tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264323122024-03-10T17:25:50.302+00:00Strachur Medical PracticeDalnacraig
Strachur
Argyll PA27 8BX
Tel. 01369 860 224 - Fax 01369 860 225The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-23051437166195941692100-01-01T10:02:00.008+00:002024-02-18T22:49:33.825+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogY4x6Hyud-gEg75ELevJ45B4b3m8dUZ8YZdZm-eKuqi3RB8EC_7WkM0vXlSX6vxgMKdLvy49nPyDaw-VhnGiMtG6iTesfK6Uml2g0_2VVvWHc4ePd_ftJVL6eFVGhNFgYJXyn5-754-7-qVbgG8-usbGXsDoOd8BQyb4Z8tlLVhyphenhyphen2VHHm6LG/s4032/strachur%202%20ambs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogY4x6Hyud-gEg75ELevJ45B4b3m8dUZ8YZdZm-eKuqi3RB8EC_7WkM0vXlSX6vxgMKdLvy49nPyDaw-VhnGiMtG6iTesfK6Uml2g0_2VVvWHc4ePd_ftJVL6eFVGhNFgYJXyn5-754-7-qVbgG8-usbGXsDoOd8BQyb4Z8tlLVhyphenhyphen2VHHm6LG/s320/strachur%202%20ambs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Strachur Medical Practice</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> is an NHS GP practice in the Cowal Peninsula, Argyll, Scotland.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> We provide care to around 1,050 patients. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> </b></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Surgery Opening Hours</b><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The surgery provides care weekdays from 8am-6pm. <a href="http://www.strachurmedical.com/p/out-of-hours_25.html">Outside these hours one of the local rural GPs will always be on call and can be contacted via 111</a>. </span>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The surgery building is open to patients from 9am to 1pm and 3pm to 6pm weekdays, except Thursday half-day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b>Regular Clinics</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Patients are seen by appointment. To book an appointment, please phone the main practice number (860224). </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b>Dispensing Practice</b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are a </span><a href="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vatmanual/vathealth/vathlt6150.htm" style="font-family: verdana;">dispensing practice</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">, which means that our patients receive their medications from the practice dispensary.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-86731262856034262792023-06-04T11:39:00.005+01:002024-02-18T22:47:00.714+00:00Our Woman's Health Clinic can now do Pessaries!<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE_oW46GCMv8CUzB0mu7tj3YYuSKUChhSPcEcsuDS9URwgpvn612GRC7JWkfc_QwzwzYnpxKmWDBSjqb5hK9E7OQB4y2enUoEHDElTKtW4jAqj_FCFL5daGIjQ_WLlJGZdurgILq4nHCuNT3wKSjanVoi1Q_dy3QWc7ZsrOp2oDgvCIf5tRxj/s1642/womens%20health.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="1642" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE_oW46GCMv8CUzB0mu7tj3YYuSKUChhSPcEcsuDS9URwgpvn612GRC7JWkfc_QwzwzYnpxKmWDBSjqb5hK9E7OQB4y2enUoEHDElTKtW4jAqj_FCFL5daGIjQ_WLlJGZdurgILq4nHCuNT3wKSjanVoi1Q_dy3QWc7ZsrOp2oDgvCIf5tRxj/s320/womens%20health.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">We have just had news that funding for providing vaginal pessaries in our <a href="http://www.strachurmedical.com/p/womans-health.html">Women's Health Clinic</a> changes has been approved.</span><p></p><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">This means that we will now be able to insert / remove / change vaginal pessaries for patients.</span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Our <a href="http://www.strachurmedical.com/p/womans-health.html">Women’s Health Clinic</a> is open to all women living in Argyll and Bute- you don't need to be a patient at the practice. It runs around once a month - call the practice on 01369 860 224 for the times of our next clinics and to book an appointment.<br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">We provide contraceptive implants, coils, and pessaries for any patient in Argyll and Bute, as well as menopause advice for patients registered at the practice.. <br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Pessaries are used to treat conditions such as prolapse and urinary incontinence which can cause a huge amount of hidden suffering for women. Women with pessaries need them checked or changed regularly. Since the covid19 crisis there have been very long waiting times for pessary changes in hospital clinics, which has caused a lot of issues for patients. </span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/sexual-and-reproductive/pelvic-organ-prolapse">More information about this condition, treatment, and how it affects patients</a>.</span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br />The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-65777605822623341202023-01-08T17:48:00.002+00:002024-02-18T22:52:02.855+00:00QuickRead Go CRP Blood Test machine<div class="separator"><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Orion Diagnostica QuikRead go CRP, CRP+Hb and hsCRP+Hb test procedure video - YouTube" class="rg_i Q4LuWd" data-ils="4" height="169" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSqvbDZSe5GiaStBSeYSvxuk6LSNtTHwyKSkg&usqp=CAU" width="300" /> </p></div><p>Thanks to the amazing work of the patients and staff in Strachur area for raising the money to purchase and run our QuickRead Go blood test machine.</p><p>Strachur Medical Practice is one of the first practices in Scotland to get one of these machines. </p><p>The machine can test for inflammation levels in the blood in 2 minutes with a thumb prick. This is vital in remote communities because it is an early marker for serious infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, and early diagnosis saves lives. <br /></p><p>It costs about £3 per test to run the machine, but our patients have already donated enough money to keep us going for a year or so. Since the nearest CRP machine is in Inverclyde Hospital a 1 hour drive and ferry journey, it will also save Strachur patients time and money by avoiding them having to travel to hospital as often.</p><p>The machine can also measure Heamoglobin levels to check for anaemia, and can test in 7 minutes for the dangerous Strep.a throat infections (compared with waiting days for a swab result to come back). </p><p>Thanks again to our patients and staff for all the hard work (including a Loch swim!) to raise the money to fund this service.