Services A to Z
Please see the consensus statement on metastatic surveillance of uveal melanoma in Scotland. This gives up to date information on how often we check your body for spread of eye melanoma.
Service Overview
The Molecular Radiotherapy (MRT) service offers a range of radionuclide therapies at Gartnavel General Hospital (GGH) and The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre (BWoSCC) and is staffed by a friendly and professional multi-disciplinary team. The team includes medical doctors, technicians, nurses, physicists, healthcare support workers and clerical staff. Therapies take place in either Beatson main out patients, ward B3 or Nuclear medicine GGH.
Opening Times
Monday to Friday, 8.30am – 4.00pm (Closed Public Holidays & weekends)
Change / Cancel Appointment
If for any reason you are unable to attend your appointment, please inform us by telephoning 0141 301 7621 as soon as possible during office hours to contact your nurse specialist. We will make every effort to adjust your appointment.
Location
Therapies take place across multiple sites on the Gartnavel campus. Please see your patient info leaflet, which will come with your appointment, for location details.
Contact Details
- Main nuclear medicine department number – 0141 301 7900
- Ward B3 number – 0141 301 7623
- Clinical Nurse Specialist – 0141 301 7621
Additional Information
Service Overview
The Beatson West of Scotland PET centre is located on the Gartnavel Hospital Campus. If you have been referred for a PET-CT scan, we will post you an appointment letter, patient information leaflet and directions to the PET Centre. These should provide all the necessary information regarding where and when to attend, what preparation is required and answer many other questions you may have. However, should you have any further queries regarding your PET-CT scan, please call the department on 0141 301 7800 and staff will be happy to help.
Below is a video of what to expect when attending the department for a PET scan. Subtitles can be enabled in the settings menu at the bottom right of the video.
Additional Information
- FDG PET CT Scan – patient information leaflet
- PSMA PET CT Scan – patient information leaflet
- Contrast Enhanced FDG PET CT Scan – patient information leaflet
- Ga-68 Dotatoc PET CT Scan – patient information leaflet
Location
The West of Scotland PET Centre is on the Gartnavel Hospital Campus in the Tom Wheldon building of the Beatson Cancer Centre;
1053 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G12 0YN

Scottish Ambulance Service
The Scottish Ambulance Service has a central booking service which allows you to book ambulance transport. If you require this service, please phone 0300 123 1236 at least 3 days before your appointment but no sooner than 30 days in advance. Lines are open from 8.00am to 8.00pm Monday to Saturday.
Voluntary Hospital Transport Service
There are several options available if you require Hospital Transport Services to attend your appointment. Please see contacts below:
- East Dumbarton Voluntary Drivers – 0141 280 9527
- Lanarkshire Voluntary Drivers – 01698 355 137
- Ayrshire Voluntary Drivers – 0156 353 8008
Department Contact Details
- Call: 0141 301 7800
Other Useful Links
The Orthopaedic Research Department is situated in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. We conduct a variety of clinical and basic research as well as exploring service redesign to improve the patient pathway through clinic.
Our clinical research portfolio revolves around the use of new robotic guided knee replacement surgeries to improve surgical accuracy, patient recovery and improve patient gait following knee replacement. We also assist in the recruitment of patients to trials that are centred outwith the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Examples of these clinical trials can be found clicking the research link below.
As an active research department we frequently disseminate our research findings in journal articles. A list of these publications can be found via the publications link below.
If you would like more information on the research activities currently on-going in the Department or to discuss participating in an on-going clinical trial please contact: iii-ortho-research@glasgow.ac.uk
Permission to access patient records
We are seeking approval for permission to review the medical records of patients that took part in our two previous clinical trials, TRUCK and MAKO. This would involve seeking ethical approval to access patients’ medical records to record details of health care usage which is both related and un-related to their knee replacement. This is performed in an anonymised manner and only extracts information about how many times a participant has accessed a health care provider, with no details as to the reason for their visit. The aim of this new aspect of the study is to to review the participants retrospective NHS healthcare usage in a non-identifiable way to see if there is any downstream, long term differences between the patients who were randomised to receive the robotic-assisted knee surgery and conventional knee surgery groups. The difference in health care usage may highlight a potential cost benefit of the use of robotic or conventional surgery.
For access to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Data Privacy Notice, please follow the link below. This includes a section on data protection in Research and Innovation.
News
Information on upcoming projects and future collaborations, coming soon.
Upcoming Trials
Charity
Hip & Knee School
Within the team there are many years of experience in orthopaedic nursing and the nursing staff have many specialist skills in caring for orthopaedic patients. In our department you will meet nurses trained in caring for you from your first visit, to pre-operative assessment and follow up.
Mairi MacKinnon – Limb Reconstruction Clinical Nurse Specialist

