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.
Pharmageddon – new chemist could wreck local health service.
June 29th, 2013 by Dr Wheeler.A few years ago I was interviewed by a medical journal about being a new GP on a remote island. I remember saying at the time that I really appreciated the kind of medicine I could practice here compared to how it works in other places, With a small list size and plenty of spare capacity I was finding that patients and their doctors here seemed to be generally happier and more satisfied with local health care than might be expected in ‘typical’ mainland surgeries. I want to stress this, because people need to be in no doubt that the proposed pharmacy for Benbecula could destroy this benign working model.
Basically – if the pharmacy opens it would close our dispensary. The inconvenience that this would create for patients getting prescriptions would be important – but this would be just one in a long line of issues, as it would also inevitably lead to a drastic reduction in the services that the practice will be able to provide.
Dr Dawson in Benbecula has created a fact sheet that you can see here. This has a lot of detail in it about how the new pharmacy application is progressing – but I will try to distil things down to a few key points – looking specifically at how North Uist could be affected.
1) I have been informally told that the pharmacy application is to serve from Berneray to Eriskay. If this is true – then a pharmacy on Benbecula will directly affect North Uist patients – not just those who live across the causeway potentially this one pharmacy will change beyond recognition all 3 medical practices on the islands.
2) North Uist medical practice isn’t really viable without dispensary rights. We only have 1400 patients – the money that such a small group attracts from the health board is not enough to fund the kind of practice we have at the moment.
3) If the practice is able to survive it will only be able to do so if it contracts quite severely. At the very least one doctor would be made redundant and possibly two reception / dispensing staff will have to go.
4) Life for those left behind will be considerably more difficult – it simply wouldn’t be possible to maintain current service levels. Decisions would need to be made nearer the time – but I would envisage that branch clinics would need to stop, and availability of GP appointments will be reduced significantly. From what I understand, when this happened in Millport on Cumbrae, locals found that they went from being able to see a doctor within 24-48 hours to needing to book at least a week ahead for routine appointments. The same would probably apply here.
5) If you come to see the doctor in North Uist in future you will need to then go all the way to Balivanich for your prescription. Repeat scripts will probably be OK as I presume there will be some sort of delivery service – but if you need something on the day then you potentially face quite a substantial round trip.
6) One selling point of pharmacies nowadays is the provision of pharmacist led care along the lines of smoking cessation, blood pressure checks, cholesterol and diabetic checks. These are already available from the practice however – so I don’t really see much benefit. it will basically be a similar service to what we already provide – but by less qualified personnel at a location that is less convenient. One way of looking at it is… there isn’t much point a pharmacist telling you that you have high blood pressure if you can’t see a doctor who is able to actually tell you what to do about it.
So in summary. Having a local chemist is usually a good thing – but when you live in a very remote location like ours you have to take the down sides as well as the benefits. In other communities where this has happened doctors surgeries have closed completely, in others services have been drastically reduced. Unfortunately, if a pharmacy opens, the local doctors surgeries aren’t allowed to compete with them, we are forced to close our dispensary – it’s the law. Follow these links to read about a couple of real life examples from the last couple of years,,,,, Scalloway, Millport.
As far as I can see, everyone loses – we lose jobs, we lose convenience, we end up with a less safe / less viable medical service that may not be sustainable at all going into the future.
Please come along to a public meeting of our patient participation group scheduled for 7:30pm on Wednesday the 3rd of July at Lochmaddy hall to ask questions / tell us what you think.
Dr Gerry Wheeler.
Contraceptive Implants
May 2nd, 2013 by Dr Pilkington.We can now offer an additional contraceptive service in the Practice, as I have completed my training for the fitting and removal of contraceptive implants. The implant is a very effective method of contraception, and consists of a thin plastic rod which is inserted under the skin on the inner side of the upper arm. Once it has been inserted it lasts for 3 years, with no worries about forgetting to take the Pill! It is suitable for most women, and fertility returns to normal within a few days once the implant is removed.
The drawbacks are that it requires a minor procedure to insert or remove the implant, and some women can have problems with an irregular bleeding pattern. Having said that, most women who choose an implant find it very convenient, and are happy to continue with it as their usual contraceptive method.
If you are interested in knowing more about the implant, you can come and talk to any of the doctors or the Practice Nurse for further advice on this and your other contraceptive choices. If you do decide to try the implant, you will be given a normal surgery appointment to see me for implant insertion. If you already have an implant and wish to have it removed or changed, you will need to ask for a double appointment, as this takes a little longer.
We offer a range of contraceptive choices including the combined pill, progestogen-only pill, contraceptive injection, contraceptive implant and condoms, and we can also give advice about how to access other methods such as the coil or sterilisation, so if you want more information about any of these methods, please book an appointment. We can also carry out sexual health checks if you are concerned that you might be at risk of sexually-transmitted infections including chlamydia and HIV.
Uist and Barra Substance Misuse Partnership
March 19th, 2013 by Dr Wheeler.A message from the substance misuse team about their work and how they can be accessed:
This partnership is made up of a number statutory and voluntary organisations (eg Community Education, Voluntary Action Barra and Vatersay, Cothrom). All these organisations are involved in assisting individuals or families facing issues of alcohol or drug misuse.
The partnership has expanded its service to include two part time Substance Misuse Support Workers – one based in Balivanich, one in Castlebay – and a full time Administrator based at our office at 23 Winfield Way, Balivanich.
As well as dealing with referrals through the NHS and Children’s Services we are happy to speak to individuals or families affected by these issues.
You can arrange a visit or meeting by contacting us on 01870 603060 (Uist), 01871 810184 (Barra) or via email to admin@uistbarrasupport.org.uk
If you wish to find out more about us visit the website at www.uistbarrasupport.org.uk
Email problems.
March 5th, 2013 by Dr Wheeler.Sorry – the emails have not been working well for the past week or so.
I am still having trouble getting everything perfect again – but in the meantime i have applied a temporary fix. You should be able to email for repeat prescriptions and to myself through the website as before.
Other emails i am still having to set up – hopefully won’t take too long.
December Newsletter.
December 20th, 2012 by Dr Wheeler.Merry Christmas to all our patients from the staff at North Uist Medical Practice!
Our latest newsletter can be read here.
Or you can pick up a hardcopy in the practice itself.
