WHEN CLOSED

Introduction

The surgery is open Monday to Friday 8.00 am till 6.00 pm. We are not open during the weekend. We are open for pre-booked appointments only on Tuesdays up till 7 pm.

The 2004 GP Contract gives GPs the choice to opt out of providing 24-hour cover. Most GPs, including ourselves, have taken that option. This means that outwith normal opening hours the Health Board provides cover.

To obtain medical assistance when we are closed please phone the normal surgery number (01236 423355) where you will be greeted with a recorded message. It will tell you the correct number/s to phone for particular time periods. For virtually all intents and purposes NHS24 provides cover when we are closed. Their number is 0845 4 242424.

Wednesday Afternoon (12 noon - 6.00 pm)

Traditionally in Lanarkshire over the last 20-30 years doctors' surgeries have been shut on Wednesday afternoons. With the new contract implemented in 2004 the Scottish Government and Health Board have been keen for practices to provide some services on Wednesday afternoons.

To that end Centenary Surgery is now open on Wednesday afternoon. There will be staff at reception and the telephone will be answered in person. However there will not be a routine bookable surgery. Only emergencies will be attended to by medical staff. It may not be Dr Ooi himself who will attend to your emergency condition. Our regular GP on Wednesday afternoon is Dr Mike Irvine.

Out of Hours (OOH) Cover (6.00 pm - 8.00 am, plus all weekend)

This is a service which is the pride and joy of NHS Scotland. Up till October 2004 the local GPs had a co-operative (CADOC) which operated from Monklands Hospital. Now the new OOH service has taken over. It incorporates NHS 24, a new nurse-led line which is your first point of contact.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL NHS 24 DURING NORMAL OPENING HOURS. IT IS NOT INTENDED AS A "SECOND OPINION" SERVICE.

If you need medical assistance out of hours please telephone 0845 4 242424. Your call will be taken by a call handler, who will take your personal details and details of your medical condition. This information is then usually passed to a qualified nurse who may give you simple medical advice which may suffice. Alternatively arrangements may be made for you to be seen at one of the primary care centres (PCC). Your nearest PCC is at Monklands Hospital (next to A/E). If your condition merits a home visit (usually only for nursing home patients or the terminally ill) arrangements will be made for an on-call doctor to do so. If you need a re-visit in the morning NHS24 will inform your own GP.

More information available on www.nhs24.com