We have provided training to the reception team to ensure that calls are directed to the most appropriate healthcare professional. We appreciate that patients may not be used to seeing professionals other than their own doctor, but all of our team are experienced and highly trained in their areas of expertise and we hope patients will appreciate this more modern approach to primary care as they get to know our multi-disciplinary team.

There are some conditions which are better to be assessed and treated by other professionals in the community. For example, our staff may direct you to a pharmacist, optician, or dentist instead of attending the surgery. Often these professionals can see you more quickly than waiting to be seen in the surgery, or have specialist equipment that is not available in the practice.

By signposting patients with certain conditions to other, more appropriate services, we hope to be able to provide better access to our services for those who need them.

We have created a number of leaflets to help patients access voluntary and third sector organisations who can help with a range of medical and non-medical problems. These can be access on the "Links to Other Services" web page.

Find out More about Signposting

For more information on other community-based health professionals, visit the NHS Lanarkshire website, "Know Who to Turn To".