<br /></p>The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-77798765109387519542022-12-01T17:33:00.010+00:002024-02-18T22:51:34.135+00:00Samples / blood tests transport working well<div class="separator"><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z3ABSziYgw48ne0HLxvQsfdiGpDEXCw4fx3GMv5u5UBDtqWf1T7ggQaJ820ygmwYb4invEoUo1YrK3mQEEy2gH55n4RIDhZyxzeOmWyu0hn0EUM_dlnSKJ4tksxwQO0xUbRz4QdcuGAo2j1CxSZbbAynTx3fqD1PX2Tk8zIGOAUz46SuRMBY/s264/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="264" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z3ABSziYgw48ne0HLxvQsfdiGpDEXCw4fx3GMv5u5UBDtqWf1T7ggQaJ820ygmwYb4invEoUo1YrK3mQEEy2gH55n4RIDhZyxzeOmWyu0hn0EUM_dlnSKJ4tksxwQO0xUbRz4QdcuGAo2j1CxSZbbAynTx3fqD1PX2Tk8zIGOAUz46SuRMBY/s1600/images.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br />The transport system that we have had for the last year or so is working well. We get bloods and other clinical samples picked up each morning around 10.30am (the exact time varies by day as the driver collects from other remote practices in the area too). <p></p><p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">This means that we are getting our results usually that evening, compared with posting samples and getting results days later. It means our results are more accurate - no more repeat blood tests for mild abnormalities caused by the sample "going off" in the post.</p></div><p>The transport is provided by volunteers such as <a href="https://www.scotservs.com/">Blood Bikers</a> and by porters from Dunoon hospital.</p><p> <br /></p><p> </p>The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-50932195721148589922020-12-10T17:57:00.002+00:002024-01-28T09:33:00.323+00:00Strachur Hub wins National NHS Award<p><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4yo2M90S-4BS0PQ3nazRob-ZN3vmQ45-_Xea5ZxAAPbGGiYbBibsp9XKBkbqmpXGZLE8EQ8rPcjfkHu658OphOHjFi5tRZQO6Mub_710ZqcMw9iRomU8ESTCJX-9oyz0n3rX8IoG-UuLgcxX4kIzN_8m762yxlCadSauGAGllvfDYqPF53Wb6w/s808/PPG%20Award%201.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="808" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4yo2M90S-4BS0PQ3nazRob-ZN3vmQ45-_Xea5ZxAAPbGGiYbBibsp9XKBkbqmpXGZLE8EQ8rPcjfkHu658OphOHjFi5tRZQO6Mub_710ZqcMw9iRomU8ESTCJX-9oyz0n3rX8IoG-UuLgcxX4kIzN_8m762yxlCadSauGAGllvfDYqPF53Wb6w/s320/PPG%20Award%201.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"><br /> </span></span><p></p><p><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr">Congratulations to the Strachur Patient
Participation Group and Kate Paton, our Practice Nurse, for winning <a href="https://nhsscotlandevents.com/event/scottish-health-awards-2020">an NHS
Scottish Health Award for their Community Hub</a> as <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-record/20201210/282102049253999">reported in the Daily Record.</a> Really well done, and
great recognition for the amazing work that you do for patients in our
community.</span></span></p><p><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDKdB9oMf09LePM84wyU96A4PhQo0zIuGzTv2Fc4vwQLlk6HVRQ3dWQgCo7dkU2qs0UHFh1nh2pqZmRDfPVEU1mpGPID65uXdJVT75Yw8iwY2VtdCiHBxFk-9tI9KOt7R3zGnHOBHmd-TclKAMAVuefAnSliTdMckUdhwoOTS9PdYAElFSZgA_w/s997/PPG%20Award%202.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="709" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDKdB9oMf09LePM84wyU96A4PhQo0zIuGzTv2Fc4vwQLlk6HVRQ3dWQgCo7dkU2qs0UHFh1nh2pqZmRDfPVEU1mpGPID65uXdJVT75Yw8iwY2VtdCiHBxFk-9tI9KOt7R3zGnHOBHmd-TclKAMAVuefAnSliTdMckUdhwoOTS9PdYAElFSZgA_w/s320/PPG%20Award%202.png" width="228" /></a></span></span></div><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"><br /> </span></span><p></p>The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-654274613534307922020-07-25T12:42:00.002+01:002020-07-25T12:42:53.138+01:00Blood test problems<br />
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Patients should be aware that we continue to struggle with a lack of a reliable transport sytem for bloods and other lab samples taken for patients in rural Cowal.<br />
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The rural practices have been working with the Strachur Patient Participation Group for many, many months to resolve this problem through appeals to NHS Highland, but as Dr Von Kæhne in Lochgoilhead has posted on their practice facebook page, the problems have become much more acute during the Covid 19 crisis. This is because we are one of only a tiny handful of practices in Scotland that still have to post samples to the laboratory, and of course the postal service is frequently delayed just now.<br />
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We are aware this is a serious issue that poses a safety risk to our patients. We are enormously grateful to everone who has been volunteering to take samples to the laboratory drop off points in Dunoon and the Vale of Leven. <br />
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The transport of laboratory samples is an NHS Highland responsibility and it is NHS Highland that currently provide special boxes and postage labels for us to post samples. We are meeting with them on Monday to discuss our concerns.<br />
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A public statement will follow that meeting.<br />
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<br />The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-2694728649307751952020-03-06T19:33:00.002+00:002020-03-07T00:35:22.343+00:00<h2>
Measures to delay the spread of coronavirus, Covid19</h2>
<u><b>This is a rapidly evolving situation and advice may change at short notice</b></u><br />
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Covid19 is the new disease caused by novel coronavirus.<br />
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There are many known unknowns about this new disease:</h3>
- the proportion of people who will require hospital admission<br />
- the proportion of people who will require mechanical ventilation <br />
- the proportion of people who die from the disease (the Case Fatality Rate, or CFR)<br />
- the number of patients who are infected in Scotland<br />
- how long viral particles survive on surfaces<br />
- whether the virus is droplet spread or has some aerosol spread<br />
- what the long´term effects will be on survivors of serious illness<br />
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But some things are known:</h3>
- most patients have mild or very mild symptoms <br />
- the disease can cause breathing problems and death<br />
- a proportion of patients require oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation to survive<br />
