Practice news
Upcoming events, changes to the practice or interesting health related news articles will be posted here. If you would like to see any of the practice newsletters that we have published please click here. There is also a live news feed from the health pages of the BBC on the right, click on any story that interests you for further information.
Departures.
April 20th, 2011 by Dr Wheeler.Just a quick update for anyone who doesn’t already know about the recent changes in Lochmaddy.
First of all, we were very sorry to lose our excellent practice nurse Angie a few weeks ago. She has moved away to England to start a new job, and we wish her all the best. Angie was much loved by staff and patients alike, and has left a big hole in the practice which will be hard to fill. Hopefully a new nurse should be starting soon – check here for updates on the new appointment.
Secondly, as many of you know, Dr Keiller has had a nasty Skiing accident resulting in a fractured leg and will be out of action for the foreseeable future. This has happened just a few months before his proposed retirement – so it is unclear exactly how things will pan out. We are actively looking for a locum doctor to help out whilst he is incapacitated and hope to have news on this quite soon. We will keep you posted!
Thirdly. Dr Enid Sesay finished her 6 months training in the practice and has moved on as planned to a new job in Elgin to get more experience. It was very pleasant for everyone here to get to know Enid – and we all hope that she will go on to fully qualify as a GP at the end of her 3 year training programme. Thank you to everyone who came to see her as a patient under my supervision. Your cooperation is vital in the training of future doctors.
Lastly, the Taigh Ceilidh clinic is no more. The practice was only able to use this building with the permission of the local social work department – but this permission has now been revoked as the building is earmarked for sale. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused – but have put on an extra surgery in Lochmaddy for those who still wish to be seen on Thursday afternoons. We have actively been looking for alternatives over the past few months to no avail, and wish to thank the members of our patient participation group who made various efforts to help set up a plan B. There is still a possibility that the clinic could be reinstated at some point in the future if a suitable building is found – watch this space. If you live on the west side and know of elderly or poorly mobile people who might miss the medicine collection service that we provided in Bayhead you could help by asking them if they would like you to do a pickup the next time you come to Lochmaddy. I am sure this would be very much appreciated by those who can’t drive in particular.
As you can imagine, all these changes have put a bit of stress in the system. I am now on call 5 days a week for the practice, as well as doing a lot more out of hours work to cover Dr Keillers shifts as well as my own. Add to this the need to cover the nurses usual patients and you can imagine that I am feeling a bit stretched. So far things have been ticking along (with special thanks to the district nurses who have offered to help out) – but I would like to ask for your understanding in the event of any disruption. Inevitably it may take a bit longer to see a doctor at the moment, and it is much more difficult than usual for me to be able to accommodate things like house calls. Please do not request a home visit unless you are housebound, I will always fit urgent cases into our surgeries in Lochmaddy even if we are fully booked – and this is often the quickest / safest way to be assessed by a doctor. If there is no alternative to calling me out then of course this will be dealt with – please call to discuss your case if you are at all worried about your health and need advice as to the most appropriate way to move forward.
Patient participation group.
December 16th, 2010 by Dr Wheeler.Are you interested in finding out more about North Uist Medical Practice?
Would you like to influence the development of local health services?
North Uist Medical Practice is keen to set up a Patient Participation Group, so why not volunteer to become a member?
It will be a chance to help provide feedback, improve local services and ensure a two way conversation between the practice and the people it serves.
Anyone can apply – if you are interested then please contact
Mrs Helen Maclean (Practice Manager) on 01876 500333
A time and date will be arranged once a number of people have expressed an interest.
If you would like to read a bit about the ideas behind this kind of group and the sorts of issues that they can deal with you could follow this link.
Coffee machine problems.
December 10th, 2010 by Dr Wheeler.The new coffee machine has been a great success with plenty of use over the past few months. Unfortunately it broke down last week and needs to be sent back to the manufacturer.
Don’t worry though – we should have it back soon!
New health library.
October 28th, 2010 by Dr Wheeler.
North Uist medical practice has invested in some books for our patients to borrow.
I often recommend certain books to patients who want to deal with problems in a way that avoids having to use medication.
As such i thought it sensible to have a central store for the commonest titles to save our patients having to buy separate copies each time they were suggested.
The two books that we have at present are “Cognitive Behavioural therapy for dummies”, and “Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking”
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT for short) is a powerful psychological technique that helps deal with a variety of mental health problems – especially depression and anxiety. It is relatively easy to learn the basics, and I find that some patients prefer to teach themselves the technique rather than seeing a psychologist. For those who need further guidance we have access to a national CBT phone service that we can refer you too as well. So if you are interested in using CBT to improve your coping abilities please speak to one of the doctors in the practice.
Allan Carrs book has some claim to fame as being perhaps the best known ‘stop smoking’ self help guide out there. It isn’t for everyone – but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of successful quit attempts in motivated readers… what have you got to lose?
If anyone wants to borrow one (or both) of these titles from the practice just ask at reception – please bring them back after a few weeks so others can make use of them. If you have any suggestions for other titles that may be helpful then please drop us a line at our feedback page.
Prescription problems solved.
October 28th, 2010 by Dr Wheeler.I am pleased to say that the repeat prescription problems seem to have been solved for good.
Please continue to use the service as before. The dispenser will usually email a confirmation back to you within 24 hours of getting your request – if this does not happen please inform us ASAP – though hopefully there will not be any further issues.
Thank you for your patience.
