The Outpatients department is for those who have been referred to the hospital by a doctor. If you need immediate attention you should visit your general practitioner or go to the Accident & Emergency department.
Please double check your letter to make sure that you arrive on the right date for your appointment. Your GP will normally have explained any special instructions about eating or drinking before your appointment but check your letter.
If you have to travel by car please allow extra time, as car parking is very difficult at peak times.
Interpreters
If you need an interpreter and cannot bring someone to help, please let us know in advance so we can arrange an interpreter, by contacting the Patient Services Department.
When you arrive
- Please bring your appointment letter to the hospital on the day of your appointment.
- Report to the receptionist in the clinic location stated on the letter.
- The receptionist will check whether any of your details - address, telephone number or GP, has changed.
- You will be asked to wait until a nurse calls you for your appointment.
- Remember that the waiting area is shared by a number of consultant's clinics so a person arriving after you who is seen before you will be seeing another specialist.
Outpatient dispensing
- Medicines that are urgently required and those that will be difficult to obtain via the GP will be supplied from the hospital pharmacy following an outpatient appointment.
- Patients should bring evidence of any exemptions from prescription charges when attending the hospital pharmacy.
- Routine and non-urgent medication should be obtained from a community pharmacy using a prescription written by the GP.
- A referral letter for the GP will be given to the patient in the outpatient clinic.
- It may take a few days for the GP to produce a prescription but this should not concern patients as all urgently needed medicines are provided from the hospital.