- patients over 60 and with chronic illness are at much higher risk<br />
- the disease is very contagious<br />
- populations have no immunity to the disease because it is new<br />
- a vaccine is at least a year away<br />
- detected cases are rising rapidly in the UK and Scotland<br />
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Infectivity (R0)</h3>
The ease and speed with which viruses spread is called the R0. This is the number of people that each infected person will infect on average. The <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.07.20021154v1">R0 for novel coronavirus before any public health intervention was between 4.7 and 6.6</a>. That is to say, it is very contagious. For comparison, this is similar to smallpox, mumps, and polio but much more infectious than seasonal influenza (R0 approx 1.3 to 2.0).<br />
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A virus with a high R0 can be greatly affected by public health strategies such as the ones seen in China - society changes to greatly reduce human contact. This has dropped the R0 down to around 2-3.<br />
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This is why we don't quarantine influenza cases and make massive societal changes to limit the spread of seasonal influenza. Influenza has a lower 'natural' R0 and so these techniques are less effective for influenza.<br />
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Novel coronavirus appears able to spread before symptoms appear and from people with few or even no symptoms. This is different from SARS, MARS, and Ebola and means that containment by tracing contacts of positive cases is unlikely to be successful at stopping the virus, only slowing it down.<br />
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Case Fatality Rate (CFR)</h3>
The case fatality rate measures the number of people who die as a percentage of infected people. Since many people have mild or very mild symptoms, the true number of people infected by novel coronavirus may never be known. Also, because it can take many weeks from being infected to the time someone dies, the fatality rate cannot be easily calculated during an epidemic/pandemic.<br />
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Attempts have been made to estimate the case fatality rate. In China the rate for children and young adults was very low at around 1 death per 500 positive cases. However, the rate rose sharply after the age of 60 and the rate was around 1 death per 7 positive cases in over 80s. Adult patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma also had higher rates of death.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpdOuy5cA9r67_K8KkcF0bEqBgd6CRjQ4Kmc0z-k5a_ULVRQ_pGvd3DToNXCNKTUp-sBb1AoFQ7GughlQHV9yjXYgPz_t34Rb8dTU-tpNO-IBkjSWxy4wfkwano3zYUGsf6ECPg/s1600/Sk%25C3%25A6rmbillede+2020-03-07+kl.+00.37.29.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="637" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpdOuy5cA9r67_K8KkcF0bEqBgd6CRjQ4Kmc0z-k5a_ULVRQ_pGvd3DToNXCNKTUp-sBb1AoFQ7GughlQHV9yjXYgPz_t34Rb8dTU-tpNO-IBkjSWxy4wfkwano3zYUGsf6ECPg/s320/Sk%25C3%25A6rmbillede+2020-03-07+kl.+00.37.29.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lay people often make the error of thinking that the lethality of Covid19 is similar to that of seasonal influenza. The lethality of seasonal influenza is very low, but even the highest estimates of 1 death per 1000 cases are around 10x lower than the lower estimates of novel coronavirus (1 in 100 cases). Also, there is a degree of herd immunity to seasonal influenza as the strain usually only shifts a little each year. So, only around 10% of people will catch seasonal influenza each year. There is no immunity to novel coronavirus, and 30 to 80% of people are likely to be infected in the first year.<br />
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Community Spread</h3>
The number of people who are infected in the community is unknown. Current policy is only to test people who have been in a country with known community spread or who have been a close contact of a person who has already tested positive. The problem with this is that large number of cases can go undetected. For example, in Washington State, it was only realised that community spread had likely been ongoing for several weeks in the state when the first serious cases came to light. <br />
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Contain and delay </h3>
Information from Italian doctors at the time of writing is that up to 10% of their positive cases required admission to intensive care units for mechanical ventilation. The UK is very limited in the number of hospital beds and especially intensive care beds per head of population compared to the great majority of G20 countries. It is essential that we delay cases as long as possible to minimise the number of deaths from lack of hospital facilities.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MPwkZi5MntivuMLTaoSnvcjYH6gxha86Mltj0gUsHHoBuj8rcNa5ZzT48es58ceowW7Ruv7tCX1VdfUdg-31J9ozA3LY1wGyNycg5J7xmV61oIDUIRqQvjW6ZyF_5nVe8SLs3g/s1600/Sk%25C3%25A6rmbillede+2020-03-07+kl.+00.39.42.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="508" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MPwkZi5MntivuMLTaoSnvcjYH6gxha86Mltj0gUsHHoBuj8rcNa5ZzT48es58ceowW7Ruv7tCX1VdfUdg-31J9ozA3LY1wGyNycg5J7xmV61oIDUIRqQvjW6ZyF_5nVe8SLs3g/s320/Sk%25C3%25A6rmbillede+2020-03-07+kl.+00.39.42.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
That is to say, patients with severe disease who are unable to get oxygen therapy and/or intensive care because of lack of beds will die who otherwise would have survived if the spread of the virus had been delayed. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Issues specific to Strachur.</h3>
<br />
Strachur is a remote location with a very high proportion of older patients and patients with chronic illnesses. Strachur Medical Practice has only 2 doctors and one nurse and is the only health care provider in the area.<br />
<br />
The patients in Strachur are at higher risk than an average community. If a patient was to attend the surgery and then be suspected of being Covid19 the practice would cease to be able to look after patients, perhaps for a prolonged period.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Practice risk to patients</h3>
<br />
The people at highest risk of being infected in Strachur are the staff of the medical practice, as they come into contact with more sick people than anyone else. Health care staff frequently work through illness out of dedication to their patients. The most likely outcome is that the staff will have mild or very mild symptoms but will be contagious to patients and will contaminate the surgery.<br />
<br />
Another common scenario is that multiple patients who are older and/or have chronic illness spending 30 minutes or more in a crowded waiting room will be infected by someone with mild Covid19 illness attending the GP.<br />
<br />
To minimise the risk of the practice becoming a focus of infection in the community, Strachur Medical Practice will take a series of steps when the doctors think that community spread is either already ongoing or is imminent.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Steps the practice will take to protect patients</h3>
<b>The doctors at Strachur Medical Practice now believe that community spread in Scotland is either already underway or is imminent.</b><br />
<br />
To protect patients we need to minimise patients' exposure to the waiting room and other patients. We also need to avoid a patient with suspected Covid19 attending the surgery. The practice will therefore:<br />
- close its doors to walk ins<br />
- provide telephone appointments to all patients<br />
- continue telephone triage for urgent cases<br />
- ask patients to collect their dispensed medications from the dispensary window to avoid entering the building<br />
- patients who require to be examined will be invited to attend the most suitable location at a suitable time.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Steps patients can take to protect themselves</h3>
- older patients and patients with chronic illness should avoid contact with other people as much as possible.<br />
- keep a meter away from other people<br />
- do not shake hands<br />
- avoid touching your mouth or nose<br />
- wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water regularly<br />
- store deliveries for several hours before handling them to reduce the viral load on 'fomites' (objects that may have viral contamination).<br />
<br />
<br />The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-13285667391784467772019-05-12T06:58:00.001+01:002019-05-14T14:32:43.472+01:00Patient Advisory Notice: Patients at potential risk - Manse Gardens Amenity Housing, Strachur**UPDATE: Trust Housing, who are responsible for Manse Gardens, responded yesterday to the concerns Strachur Medical Practice has raised by sending a legal letter threatening a defamation action unless we retract our concerns. We take our responsibilities to patient safety very seriously and I have passed my concerns over what we consider an inappropriate response to the Chair of the Board of Trust Housing. We are currently building a list of people willing to be witnesses should the need arise for a defence of 'veritas' (truth) and 'fair comment' (honestly held opinionl, based on those facts, which are in the public interest). **<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">STRACHUR MEDICAL PRACTICE</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dalnacraig, Strachur PA27 8BX</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">8<sup>th</sup> May 2019 1400hrs</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">**PATIENT ADVISORY NOTICE**</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US">Patients
at potential risk – Manse Gardens Amenity Housing, Strachur</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Strachur Medical Practice has seen a
significant rise in the number of patients attending the practice complaining
of mental health problems they perceive as caused by, or exacerbated by, the
current situation in Manse Gardens amenity housing complex, Strachur.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Initial investigation has raised concerns
about a sharp increase in the number of residents allocated to the remote
facility with complex problems, a reduction in warden support for the facility,
and an exodus of low-disability residents who previously provided a balance of
support for residents with greater disability.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Strachur medical practice is therefore
issuing a public medical advisory that patients may be at risk in Manse Gardens
due to system-related issues at the facility. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Strachur medical practice is advising
patients not to accept offers of accommodation at the facility pending further
investigation and resolution of any safety issues identified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If any patients currently resident at the
facility require additional support, or require medical support for their
application to move to amenity accommodation elsewhere, or if anyone has
concerns about the safety of a resident at the facility, please contact
Strachur Medical Practice on 01369 860224. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dr Robert Coull</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">MB ChB, BSc Med Sci, Dip IMC RCS Ed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">GMC# 4041625</span></div>
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--><style class="darkreader darkreader--sync" media="screen"></style>The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-63129635164899727322019-02-21T09:09:00.001+00:002019-02-21T12:36:19.397+00:00Appointment Times<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEFbCh55BWMmDh1bvPUmC85FI-k-AcaHKY1vEDXIr8iGFS5U2odp7QbIqlI6H28WEe0n_kRbBzb2mttDqb1sLj1VH3gkhKLKvMHXeRExJGVmOt0dlNc8W3dG3z-HFbdoBWSQ7Eg/s1600/waiting_room_1940s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEFbCh55BWMmDh1bvPUmC85FI-k-AcaHKY1vEDXIr8iGFS5U2odp7QbIqlI6H28WEe0n_kRbBzb2mttDqb1sLj1VH3gkhKLKvMHXeRExJGVmOt0dlNc8W3dG3z-HFbdoBWSQ7Eg/s400/waiting_room_1940s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">Planning your day around a visit to see the doctor?</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Remember you are seeing the Duty Doctor, so appointment times are only a rough guide. The clinic is really a pseudo-walk-in clinic: it's normal to wait up to an hour after your stated appointment time to be seen, and you could then spend an hour or longer being seen. So please allow up to two hours for your visit and bring a good book. We have a comfy sofa, a coffee machine, and free WiFi for a reason!</b><br />
<br />
Strachur Medical Practice is a single-handed practice, so patients will always see the Duty Doctor. This is an important difference from larger practices. <br />
<br />
