Emergency Department - Waiting to be seen

Waiting to be seen at the Emergency Department

Welcome to the Emergency Department.

We will make sure you are treated by the right person as soon as we can, according to how sick you are or how bad your injury is.

Patients are not seen in the order they arrive. The most unwell or badly injured are seen first.

You may be seen by the Minor Injury Team or the Main Emergency Department Team.

Covid-19 pandemic

Due to COVID-19, you must socially distance and wear a face covering.

Our waiting area was not built when people had to socially distance, and so now can hold much less people in it.

If you wait in our waiting room, no-one will be able to wait with you unless you have problems communicating or are the parent of a child under the age of 16.

All people entering the Emergency Department will be asked to wear a face covering. If you do not have one with you, we can give you one. The only exceptions are very small children and agitated patients .

To reduce crowding, if you arrived by car and can wait in your car to be seen, then we may ask you to do this. This will not affect how quickly you are seen.

Booking in

Please give Reception staff your mobile number when you book in. If you do not have a mobile phone with you, you cannot wait in your car.

Make sure the ringer is on and that you have enough battery to last a few hours.

We are often very busy and it may be a long time before you are seen.

Waiting to be seen

When we are ready to see you, we will phone you and ask you to come to the Emergency Department entrance. You must come up immediately.

When we call you, the number will be 0800 XXX XXX or ‘No Caller ID’.

You must not leave the hospital grounds while waiting. If you do, we will treat this as though you have left without being seen. You will need to book back in again at reception and join the bottom of the queue to be seen.

Please do not eat or drink while waiting in your car. You may need ‘knocked out’ or an operation, and will need an empty stomach for this.

Changes while you are waiting

While you are waiting, if you feel you are getting more unwell, please phone and let our reception staff know on 01698 366614.

If you feel you do not need to be seen anymore and would like to leave, please also let us know on the number above.

Thank you very much for helping us in trying to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If you need this information in another language or format, please e-mail:

Translation.Services@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk