Out-of-hours GP care
Urgent medical problems which occur outside our normal working hours will be dealt with by NHS24. This is a telephone advice service staffed by experienced nurse practitioners based in South Queensferry.
You can visit the NHS24 website at www.nhs24.com
To contact NHS24 directly call 08454 24 24 24
Following assessment by this service, some patients may be advised to contact their own practice when it next opens. However, some problems cannot wait that long, and if necessary a patient may be advised see a GP or Nurse Practitioner from the Lothian Unscheduled Care Service (LUCS) based at St John’s Hospital. Others may be advised to go directly to Accident and Emergency. Home visiting will still be an option when considered essential by NHS24.
NHS24 and LUCS work independently from the staff at Howden, but provide us with information about all contacts they have with our registered patients. We also provide relevant clinical patient information to the Doctors and Nurses at NHS24 and LUCS to aid ongoing patient care.
999 Ambulance
In the event someone suddenly becomes seriously ill, it may be best to call for an emergency ambulance.
If you or someone you are with develops any of thefollowing symptoms, immediately dial 999 and ask for the ambulance service:
- Sudden unexplained loss of consciousness
- Sudden severe chest or abdominal pain
- Severe breathlessness
- Heavy bleeding from a wound or injury
- Head injury causing loss of consciousness
- Severe injury following a fall
For more details refer to the ambulance service’s website: www.scottishambulance.com