Every GP practice has at least one Duty Doctor each day. The Duty Doctor's job is to deal with the large number of urgent issues that come up during the day. <br />
<br />
For example (in no particular order):<br />
<ul>
<li>urgent abnormal results being called in by the laboratory</li>
<li>urgent calls from specialists about patients they are concerned about</li>
<li>calls from social work</li>
<li>calls from the Community Mental Health Team about a patient</li>
<li>District Nurses attending the practice who need to speak to the doctor urgently about a patient</li>
<li>Home Carers who need urgent assistance with a house-bound patient and will only be in the house for a few minutes</li>
<li>patients needing urgent telephone advice</li>
<li>patients who need to be seen the same day but there are no appointments left</li>
<li>medical emergencies</li>
<li>patients who are suicidal or in acute distress</li>
<li>patients who attend the clinic without an appointment needing urgent medical care</li>
<li>ambulance calls</li>
<li>police calls</li>
<li>calls to and from the NHS IT desk about computer issues</li>
<li>patients who have run out of medication</li>
<li>problems in the dispensary - national shortages of certain medications being a near-daily issue</li>
<li>problems with patients who are being seen by a Practice Nurse</li>
</ul>
Several of these problems will come up on any given day, but we can never predict exactly what or when. In a multi-doctor practice the Duty Doctor(s) can deal with these things while the other doctors get on with seeing patients who have appointments without too much distraction. (Even those GPs often run late, but that's a story for another day.)<br />
<br />
Traditionally, single handed GPs did not have appointments because they were always the Duty Doctor. All clinics were Walk In Clinics: patients turned up at the start of the clinic (usually coming early to get ahead of the queue) and they were then seen generally in order of arrival. Patients will wait anywhere from 1 to 4 hours to be seen in a Walk In Clinic.<br />
<br />
To try and reduce the waiting times for patients, most single-handed practices now have 'appointment times' to stagger when patients arrive and reduce their waits. However, this is not the same as an appointment in a multi-doctor practice, because the patients are still seeing a Duty Doctor. So it is, in reality, a pseudo-appointment system designed to stagger the arrival of patients to what - at times - can resemble a tiny, under-staffed. emergency department. As such, patients will still wait to be seen - sometimes there will be no wait, sometimes the wait will be over an hour. However, most patients will be seen within one hour, which is a big improvement over the 1 to 4 hour waits of a standard Walk-In Clinic.<br />
<br />
Because waiting times of up to an hour are normal, staff may not offer an explanation and the doctor is unlikely to be apologetic about the wait. This can understandably cause irritation, or even upset, to patients who are not used to the system and who misunderstand the 'appointment time' to mean that they will be seen at that specific time.<br />
<br />
Patients can also be caught out by how long their appointment takes. You have been booked for a '15 minute' time slot, but of course that might end up being 30 minutes with the doctor if your case is more complex than your realised, and/or you might need to wait to see the nurse or health care assistant, and then you might need to wait for test results, medications from the dispensary, or to see the doctor again before leaving. This can mean an hour - or longer in some cases - between when the doctor first sees you and when you leave the clinic.<br />
<br />
We still run some walk-in clinics. These are useful at certain times for patients who can't wait for the next routine clinic: for example, over Christmas and New Year. Walk In clinics will have a 'start time' when patients can begin to queue. This is <b>not</b> the same as the time the doctor starts to see patients: which will usually be thirty to sixty minutes after patients can start to queue. There is also a cut-off time for patients arriving for the clinic. This is to stop everyone turning up in the last hour of the clinic which would mean staff working hours beyond closing time, which would be unfair to the staff and dangerous for patients. Patients arriving after that cut-off time (which might be before the clinic actually starts) will only be seen if clinically justified. Walk In Clinics are designed to 'separate the wheat from the chaff' at times of high demand when routine matters should be postponed. Patients will self-select: patients with routine needs are unlikely to be willing to wait several hours to be seen, which ensures that patients with urgent problems have access to the doctor.<br />
<br />
So, when planning your visit to our surgery, remember that you will be seeing the Duty Doctor, your appointment time is only a rough guide, and that the doctor and staff will consider a waiting time of less than an hour to be seen as routine. Please allow at least two hours for your appointment - one hour waiting time, and one hour for the medical services to be completed - and be prepared to reschedule if the Duty Doctor is particularly over-run on the day of your visit.The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-9144886213096048162018-12-15T09:47:00.001+00:002018-12-15T09:47:15.441+00:00..The Strachur Medical Practicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113668426972921686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-48360779214636081492018-03-01T07:13:00.001+00:002018-03-01T07:13:15.156+00:00SNOW DAY Thursday 23rd February 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
Due to the extreme weather Strachur Medical Practice will be closed to patients all day Thursday February 23rd 2018.<br /><br />Patients who required medical assistance should still attempt to call the practice on the usual number 860224 for medical telephone advice.<br /><br />If the phone lines become affected, for urgent medical advice please call 111.<br /><br />For medical emergencies call 999.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-9169311440814017062018-02-28T08:00:00.001+00:002018-02-28T08:00:43.436+00:00SNOW DAY Wed 22nd February 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Due to the extreme weather Strachur Medical Practice will be closed to patients all day Wednesday February 22nd 2018.<br />
<br />
