SATURDAY GP Out-Of-Hours Service Resumes At Inverclyde Royal Hospital

A SATURDAY GP out-of-hours hub launches at Inverclyde Royal Hospital from this weekend.

A GP and advanced nurse practitioner will be available for face-to-face appointments from 8am until 2pm for patients unable to wait to see their regular GP during the week.

The appointment-only service can be accessed by calling NHS 24 on 111. Call handlers will triage patients to ensure they receive the most appropriate care and are able to take advantage of telephone and video consultations alongside the face-to-face service.

The reintroduction of the Saturday service will complement the existing GP home visiting service which remains in operation throughout evenings, weekends and overnight.

Any patient who requires a GP out of hours, and outside of the Saturday service operating times, will be able to have a phone consultation or receive a face-to-face appointment at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH), or through the GP Home Visiting Service.

If patients cannot make their own way to the RAH, a patient transport service remains in operation taking patients to and from their appointments.

Susan Manion, interim chief officer for GP out-of-hours services, said: “We are pleased to be able to reinstate a Saturday GP out-of-hours offering for the Inverclyde community.

“This creates more options for urgent care –- whether that is over the phone, virtually, or, through a scheduled appointment at an urgent care centre.

“All of these, combined, provide an efficient service, with less waiting time for patients, and more immediate access to the right type of care.

“I would like to thank local GPs who have worked with us to take this step in providing face-to-face as well as virtual consultations locally for IRH patients who urgently need to see a GP when their surgery is closed.”

Melanie McColgan, Clyde Sector director at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde added: “IRH plays a key role in the ongoing provision of care within Inverclyde, and the GP out-of-hours service is another vital part of the provision of services from the hospital.

“This marks our commitment to providing high quality local care in the Inverclyde area.

“We would like to remind patients the service should be accessed by appointment only, and anyone who needs to speak to a GP out of normal hours must call NHS 24 on 111 in the first instance.”