Attending an outpatient appointment

How will your appointment take place?

Outpatient appointments may take place in person, by telephone or by video using Near Me. Please check your appointment letter for information about how your appointment will take place.

Near Me appointments

Near Me is a secure video appointment service that allows you to attend a pre-arranged appointment without travelling to hospital. Near Me is not suitable, or required, for every appointment, so please follow the information provided by your service.

Find out more about Near Me.

Telephone appointments

If your appointment is by telephone, please check your appointment letter for any instructions about your appointment and make sure NHS Highland has your correct contact details.

In person appointments

If your appointment is in person, your appointment letter will tell you where and when to attend. Use the Where are you attending? section below to find information about your hospital or location, including directions, parking and facilities.

Where are you attending?

Select the hospital or location shown on your appointment letter for information about how to get there, directions, parking and facilities at that site.

• Raigmore Hospital (Inverness)

• National Treatment Centre - Highland (Inverness)

• Caithness General Hospital (Wick)

• Belford Hospital (Fort William)

• Lorn and Islands Hospital (Oban)

• other NHS Highland hospitals and locations

While you are waiting

Patient Hub

If you are waiting for an outpatient appointment, NHS Highland may contact you by text message or email through Patient Hub.

Patient Hub is a secure online service that allows you to tell us if you still need your appointment, if you need to delay it or if you no longer need to be seen. You can also keep your contact details up to date.

If you receive a Patient Hub message from NHS Highland, please follow the instructions in the message and respond to any outstanding notifications.

Find out more about Patient Hub.

Looking after yourself while you wait

While you are waiting for your appointment, there are things you can do to look after your health and wellbeing and help you prepare for your appointment, care or treatment.

NHS inform has information and support to help you wait well. Find out more about Waiting Well.

Your rights and responsibilities

Our Local Patient Access Policy explains what you can expect from NHS Highland and what we ask of you while you are waiting for and attending appointments.

If you are unable to attend an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible using the contact details on your appointment letter. This may allow the appointment to be offered to another person.

Read the NHS Highland Local Patient Access Policy (pdf).

Preparing for your appointment

Your appointment letter will tell you if there is anything you need to do before your appointment. Please read it carefully and follow any instructions provided.

You may also want to think about any questions or concerns you would like to discuss during your appointment.

What to bring

Please bring your appointment letter and any information you have been asked to bring with you.

If relevant to your appointment, it may also be useful to have an up-to-date list of your medicines.

What to expect

During your appointment, you will have the opportunity to discuss your care, ask questions and talk about the options available to you.

If you are attending in person, follow the information in your appointment letter about where to go. If you are unsure, please ask at reception. At some of our sites, volunteers may also be available to help you find your way to the department or clinic.

It's OK to Ask

It is important that you understand your care and treatment. Asking questions can help you understand your options and be involved in decisions about your care.

You can use BRAN to help you remember some useful questions:

• B – Benefits: What are the benefits of my treatment?

• R – Risks: What are the risks of my treatment?

• A – Alternatives: Are there alternative treatments I can try?

• N – Nothing: What if I do nothing?

Find out more about It's OK to Ask.

Changing or cancelling your appointment

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible.

Use the contact details on your appointment letter to change or cancel your appointment. Giving us as much notice as possible may allow the appointment to be offered to another patient.

Help with attending your appointment

Travel, patient transport and help with travel costs

You can find information about getting to your appointment, public and community transport, patient transport services and help with travel costs.

Find out about travel, patient transport and help with travel costs.

Active travel

If you are able to, you may want to consider walking, cycling, using public transport or sharing your journey when travelling to your appointment.

Active travel can benefit your health and wellbeing, reduce the environmental impact of travel and help reduce pressure on hospital car parks.

Find out more about active travel to NHS Highland sites.

Accessibility and additional support

If you have accessibility or additional support needs, please contact the service using the details on your appointment letter so that we can consider what support you may need.

Interpreter and communication support

If you need an interpreter or communication support for your appointment, please contact the service using the details on your appointment letter so that appropriate support can be arranged.

If you have difficulty communicating by telephone or need information in another language or format, you can find information about the communication support available from NHS Highland.

Find out more about communication and information accessibility.

British Sign Language (BSL)

If you use British Sign Language (BSL), communication support is available. NHS Highland commissions a Communication Support Service to provide BSL interpretation for people accessing NHS services.

Find out about British Sign Language (BSL) support.

Useful information

Patient Wi-Fi

Free patient Wi-Fi is available at several NHS Highland hospitals. You can connect using your own smartphone, tablet or laptop.

Find out where Patient Wi-Fi is available and how to connect.

Your information and privacy

NHS Highland uses personal information to provide health and care services. You can find information about what personal information we use, why we use it, how it is protected and your rights in our Privacy Notice.

Read the NHS Highland Privacy Notice.

Your health rights

You have rights and responsibilities when using NHS services in Scotland. These include being involved in decisions about your treatment, having your information treated confidentially, being able to access your health records and being able to raise concerns about the care you receive.

Find out more about your health rights.

Feedback, compliments and complaints

We welcome feedback about your experience of NHS Highland services. You can share a compliment, comment, concern, suggestion or complaint with our Feedback Team. NHS Highland also encourages patients to speak to staff directly where they feel able to do so.

Contact the NHS Highland Feedback Team.

No-smoking information

The Scottish Government has made it an offence to smoke within 15 metres of an NHS hospital building from 5 September 2022. This includes awning, canopies or any other over hanging structures.

Read more information at gov.scot about the hospital smoking ban.

If you would like support to manage not smoking while you are here, please visit Smoke-Free Highland or Quit Your Way Scotland.