Patients who required medical assistance should still attempt to call the practice on the usual number 860224 for medical telephone advice. <br />
<br />
If the phone lines become affected, for urgent medical advice please call 111.<br />
<br />
For medical emergencies call 999.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-77259848138782174082018-01-06T10:22:00.000+00:002018-01-06T10:22:03.796+00:00Welcome to our new doctor, Dr. Alison Macbeth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We're delighted to announce that Dr Alison Macbeth will be our new second doctor at Strachur Medical Practice. This follows on from the success of the Strachur Patient Participation Group who have been lobbying Highland Health Board for the last several years to re-instate our salaried doctor funding which was removed in 2011 following the sad passing of Dr. Rosemary Wright.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_kNJ38c8PezMPELambuJBP6NdTue_8r8UCU0Pss_F-1KDVTPwJdXt-Q1sZILJfu2QyB7tRWOkN6Fii11noVIoc1UnjAIW_w9Msq_bSK2xgnRj0AKam_5t4qys64PJexyq3eP/s1600/alison+macbeth.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_kNJ38c8PezMPELambuJBP6NdTue_8r8UCU0Pss_F-1KDVTPwJdXt-Q1sZILJfu2QyB7tRWOkN6Fii11noVIoc1UnjAIW_w9Msq_bSK2xgnRj0AKam_5t4qys64PJexyq3eP/s200/alison+macbeth.jpeg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
Dr Macbeth is an experienced GP who worked for several years as a GP in Ruchazie as well as having experience of remote medicine from being a GP in British Columbia, Canada. Most recently Dr Macbeth has been working as a doctor in the Breast Clinic in Glasgow. Dr Macbeth starts on Monday the 8th of January and will be running regular clinics on Mondays and Tuesdays at the practice.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-727210760374464452016-03-18T10:48:00.002+00:002016-03-23T10:53:57.802+00:00Sylvia Cameron is our new Dispensary Technician<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Following on from the retirement in 2015 of Liz Fraser, we have a new Dispensary Technician.<br />
<br />
Sylvia has been a receptionist at the Strachur Medical Practice since 2006. She has completed her Health Care Assistant training as well as her Dispensary Technician training, and was promoted to Senior Receptionist in 2013.<br />
<br />
Liz, who was the longest serving member of staff at the practice (I'm not going to say how long!), worked closely with Sylvia during her dispensary training to ensure that the transition would be smooth, and I'm sure everyone would like to thank Liz for her hard work, dedication, and efficiency during her time in the dispensary.<br />
<br />
We are very fortunate in Strachur to have so many excellent members of staff: Sylvia has been a fantastic receptionist and Senior Receptionist, and we are delighted that she has agreed to take on the role of Dispensing Technician. The dispensary remains in very good hands!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-67624987930815387592012-11-07T15:18:00.002+00:002012-11-07T18:37:13.616+00:00More appointments available<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are seeing more and more requests for appointments to see the GP. We want to make sure that all patients can get seen the same day if at all possible, so we are going to update our appointment schedule.<br />
<br />
In July 2011, we usually had 16 GP appointments available per day. We increased that to 20 appointments per day in August 2011. On busy days that is still not enough and we have often had to 'double' up appointments. This is mainly an issue with Dr Coull's clinics, which are busier. To make sure that we have enough appointments for everyone who wants to be seen by Dr Coull, he will now have between 25 and 29 appointments per day. <br />
<br />
To make this possible, Dr Coull will be booking 10 minute appointments rather than 15 minute appointments. Patients should not usually notice a difference, as Dr Coull will move paperwork and routine dispensing checks to later in the day. However, at times patients may notice the practice is busier and that there is a little less time with the doctor. This was already happening when patients were being 'doubled up' before, and the new appointments should make this less noticeable.<br />
<br />
If you have any questions or comments about the improvements, please don't hesitate to ask.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-86896099692756249662012-06-25T15:15:00.000+01:002012-06-25T16:37:21.122+01:00BASICS Ambulance Doctor Car<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV03aiDasouAaQDSiNW09FE9XiReo2OGqe5cjhyEaRQLnHCR6E65d1FnmqXY8MqDMpGNVZjCyZE3zNLRI6D6cTGJ3M1mXyTPbMvGoGUrtxCrQ_xKY671dUj-qkVqinTou-QKN5/s1600/dcotor_car_smp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV03aiDasouAaQDSiNW09FE9XiReo2OGqe5cjhyEaRQLnHCR6E65d1FnmqXY8MqDMpGNVZjCyZE3zNLRI6D6cTGJ3M1mXyTPbMvGoGUrtxCrQ_xKY671dUj-qkVqinTou-QKN5/s320/dcotor_car_smp1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Strachur Medical Practice now has a <a href="http://www.basics.org.uk/">BASICS immediate care scheme</a> running for the practice area.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.basics.org.uk/">British Association for Immediate Care</a> is a charity supporting doctors who give their time voluntarily to provide cover for emergencies. <br />
<br />
Like other BASICS doctors across the UK, Dr Coull, who is an experienced Immediate Care doctor, is providing his time voluntarily to respond to any emergencies or 999 calls in the area. Dr Coull has the <a href="http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=2278">Diploma in Immediate Care</a> and has completed a certified <a href="http://www.bluelightdrivertraining.com/">blue-light driver training</a> course.<br />
<br />
The ambulance car is fitted with special emergency equipment (including a defibrillator) and a stretcher. It is insured to carry patients and it is fitted with blue lights and a siren. It has a <a href="http://www.scottishambulance.com/">Scottish Ambulance Service</a> transponder which allows ambulance control to track its movements. <br />
<br />
Currently the vehicle is available about a third of the time, but we hope to encourage more doctors in the area to take the additional training and volunteer to respond to emergencies.<br />
<br />
