Our website has been designed to make it easy for you to gain instant access to the information you need. As well as specific practice details such as opening hours and how to register, you’ll find a wealth of useful pages covering a wide range of health issues along with links to other relevant medical organisations.

Monday 19th December 2022 - please note we have current staff shortage for 4 weeks.  Please allow 3-5 days for your prescription to be processed over this time.  Thank you. 

Changes to Open Surgery and surgery appointments. 

We are delighted to announce Hermitage Medical Practice has re-started Open Surgery clinics.
The open surgery is accessible on the day without a pre-booked appointment, and will take place in the morning for all patients.
The open surgery clinics will run Monday to Friday from 9am. Patients must arrive in person to check in and be booked in by 10am. Patients can check in from 8am if they wish.

Open surgery clinics will be capped each day at safe limits. We will endeavour to see all patients who check into the surgery in person before 10am, but if the safe working level has been reached then patients will be asked to return on a different day to be seen.

BMA Scotland has advised GP Practices to consider how their level of working compares to recommendations on safe working. Various limits will be placed on services to ensure both GPs and their staff and patients are protected from unreasonable work levels. We hope you understand.

The open surgery clinic appointments are 10 minutes in length, if you feel your appointment may take longer then please book into the pre booked afternoon clinic.  Open surgeries deal with one problem only.  Please do not bring a list of problems.  This allows the open surgery clinic to run smoothly for all patients. 

Winter vaccinations 2022

Who is eligible for the winter COVID-19 booster?
Following final advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the following groups will be offered a winter COVID-19 booster:
• residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
• frontline health and social care workers (see Appendix C for full definitions)
• all adults aged 50 years and over
• those aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, including those who are pregnant
• those aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
• carers aged 16 to 49 years
Who is eligible for this year’s flu vaccination?
Those eligible for a flu vaccination, as per the JCVI recommendations, are:
• pregnant women
• those aged 6 months and over in clinical risk groups
• all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2022
• all primary and secondary school aged children
• those aged 50 and over (including those who turn 50 by 31 March 2023)
• those in long-stay residential care homes
• carers
• close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• frontline staff employed by the following types of social care providers without employer-led occupational health schemes:
 a registered residential care or nursing home
 a registered domiciliary care provider
 a voluntary managed hospice provider
 Direct Payment (personal budgets) or Personal Health Budgets, such as Personal Assistants
If a person is still unsure if they are eligible for one or both vaccinations, they can check their eligibility via the NHS Inform website.

Winter vaccinations 2022
The Scottish Government has announced that people aged 65 and over will be first in line for their flu vaccination and COVID-19 winter booster.
Texts, emails or letters with appointment times have been issued to those aged 65 and over in Lothian. If you are 65 or over and your invitation has not reached you, please call the National Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013 for assistance.

Please note that if you are registered as Housebound you will not be sent a letter inviting you to a vaccination clinic. You will be contacted by telephone by someone from your Health and Social Care Partnership Vaccination Team to arrange a suitable time for them to visit you in your home.
Texts, emails or letters with appointment times for patients who are At Risk and are aged 5-64 will be issued shortly and should reach eligible patients in Lothian by 17 October.

Appointments for all other priority groups will be made available as the programme progresses. You can check your eligibility for the flu vaccination and/or the COVID-19 winter booster via NHS Inform.
Those without internet access can contact the National Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013 for any assistance.

Primary and secondary school children will receive their flu vaccination at school. Appointment letters have been sent to homes inviting children aged 2 to 5 who are not yet in school forward for the free flu vaccine, which is given as a painless nasal spray.

More information on the winter vaccination programme, how to book and how to obtain a copy of your COVID Vaccination Status can be found at NHS Inform and on NHS Lothian’s website which includes a helpful list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Public holidays.

Please note: As a result of the national public holiday on Monday 19th September for HM the Queen funeral, NHS Lothian have rescheduled the public holiday to Monday 28th November 2022. 

THE SURGERY WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY 28TH NOVEMBER 2022. 