Mairi MacKinnon is the Limb Reconstruction Clinical Nurse Specialist based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. She has recently joined the limb reconstruction team having previously served within the orthopaedic department as the musculoskeletal oncology nurse specialist for over 2 years.
Mairi manages all limb reconstruction patients including patients with external fixators, in particular, circular frames. She also assists the Intramedullary Nail Clinic where all tibial patients attend for review. As part of her role within the limb reconstruction service, she manages complex surgical wounds and has extensive experience in Negative Pressure Wound Therapy.
Pamela McKirdy – Orthopaedic Staff Nurse

Pamela McKirdy is a Staff Nurse in the Orthopaedic Outpatients Department. She has worked in Orthopaedic Outpatients for 24 years gaining a wealth of experience and knowledge in Orthopaedic conditions, trauma and elective surgeries and wound care. She has completed the casting course and has specialist training and experience in managing both elective and trauma surgeries post-operatively and on many occasions it may be Pamela who will review your condition or surgery in a stand-alone clinic where your entire care will be managed by experienced nurses and your x-rays reviewed. She is able to consult directly with senior medical staff if appropriate regarding any unusual findings.
Sarah Vaughan – Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist
Sarah is the Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Musculoskeletal Sarcoma Oncology Service based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Sarah recently joined the team having previously worked as an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist for 6 years within another Trust.
The Oncology team form part of a specialist service who have extensive knowledge and expertise in managing Sarcoma. This team provides a comprehensive service that covers investigation of suspected disease, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
It’s Sarah’s job to provide support throughout this time, offering advice and a point of contact whilst patients undergo investigations and/or treatment.
The Extended Scope Physiotherapy Practitioners (ESP) are specialist clinicians who have undertaken additional Orthopaedic training. They work in a similar role to the Consultants within the Orthopaedic Outpatient Clinics at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
During your clinic appointment, the ESP will carry out an assessment of your problem and if necessary, organise further investigations (e.g. X-Ray, MRI).
Please wear suitable clothing to allow assessment of the relevant joint.
Some investigations such as MRI scans cannot be carried out in clinic and a further appointment for this will be organised. Results of the assessment and/or any investigations will be reviewed by the ESP who will discuss the available treatment options with each individual patient.
If further intervention by surgery is indicated, this will be discussed during the clinic appointment. If other management options are more appropriate e.g. onward referral to other services, this can also be organised.
Useful Internal Links
External Links
ACL Reconstruction Rehabilitation
Frank Gilroy’s ACL reconstruction rehabilitation programme (opens on a new page)
*NOTE: your physiotherapist will provide you with a password in order to access this programme.
Joint School App
Sign up and download necessary https://www.jointschool.app (opens on a new page)
The Royal College of Anaesthetists
leaflets and videos on the types of anaesthetic that may be used for your surgery www.rcoa.ac.uk (opens on a new page)
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Consultant Surgeons
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Extended Scope Physiotherapist Practitioners
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Advanced Podiatry Practitioners (APP)
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Specialist Nurses / Nursing Team
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Trauma Coordinators (Coming Soon)
- Trauma and Orthopaedic Musculoskeletal Oncology Service (Coming Soon)
Anaesthesia allows you to be pain free and comfortable during your operation. Sometimes this involves a general anaesthetic which is a state of controlled unconsciousness controlled by medication during which you will not feel pain or remember anything. This is often referred to as ‘going to sleep’ for your operation. However, anaesthesia does not always mean that you have to be unconscious as modern anaesthetic techniques can numb certain parts of your body such that you will not feel any pain whilst still being able to remain awake. These techniques can numb a small part of your body (local anaesthesia), an entire arm or foot (nerve block) or the lower part of your body from the waist down (spinal or epidural anaesthesia). There are lots of benefits to having a procedure done in this way and for some orthopaedic operations, such as hip and knee replacements, these have become the most common types of anaesthetic. They can often be accompanied by sedation if required for your comfort. Sometimes however these techniques are not the best option for you and a general anaesthetic will suit you better or indeed the operation cannot be done without you having a general anaesthetic.
You will hear more about the anaesthetic options for your intended operation when you attend your pre-operative assessment. Please ensure you pick up a copy of any relevant information leaflets and take time to read through them. You may also be given the opportunity to watch a video prior to your operation if you are having a knee or hip replacement.
Your preferences are important and you will be given the opportunity to discuss the risks and benefits of the anaesthetic options available to you. In some instances you may be asked to attend the hospital specifically to see an Anaesthetist if the specialist nursing staff in the pre-operative assessment clinic feel this would be of benefit to you, but in most cases you will meet your Anaesthetist on the day of surgery.
Details about what to expect and the potential side effects and complications of the different Anaesthetic options are outlined in the document link below ‘Anaesthesia: What you need to know’. Please take the time to read it so you are better prepared for the day of your surgery.
Anaesthesia Information leaflet
Your Anaesthesia for Orthopaedic Surgery
You can find information on how to get to both Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Stobhill ACH and both site maps by clicking on the appropriate box below.
Patient Transport
If you are unable to make your own way to your hospital visit due to a medical condition or mobility issue and require ambulance transport to get to your healthcare appointment then please click on the link below which will take you to our Patient Hospital Transport page which gives you all the relevant information on how to arrange this.