The ambulance car has been bought and kitted out by <a href="http://www.coull.net/">R K Coull Ltd</a> - Dr Coull's family business. This allows it to also be used for things like event cover which can help cover the costs of the vehicle and equipment. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-41950729509391253132012-06-21T07:25:00.001+01:002012-06-21T07:25:46.937+01:00Practice unaffected by doctors' strike<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Strachur Medical Practice will be open as normal today from 9am until 1pm.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://bma.org.uk/">BMA doctors' strike</a> being held today means that doctors across the UK will be providing urgent and emergency treatment only today. <br />
<br />
We only provide urgent care on a Thursday normally, so the strike will not affect us.<br />
<br />
The reception and dispensary will also be open as normal today. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-41054234444615497112012-01-27T20:41:00.000+00:002012-01-27T20:41:15.280+00:00Important Changes at the Strachur Medical Practice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There are some important changes happening at the Strachur Medical Practice. <br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><ol><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Dr Tittmar will be moving to Tighnabruaich from April 2012.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Regular 'cross-cover' day every Thursday - the practice will be covered by the Tighnabruaich doctor on Thursdays.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">More appointments at other times of the week including planned evening surgery.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Increased Practice Nursing hours.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Introduction of Doctor Ambulance.</div></li>
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Health Board removes Salaried Doctor funding</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Highland Health Board made a significant change to the funding of Strachur Medical Practice when Dr Wright passed away. Highland Health Board removed the funding for a salaried doctor and replaced it with a smaller locum doctor fund. The new funding can only be used for locums, and not for a salaried doctor such as Dr Wright or Dr Tittmar. We had hoped that Dr Tittmar would be able to stay on as a locum at the practice, but he has let us know that he needs the stability of regular employment. We are very disappointed, but we want to wish Dr Tittmar well in his new job.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Cross-cover day</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">To make up for the reduction in our budget, we have had to start a regular cross-cover day with one of our neighbours. This is an arrangement that other small practices have (eg: Scouri and Durness in Highland). Tighnabruaich is larger than Strachur and they still have funding for their salaried doctor. They have agreed to cover our patients one day per week.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>More appointments at other times</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As Thursday will now be a cross-cover day, there will be no routine appointments on a Thursday morning. Instead, there will be more appointments available other days. We are also planning Tuesday evening surgeries for patients that find it hard to come to the practice during working hours.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Practice Nursing hours increased</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">To make it easier for patients to see the Practice Nurse, we are adding an extra half-day per week of Practice Nursing time. We are also planning a 'phlebotomy' service just for taking blood samples. Kate will be moving her Thursday morning clinic to a Wednesday morning so that she is working at the same time as the doctor. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Doctor Ambulance</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">To make it easier to get patients to hospital in an emergency, Strachur Medical Practice will be getting a doctor car that that will be equipped and insured to carry patients. This will make a big difference when a traditional ambulance is not able to attend quickly enough.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We are planning to hold a public meeting in March to discuss these changes (date to be arranged). If you have any concerns, comments, questions, or suggestions please let us know. <span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-17111292856317165872012-01-06T00:36:00.000+00:002012-01-06T00:36:50.217+00:00Online Appointment booking, Results checking, and Repeat Prescriptions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We're delighted to announce that our online patient services are finally here.<br />
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<a href="https://www.emisaccess.co.uk/">EMIS Access</a> is a secure way for patients to book appointments online, check results of tests, and order repeat prescriptions.<br />
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For security reasons, to register for our online services you need to order a Registration Form. If you call in or call us we can print one out for you. You can then <a href="https://www.emisaccess.co.uk/signup/signup_a.aspx">go online and enter the details</a> on the form to register. <br />
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<a href="http://www.strachurmedical.com/p/appointments.html">Appointment booking</a> will be up and running in the next few days, and we will be adding results checking soon. Repeat Prescriptions will be available in the next few months, EMIS assure us.<br />
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We've been waiting a long time for these features, and we hope you find them as exciting as we do.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-57873467470048471032011-12-07T09:16:00.000+00:002011-12-07T09:16:20.083+00:00Interim Practice Manager Appointed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We would like to welcome Anne MacLachlan as the newest member of our team. She has been appointed to the post of Interim Practice Manager.<br />
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Anne has worked before in the Strachur Rural Medical Practice, as it was known then. She brings a breadth of management and book-keeping experience to the post and impressed us with her desire to help us provide the best possible service to our patients. <br />
