The Out of Hours service is for those who are in urgent need of medical treatment but cannot wait until their GP practice opens.

If you need access to care urgently, but it’s not life threatening, you can access the Out of Hours service by calling NHS 24, the free telephone health advice service on 111.

The Out of Hours service is open 6pm-8pm during the week and 24 hours a day during weekends and on public holidays.

Your call will be assessed by NHS 24 initially and, if further advice or assessment is required, you will be passed to the Out of Hours service where a clinician will review your case.

They will give you advice depending on your symptoms. This could be managing symptoms at home, or visiting your local pharmacy. If you need to see an on-call doctor or other health professional, they will arrange this for you.

It is important to remember that the Out of Hours services is NOT for routine appointments and should not be used for enquiries about repeat prescriptions, dental problems or minor ailments.

For self-care advice, visit the NHS inform website, while your local pharmacy is the first port of call for minor ailments.

You can also visit the NHS 24 website: www.nhs24.scot

In the case of a life-threatening emergency, always call 999.

NHS 24 out of hours video for BSL service users https://vimeo.com/256780230