Peterculter Medical Practice
AT THE time of writing this article, Dr Harris and his family will be enjoying a sunshine holiday in the land (of all things) Mickey Mouse! Before he left he asked if I would mind writing the autumn article for the Culter Courier in his absence. Is he trying to tell me something? Does he think it's time for me to take up a new career in journalism?
First of all I am pleased to report that we now have the waiting room back in working order again after the incident where the ceiling gave way in July. It took a few weeks to assess the damage and make arrangements for the remedial work to be carried out, but Burns Construction completed the job in early September and the ceiling looks as good as new.
You may have noticed that our electronic message board has been taken down and the doctors have reverted to the old fashioned way of coming through to the waiting room to call their patients. The message board has developed a fault and has been sent away for repair. Meanwhile, the doctors are benefiting from the additional daily exercise!
An update on staffing at the Health Centre: Following the retirement of Barbara Neely in June, we are pleased to welcome Gwen Rankine who has joined our District Nursing team. We also welcome Joanna Bisset, our new Health Visitor, who took up her parttime post at the beginning of October. Kirsty Dingwall, a nurse who has been appointed to assist the Health Visitors with the Childhood Immunisation Programme, will join us at the end of October.
The annual "Flu Campaign" is in full swing once again. Some of you will have seen our Practice Nurse, Linda Rae and Dr Millar in their starring roles on Grampian Television early in October when they were promoting the flu vaccination. Hopefully, by the time you read this article, most of the patients aged 65 years and over, and those in the "at risk" categories (asthma, diabetes, heart/ lung disease etc) will already have received their vaccination. However, if you are eligible to receive the flu jag and you have not yet made an appointment, please contact the Health Centre as soon as possible.
There has been much publicity about the new 'Out of Hours' service which is due to be launched at the beginning of November. I hope you will be reassured to know that patients in this area should see very little, if any, change in the service. NHS 24 will remain the first point of contact (08454 242424) out of hours. Your call will then be assessed and passed to the most appropriate health professional for advice or consultation as appropriate.
Finally, with Christmas drawing near, I will take the opportunity of wishing you all a happy and healthy festive season and a "bug" free winter!
Mrs Alison Mackay Practice Manager