Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Doubt over future of Black Isle doctors surgery as partnership ends

Post Thumbnail

A question mark was last night hanging over the future of a Black Isle doctors’ surgery after the local GPs said the current model was “no longer sustainable”.

Staff at Cromarty Medical Practice have announced that the existing partnership will end on June 30.

They said that chronic recruitment problems had meant that staff could not move jobs or retire, and that the “only alternative” was to hand the practice to NHS Highland.

The health board moved to reassure patients that “alternative arrangements” would be in place in time for the handover.

However, a spokesman added that they “will have to think quite differently around what the new model will look like”.

The changeover was revealed in a statement by local GPs Susan Wilson and Gail Haddock, and nurse Isobel Graizer.

They said: “Cromarty Practice has for several years had difficulty in recruiting medical staff.

“We have tried to link up with neighbouring practices with regard to working together in a larger grouping, but unfortunately this was not possible at the time, and so was unsuccessful.

“This means that it has been impossible for any of the current clinical staff to move on to new jobs or retire, as the practice has been unable to replace them.

“Therefore as the current model of care is no longer sustainable, the only alternative left to us is to hand the practice over to NHS Highland and allow them to seek a solution regarding the forward planning of Cromarty Surgery.”

NHS Highland’s clinical director for south and mid, Dr Stewart MacPherson, said a new model would be development for the community.

“Staff at the Cromarty Practice have always provided a great service to their patients and I know they will be very disappointed about the change,” he said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Susan Wilson, Dr Gail Haddock, Practice Nurse Isobel Graizer and all members of the practice for their years of service.

“Not only have they been ambassadors for local patients, they have made an active contribution to board-wider discussions. I wish them every success for the future.

“I would like to reassure patients that alternative arrangements will be in place by 1st July 2017.

“However, going forward we will have to think quite differently around what the new model will look like, and I want to reassure patients that the board will be responsible for providing the service.”