Organising your appointment

To help us provide appointments as quickly as possible when we receive a request from your GP for an outpatient appointment, wherever possible we will contact you by telephone to arrange a convenient date and time. A letter confirming your appointment will then be sent to you by post. Please make sure your GP has your correct contact details and make sure you inform them if you are unavailable for a period of more than eight days (e.g. working or studying off island or on holiday). If you cannot keep your appointment, please telephone the number on your appointment letter and let us know. Your call will give someone else the chance to be seen and will help us to keep waiting times to a minimum. We now follow NHS Scotland guidance in offering you a choice of dates for your appointment. This change is part of a programme introduced across NHS Scotland called ‘New Ways’, which aims to offer patients more choice and flexibility and reduce waiting times.

It will only work with your help. Please attend agreed appointments or let us know as soon as possible if you can’t attend an appointment. If you don’t do this, you may have to wait longer to be seen or receive treatment and we will lose the opportunity to offer your appointment to someone else.