a serious emergency, such as severe chest pain, signs of a stroke, severe breathing difficulty, severe bleeding, a collapse, or a severe allergic reaction, call 999. If the practice is closed and you need urgent advice, phone NHS 24 on 111.
Common questions
Why does reception ask what my appointment is about?
A brief description helps reception direct you to the right clinician or service. Reception staff are trained to ask these questions and must treat the information confidentially.
Do I have to give reception full personal details?
No. You do not need to describe everything. A short description such as “back pain”, “medication question” or “mental health” is often enough to route the request safely.
Can I request a particular GP?
You can ask for a particular GP, but this may mean waiting longer. For an urgent problem, you may need to speak to the available clinician.
Can I choose a telephone or face-to-face appointment?
Tell reception what you would prefer. The appointment type offered will also depend on what is clinically suitable and what is available.
Can I discuss several problems in one appointment?
A standard appointment is normally for one main problem. If you have several concerns, the clinician may need to prioritise the most important and arrange another appointment.
Can someone else arrange an appointment for me?
Someone can help you contact the practice, but we may need your consent before discussing confidential medical information with them.
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