Being referred to orthopaedics
You may be referred into Orthopaedics by your GP or another specialist service or following attendance at the Emergency Department.
If you have been referred by your GP or another service with an ongoing issue, a clinician in the Orthopaedic Department will look at your referral letter and make a decision about the appropriate clinic for you to attend. This is called vetting.
If you have been referred by Emergency Department following an injury, you will receive a phone call the following day from a member of our specialist nursing staff who will either give you medical advice or ask you to attend an appointment at our Fracture Clinic.
Arranging your appointment
Once your referral has been vetted, your name will be added to the outpatient waiting list under the care of a consultant or extended scope physiotherapy practitioner (ESP).
You will be sent a letter inviting you to call the booking office within 7 days to arrange a clinic appointment. If you fail to call the booking office within 7 days, a reminder letter will be sent to you. If you fail to call the booking office after a further 7 days, your name will be removed from the waiting list and your GP will be informed. If you still wish an appointment after this, you will have to contact your GP to be re-referred.
If appropriate, you may receive a phone call to arrange a telephone or video appointment instead.
To facilitate this process please ensure that your contact information is up-to-date.
If you wish to reschedule your appointment, please call the booking office on 0141 201 3114 or 0141 201 3105. You can also email us at GRI.OrthopaedicOutpatients@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.
If you are asked to attend an orthopaedic appointment
If you have been asked to attend the orthopaedic outpatient clinic. There are a number of specialist clinicians in the department who could see you. This will depend on the type of injury/complaint you have.
If you require transport for the upcoming appointment, please arrange this one week in advance, by calling: 0300 123 1236. You will be asked a series of questions about your mobility, this is to assess if you are eligible for ambulance transport.
Outpatient clinics are located in Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Stobhill Hospital.
Following your appointment
The clinician will discuss the best course of action for you. There are a number of possible outcomes of this:
- You may be sent for an investigation (e.g. MRI scan)
- You may be sent for a second opinion
- You may be given a return appointment to our orthopaedic outpatient clinic
- You may be added to the waiting list for surgery
- You may be discharged
Inpatient Waiting List
At your appointment, the clinician may have a discussion with you about adding you to the waiting list for surgery. If you agree, your name will then be added to the list.
You will receive a letter informing you of this, along with a Patient’s Right Act leaflet
As an patient you have a responsibility to:
- Keep your agreed hospital appointments and attend for admissions
- Let us know if you need to cancel an appointment or admission
- Let us know if you are going to be unavailable for a period of time
- Let us know if you change your name, address or telephone detail
Reasonable Offer
We will offer all patients two reasonable offers of an appointment for treatment. If you do not accept either of these offers we may remove you from our waiting list and return you back to the care of your GP.
A reasonable offer includes an offer, either written or verbal, of treatment in any NHS Greater Glasgow or Clyde (NHSGGC) hospital. We will give you a minimum of 7 days’ notice of this appointment.