On this page you will find the latest information on hospital referrals and outpatient appointments.
There is continued pressure on our hospitals and services, resulting in longer waiting times for outpatient hospital appointments. We will try to arrange your appointment as soon as possible.
Hospital Service Referrals
When you have been referred to a hospital service, your referral will be assessed with one of the following outcomes:
- You may be offered an appointment with a consultant or clinician.
- The service may assess your referral and medical notes and decide that you do not require a hospital appointment, but will contact you and the person who referred you with advice on how to manage your condition.
- In some cases you will be asked to come to hospital, for example for a test or a scan so that the service you have been referred to can make a decision about the next steps.
Please note – if you are on the waiting list you will be contacted by letter in due course regarding your referral.
Hospital Appointments
If you require a hospital appointment you will be sent a letter with information on it including the date, time and location of your appointment. If you are unable to attend, please let us know by following the instructions on the letter.
Your appointment may be carried out in person, over the telephone or by video call.
Coming to hospital
If you need to be seen face to face then you will be offered an appointment with a consultant or clinician at one of our hospitals.
We are running additional outpatient clinics at various sites across NHS Ayrshire & Arran. This means you might be asked to attend a different hospital than the one you would normally go to.
You may be sent a letter asking you to contact the Referral Management Service to arrange an appointment or be sent a letter with the date, time and location of your appointment.
Please make sure the appointment is suitable to you and contact the Referral Management Service immediately if you are not able to attend. This will allow the appointment slot to be allocated to another patient.
Please do not be late for your appointment. Try to arrive at the department 5 to 10 minutes before so that you can book in.
If you are having an X-ray or test, you may need to go to other departments before or after seeing the doctor. If this is the case, your clinic visit may take up to two hours.
If you are travelling to your appointment by public transport, please visit Traveline Scotland to plan your journey, or call them on 0871 2300 22 33.
If you have a medical condition that stops you travelling independently, or you need the support of an ambulance crew, please contact the Scottish Ambulance Service as soon as you receive your appointment letter. You can contact them Monday – Friday between 8 am and 6 pm on: 0300 123 1236.
See our section on outpatient information for more details on how to prepare for your appointment.
Telephone appointments
Some appointments do not need to be done face to face and instead might be carried out over the telephone.
There are many advantages of carrying out appointments via the telephone. Patients do not need to travel and it helps reduce the number of people in hospital waiting rooms.
You will be sent a letter with the date and time of your pre-arranged appointment and the clinician will contact you as near to the time stated as possible. It is difficult to estimate the time required for each consultation so the clinician may not be able to contact you at the precise time stated on your letter. They will however endeavour to call you that morning or afternoon.
The appointment telephone call will be from the number 0800 678 3393. It is a good idea to save this number in your phone so that you know it is the NHS calling you.
Please make sure your contact number is up to date with your GP Practice.
Video call appointments
Some appointments do not need to be done in person and instead might be carried out by video call.
Video calls are carried out using NHS Near Me which is a safe and secure video calling platform that allows us to bring care closer to you.
There are many advantages of carrying out appointments via video call. Patients do not need to travel and it helps reduce the number of people in hospital waiting rooms.
You will be sent a letter with details of your pre-arranged appointment and more information on NHS Near Me.