I phoned the 111 number at 3am and after a 20 minute interview was told an appointment had been made for me at the Douglas st clinic for 6. 30am. I live near the village of Forth in South Lanarkshire and neither my husband or I know Hamilton and this is where our journey became a nightmare.
When we arrived in Hamilton and found many one way systems in operation we found that taking the wrong turn and ending up in a no entry caused us to lose our bearings (we are both over 70) and we didn't have a clue where to go next. Many of the roads didn't have name plates so even having a map didn't help as we didn't know which road we were on.
I thought to phone ahead and let them know the problems we were having hoping they could give us directions but the answer machine said they were not open until Monday morning at 9am
This is not a good experience for people who are ill and don't know the area. Maybe a bit more thought given to the people who don't live in the area feel having to deal with this. The service from the staff at the clinic was excellent, kind, courteous and very helpful. The journey getting there was a nightmare. What could be improved? Having an out of hours service nearer my home.
"Out of hours service"
About: Lanarkshire Community Services / GP Out of Hours service Lanarkshire Community Services GP Out of Hours service NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) NHS 24 NHS 24 (111 service)
Posted by Jennyjoo (as ),
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Update posted by Jennyjoo (the patient) 7 years ago