In May 2018 the Practice brought in a new phone system which offers new functionality for patients and for managing our incoming and outgoing calls. Our phone numbers were unchanged so please continue to contact your local surgery using 731221 for Aultbea and 712229 for Gairloch.

Patients ringing the practice will notice some differences from our previous system, including hearing a message with choices to help you reach the right person. For example, choose 1 for reception, 2 to request repeat medication, etc. If we are busy dealing with other patients your call may be transferred and answered at the other site.  Patients should no longer expect to hear an engaged tone when the surgery line is busy, but you may be advised to call back later if we are too busy to take your call.

Remember, in a medical emergency please dial 999 and ask for the ambulance service.

Our new system also has the facility to record telephone calls for audit, training or complaints handling. We do not routinely record all calls. Any recordings are deleted from the original media and are not routinely retained in the patient's medical record. Please let us know if you do not consent for your telephone call to be recorded where necessary.

When should I call the Practice?

One of the features of the practice phone system is we can access statistics about the number of calls we receive and when they come in. We receive more than a hundred phonecalls every day and there is a consistent pattern of most calls coming in between 09.00 and 10.00 in the morning. This is understandable as patients may be calling to make an appointment for that day. Our busiest time is between 09:00 - 10:00 on Mondays.

If your call can wait until later in the day, for example if calling for test results, then you may wish to wait rather than trying to get through at our busiest time.