Further Information

In Times of Bereavement

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;

• Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death)
• Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
• Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the death

If the death has been reported to the Coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

You can use the ‘Register a Death’ page on the gov.uk website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Arrange the funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:

• National Association of Funeral Directors
• National Federation of Funeral Directors
• Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

These organisations have codes of practice - they must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own funeral services, for example for non-religious burials. The British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

• funeral director fees
• things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
• local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.

Are you a Carer?

All problems relating to mouth or teeth require appropriate assessment by a qualified Dentist.  If you have a dental issue please contact your registered dentist who will arrange review. 

If you do not have a dentist, please contact the Dental Enquiry Line on 0845-3000-930.

All eye conditions should be seen by an Optician first for their expertise.  They have the correct equipment for full eye examination and can refer directly to an Ophthalmologist if required.

As part of the 2018 General Medical Services Contract (Scotland) to provide additional professional services to GP practices, we now have a First Contact Physiotherapist (FCP) in the team. Michelle is an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner who will be in the Stow Practice on a Thursday morning and Lauder Practice on a Thursday afternoon. 

FCP’s will be seeing patients with bone, muscle and joint problems directly.  The role is to assess and diagnose the musculoskeletal condition and organise investigations including X-rays and scans if required.  They will plan and discuss the management with you which may include some self-management advice, exercises and treatment.  If appropriate they can organise a referral onto specialists for example Orthopaedic consultants or on for further Physiotherapy treatment. 

The Physiotherapist cannot see patients under 16 years of age, pregnant women or where the problem is suspected to be caused by infection or malignancy.  They are not able to prescribe medication or complete a sicknote/fit note. 

Other ways to access Physiotherapy:

You can refer yourself directly to the outpatient Physiotherapy Department at the Borders General Hospital - click on the link below to find the form on the NHS Borders website.  You will also find links to common musculoskeletal problems with advice and exercises that should help to manage your condition.

Confidentiality & Medical Records

The Practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

• To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
• To help you get other services e.g. from the Social Work department. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practitioners and the Practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the Practice Manager.

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the Practice Manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Complaints

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our Practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please contact the Practice Manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.

Violence Policy

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the Practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

If you are pregnant you do not always need to make an appointment with a GP, you can contact the Midwives directly on 01896 663741. The Midwives are based at the Health Centre at Currie Road, Galashiels.

The more you know about your pregnancy and your options, the more you are likely to feel in control.

nhsborders.scot.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/our-services/general-services/maternity-services/

This Privacy Notice explains why the GP practice collects information about you and how that information may be used.

For information about any of the NHS Screening Programmes, please see the link below.  

Screening tests identify certain diseases and conditions before symptoms appear so that treatment can be started early.

The way we access urgent care is changing in Scotland. 

If you have a problem which is non-life threatening but may require A&E input, you can now contact NHS 24's 111 service (phone '111') 24/7.  NHS 24 will offer you further advice on what care is required and where to access this care.  This can include self care and support at NHSInform.scot; your local pharmacy, minor injuries unit or A&E.  They may advise that the GP Surgery is the best place to get medical care and ask you to make an appointment. 

If you have an immediate or life threatening condition, please call 999 or go straight to A&E.

Vitamin D helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, which is important for bone, teeth and muscle health.

Our main source of vitamin D is sunlight. In Scotland, we only get enough of the right kind of sunlight for our bodies to make vitamin D between April and September, mostly between 11am and 3pm.

From October to March, we need to get vitamin D from our food and supplements. Since vitamin D is found only in a small number of foods, it might be difficult to get enough from food alone.

Good sources of vitamin D include:

• oily fish – such as salmon, herring and mackerel
• red meat and offal – such as liver and kidney
• egg yolks
• fortified cereals, soya products and spreads

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