Braemar residents have banded together to make a desperate plea — find us a new GP!
More than 120 people on Friday attended an emergency meeting in the Aberdeenshire village’s town hall after Dr Donald Cruickshank — Braemar’s sole full-time GP for the past 29 years — revealed he was about to hang up his stethoscope.
They heard that efforts to hire a replacement have so far failed to find a single applicant ahead of a November deadline.
So, energised residents put their heads together in an attempt to entice potential recruits to Royal Deeside.
And just like the marketing teams at whisky distillers and shortbread makers, the village is banking on the area’s outstanding natural beauty to attract attention.
A social media ad put out this week features the beguiling peaks of the Cairngorms fringed by golden autumnal trees and bracken-patched vistas.
“Are you a GP looking for a pace of life?” the ad asks while praising community life in Braemar and the closeness of the Cairngorm national park.
The campaign has already attracted celebrity support. Actor Anna Friel, who attended the Braemar Literary Festival last year, shared the ad with her fans.
“Can I apply?” Friel asked in a Facebook response.
GP loss could be a matter of life and death
Those behind the GP appeal hope it will attract someone looking to be part of a welcoming community, and who is keen to make a difference in people’s lives.
“There will be somebody, I’m sure, who thinks this is just the most amazing lifestyle,” said local councillor and Braemer resident for more than 30 years Geva Blackett.
Councillor Blackett added that Braemar residents are extremely concerned about losing the kind of health care provision Dr Cruickshank has brought to the area over the past three decades.
Unlike many GPs, Dr Cruickshank runs his own out-of-hours surgery. This means people in the area don’t have to travel 40 miles to Banchory or wait for an ambulance to reach them from Ballater if they require care outside of practice hours.
Councillor Blackett knows first-hand the dangers of not having a GP in the area.
Dr Cruickshank saved her husband’s life after discovering he had a pulmonary embolism.
“He gave my husband drugs to clear the clot and got him to the hospital,” she continued. “How do you do that remotely?”
‘I don’t have a lot of choice’
Speaking to The Press and Journal, Dr Cruickshank said he would continue serving Braemar as its GP if he could find someone to assist him.
He is currently aided by part-time associate doctor Douglas Glass, a long-standing area GP.
Dr Glass, 70, is retiring in November, and Dr Cruickshank is unable to continue on his own.
“I’m now 60, but the plan was not to retire, the plan was to carry on for a few more years,” he explained. “But I feel I don’t have a lot of choice, given the circumstances.
“It’s difficult to maintain a 24/7 service on your own working 24/7 continuously.
“I feel I’m too old to do that. It’s not tenable to do that at my age. I’m not trying to cop out from this.
“But I feel when you get to 60, that’s a big responsibility.”
Dr Cruickshank stands firmly behind the appeal to find a new GP. He even says he will stay on if part-time help can be brought in.
And he knows from his own experience over the past three decades just what a rewarding job it is.
“It’s a role which is probably unusual nowadays, but it’s a very satisfying role,” he said.
“It’s much easier to make a decision because you know these people personally.”
Why rural communities are hardest hit by GP shortages
Braemar’s problems in attracting a GP speak to the wider issue of staff retention in general practice.
The incoming chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Chris Provan, recently told The P&J that GPs face high levels of stress and anxiety because of increased workload and more demanding patients.
The issue has led to an exodus of GPs to private practice or countries such as Canada and Australia where working conditions are easier.
Rural communities have been hit hardest by the shortages as graduates prefer to work in urban areas.
Dr Cruickshank, who has had no responses to his search for a replacement, says the situation is a far cry from when he applied for the Braemar GP post in 1994.
“I asked in the interview, out of curiosity, how many people are you expecting to see,” he recalled. “They told me 43 people applied.”