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Anne will start on Wednesday 14th December 2011 and has said she will remain with us as long as she is needed. She will also be helping providing receptionist cover for illness and holidays.<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-4722358579730418442011-11-25T17:19:00.003+00:002011-11-25T20:15:48.826+00:00Repeat Medications: Christmas and New Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.strachurmedical.com/uploaded_images/dispensary_hatch-798696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.strachurmedical.com/uploaded_images/dispensary_hatch-798696.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>To ensure that you have enough medication for <b>Christmas and New Year </b>please have your repeat slips handed in no later than Monday 19<sup>th</sup> December for uplift by Friday 23<sup>rd</sup> December.<br />
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</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">There will be no repeat medications dispensed from Friday 23<sup>rd</sup> December until Monday 9<sup>th</sup> January as we will be unable to order any medication from our supplier.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-34792280524798608312011-11-16T15:50:00.001+00:002011-11-24T13:07:40.586+00:00Practice manager on long term leave<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Unfortunately, our Practice Manager, Sue Macraild, is going to be off for a few weeks unexpectedly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIO21LV-rpLXluaFHiCHIB8qEtTt9Vw2W6_yjfLy_DiHqdIMbiQtNSPmYXvUPTtreAiMJI83tx83FbAMv3HK4j7CdUEPE215GHU5ZXoKT8tVU431iZQ0vAY1E5Ad97cMXwwp1/s1600/jane.davis.moore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIO21LV-rpLXluaFHiCHIB8qEtTt9Vw2W6_yjfLy_DiHqdIMbiQtNSPmYXvUPTtreAiMJI83tx83FbAMv3HK4j7CdUEPE215GHU5ZXoKT8tVU431iZQ0vAY1E5Ad97cMXwwp1/s1600/jane.davis.moore.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane Davis-Moore</td></tr>
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Jane Davis-Moore will be our Practice Manager while Sue is off. However, she won't be here all the time. This means that Dr Coull will need to fill in for some of Sue's workload running the practice.<br />
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This may mean some surgeries will be reduced to allow time for practice management work.<br />
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Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-28975948348547999042011-10-29T11:07:00.005+01:002012-01-24T08:48:01.157+00:00Current Out of Hours Doctor Availability<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.strachurmedical.com/emergency_doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.strachurmedical.com/emergency_doctor.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>Some patients have expressed concern about what to do out of hours if they need to see the doctor urgently. <br />
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There is always a doctor availble for Strachur and Tighnabruaich, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>Weeknight cover is provided by:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dr Robbie Coull, Strachur</li>
<li>Dr Jurgen Tittmar </li>
<li>Dr Alida Pettie, Tighnabruaich</li>
<li>Dr Peter Von Kaehne, Lochgoilhead</li>
<li>Dr Annette McCulloch, Lochgoilhead</li>
</ul>and two <a href="http://careers.bmj.com/careers/view-job.html?id=20054629">Rural Practitioners</a> that work for Highland Health Board who provide cover on Monday nights. <br />
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<b>Weekend cover is currently provided by:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Dr Ash Bhopal, Strachur</li>
<li>Dr Fiona Mauritzen, Tighnabruaich</li>
</ul><br />
So there is always a GP available in the Strachur / Tighnabruaich / Lochgoilhead area that you can speak to or see if you need to over the weekend. The GP can meet you at the Strachur Out of Hours Center or can provide a home visit if you need one.<br />
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<a href="http://www.cowaldoc.co.uk/">Out of Hours GP cover for Cowal is currently under review by Highland Health Board's 24/7 Committee</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-87664550955420908312011-05-21T20:18:00.002+01:002012-01-24T08:52:33.923+00:00Dr Coull returning to Scotland in August 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dr Robbie Coull will be returning to Scotland after three and a half years in Canada.<br />
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After Dr Wright sadly passed away last year, Strachur Medical Practice has been using a series of locum doctors to provide part of our medical cover. Dr Coull will take over Dr Wright's old Monday and Tuesday clinics from the 15th of August 2011. <br />
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<a href="http://www.phoenixmedicalpractice.net/">Dr Coull has been in Canada since February 2008 trying to set up an NHS-style medical practice there.</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26432312.post-48036908254151725122010-07-29T12:00:00.008+01:002010-08-24T11:54:02.843+01:00Sadness as Dr Wright passes away.<div style="font-family: inherit;">It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dr. Wright. She passed away peacefully on the 28th of July in Inverclyde Hospital.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">I know our patients will be as sad and upset by this as we are.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Dr Wright was a unique, intelligent and amazing woman. Dux of Inverness Academy, she qualified from Edinburgh University in 1966 and then obtained an M.Sc. by traveling to London weekly for a year. She had her own medical practice in Rothesay for 12 years and was a Medical Director based at Inverclyde for a spell. However, her lung disease meant that she had to switch to part time work: initially at Tighnabruaich and then in Strachur. </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Her keen sense of social justice and her remarkable combination of intelligence and intuition made her a valuable asset to the patients in Strachur over the last few years. More than once, I recall Rosemary making an important diagnosis when the rest of us were stumped. Many of the ideas that we implemented after taking over the practice in 2006 came from Rosemary, and she wrote to the staff earlier this year that ‘The years I’ve spent in Strachur have been the happiest of my life’.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">She is survived by her partner, Duncan.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com