Hermitage Medical Practice is closed for the following public holidays.  Please ensure you have enough repeat medication to cover over this period.  If you require urgent medical assistance please call 111.

Monday 26th December 2022

Tuesday 27th December 2022

Monday 2nd January 2023

Tuesday 3rd January 2023

How are GP Practices working?

GP practices are open Since the pandemic, health services must operate differently to protect everyone. It’s important to maintain safe infection control and minimise unnecessary physical contact where possible. This means there are now more ways for you to access care.

Why do receptionists ask questions? GP reception staff are a vital part of the health care team and are there to triage enquires. You don’t have to tell them anything that makes you uncomfortable, however they can help you get the most appropriate appointment as quickly as possible. All the information they handle is treated confidentially.

I wanted to see my GP, so why am I seeing someone else? Many GP practice teams include, or are supported by, nurses, advanced nurse practitioners (who can diagnose and treat health conditions), occupational therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists and link workers. By using the skills of each healthcare professional we can ensure you are assessed as quickly as possible by the right person.

What about emergencies? Always dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency. If you need help with minor injuries or urgent care when your GP practice is closed dial NHS 24 on 111.

Where else can I get help? Visit www.nhsinform.scot for advice on common symptoms and a list of local services or speak to your pharmacist first for advice on minor illnesses.

Call 111:
• for minor injuries
• for urgent mental health advice and guidance
• if you’re too ill to wait for your GP or dentist #to open.

Please be patient Our health services are under enormous pressure, but we are open and here if needed. Please work together with us to make sure you get the right care, in the right place, at the right time by the appropriate health professional for your needs.

Right care Right Place

The burst of the Right Care Right Place Campaign aims to promote use of NHS 111 and visiting GP services for non life threatening medical issues.  Please take a look at the documents below.

Right Care Right Place 1 Right Care Right Place 2

Rules in General Practice

The Scottish Government requires General Practice and other healthcare settings to have different infection control and physical distancing guidance to other places such as hospitality and shops.  This is to help reduce the risk to practice staff and to people attending the practice who may be at greater risk if they catch Covid 19 or a Respiratory Infection.  The following rules still apply in General Practice:

• wearing of face coverings by patients and the public (unless you are exempt)
• wearing of PPE by staff
• screening of all patients for Covid 19 and respiratory symptoms

Please support your local practice team by complying with this guidance.

Zero Tolerance for abuse

Hermitage Medical Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff or one of the doctors or nursing team is treated in an abusive or violent way.  In recent months the number of patients treating staff in an unreasonable manner has increased dramatically.  

The Practice supports the government's 'Zero Tolerance' campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. We would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:
• Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
• Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
• Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
• Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
• Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
• Causing damage/stealing from the Practice's premises, staff or patients
• Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.

COVID_19 Vaccination status scheme launches

A vaccination status letter can be downloaded from the NHS Inform patient portal or - for those not online - requested in the post via a Freephone Covid Status Helpline.

Only those planning to travel to a country or territory where a record of vaccination status is needed as an entry requirement should download the record or request it.

While there are no countries currently requiring vaccination status to travel, international travel restrictions can change quickly requiring such measures to be in place.

The measures are intended to ease the burden on the NHS by removing the need for people to ask their GP for a status record.

As Scotland's vaccination program progresses, vaccination status will be replaced by digital Covid Status Certificates, which will include vaccination and testing data to be used for outbound international travel.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith said:

Given the risk of returning with infection, and especially of introducing new variants of the virus, we continue to be highly cautious about international travel. Everyone should continue to limit their travel abroad and while I understand the need for some people who want to reunite with family, when it comes to holidays, my advice continues to be play it safe and staycation this summer.

For those that do need it, this new service will provide people with a record of their vaccination status for outbound international travel.

They should only access their record if they are planning to travel within 21 days and it is a requirement of their destination.

People will be able access their Covid-19 Vaccine Status online, by logging on to www.nhsinform.scot/covid19status.

