"Out of Hours at the Weekend"

I rang NHS 24 as I was unwell with a urinary tract infection over the weekend. I was swiftly directed to a local hospital- I rang again to request that I be seen at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (due to ease of public transport from where I live), and the call handler was happy to handle this.

When I attended the hospital, I could not find any signs for Out of Hours GP. I looked at the various signage, including a map and could not find it anywhere. I wandered around the ground floor looking for a member of staff to direct me, and I could find nobody. At the time, I actually found this distressing as I felt unwell and was frustrated the wandering around. I feel that ensuring front reception is staffed at the weekend and also that Out of Hours GP is directed from the main hospital, would be a good way to improve the service. I work in another hospital, so am fairly confident with how hospitals generally run. I feel that someone who had dementia, for example, would be more significantly affected by this problem. I had to phone NHS 24 to be re-directed to the children's hospital next door which was not a good use of their phone line time, I felt.

When I finally arrived at OOH, the care was great. I was seen speedily- by a nurse who took the basis of my history and my physical observations- I felt this was an efficient system. I was then seen by a lovely friendly GP, who was thorough in taking a further history of the problem and examining me. I felt that I received good care in a timely, caring manner.