People who have lost or forgotten their username or password will be able to create new ones by selecting 'forgot username' or 'forgot password' options. A Freephone Covid Status Helpline will allow people to get the record posted to them.

It can be contacted on 0808 196 8565.

The Scottish Government continues to urge a highly cautious approach to international travel, given the risk of new variants. The four UK Chief Medical Officers have said that green-list status should be the exception, rather than the rule, with countries added to the list only where there are very good reasons for doing so.

If you are intending to travel abroad you should:

COVID_19 Advice for the General Public

For general information and advice on COVID-19, patients should  be directed to NHSInform website : https://www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus

For patients looking for general advice there is a NHS24 dedicated Novel Coronavirus Helpline on 0800 028 2816.

Symptoms of Coronavirus are:

• a new continuous cough  ( anew cough which has lasted for an hour, have had 3 or more episodes of coughing in 24 hours or are coughing more than usual)
• or high temperature (>37.8) if you cannot take your temperature, a high temperature is feeling hot to touch on your chest or back, you may feel warm, cold or shivery.
• or a loss or change in your sense of smell or taste.

 If you have had COVID_19 but are still concerned about persisting symptoms and are looking for advice on how to manage these, please click on this link Post COVID Advice

Changes to prescriptions

Please make any prescription request in writing and post into the box marked "prescriptions" on the left hand side of the vestibule.  You do not have to enter the building.  If you currently request medication online, please continue to do so.

Prescriptions will go to your usual documented pharmacy.  if you do not have one, we will contact you for you to request your preferred pharmacy for pick up.   There will be no collection of prescriptions at the surgery.  Please allow 72 hours for this service.

Please be mindful that pharmacies will also be extremely busy at this time.

 Time of work due to self isolation 

You do not need a "Fit Note" for self isolation.  You can send an isolation note to your employer as proof you need to stay off work because of Covid_19.  you can get an isolation note at www.nhsinform.scot under the general heading. 

WE APPRECIATE YOUR CO-OPERATION DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME.  THESE DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO REDUCE TRAFFIC AND RISK OF INFECTION TRANSMISSION TO VULNERABLE PATIENTS AND STAFF. 

THIS HAS BEEN DONE AS PER GUIDANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND OTHER STATUTORY BODIES.

Colleagues in NHS Lothian communications team have created a poster to help explain to the public and wider health and social care staff how general practice is working differently to some models used pre-pandemic and how this benefits patients by providing more ways to access care and keeps people safe.   Please access the poster here: How GP Practices are working

Sending Images

If you require to send in images for your GP to look at before your consultation please send to clinical.s71449@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk  Images being sent to this email address will be saved in your medical records, by sending these images to us would mean that you are consenting to them being stored within your medical records.   This email address should NOT be used to send any other clinical information.  Please telephone the surgery with any clinical information or appointment requests.

Join In

We hope you enjoy having a look around the site and familiarising yourself with some of the online features such as ordering a repeat prescription. Whatever your thoughts, be sure to let us know via our feedback function. Comments and suggestions are always a great way of helping us continue to enhance the way we look after you.

Access & Transport

• By public LRT bus: 11, 15, 16, 23, 5, 51, 37, 24 to Morningside Road, 38 to Cluny Gardens.
• Parking: There is a restricted parking area directly in front of the surgery which is for doctors only during working hours.  In addition, there is pay & display parking in Hermitage Terrace, Cluny Avenue and Nile Grove.
• Disabled Access:  There is easy access for the disabled to all waiting and reception areas and doctors rooms.  There is also a disabled toilet facility.

NHS DIGITAL DATA SHARING OPT OUT

We would like to reassure our patients that the proposed extraction of GP data by NHS Ditigal does NOT include any patients registered with this practice or in NHS Scotland.  NHS Digital provides services in England so are not able to access any data held in Scotland.  You are not required to opt out as your data is already safe.  We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and safeguards are in place to protect this, including when data is used for research.

Further information on how NHS Scotland handles your personal information is on the NHS Inform website.