Rural GPs resign due to strain of ‘working 24/7 for four years’

FEARS were raised yesterday about the future of vital GP services in one of Scotland’s remotest communities after the two doctors running an isolated medical practice “day and night” for almost four years announced that they are to quit.

Dr Rob Colebrook and Dr Simon Topham, who are partners in the Acharacle Medical Practice serving Acharacle, Strontian and Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula, have told NHS Highland they will be leaving their posts in August.

Dr Colebrook’s wife, Julie, who is the practice manager, will be leaving her post at the same time.

They announced in a joint statement: “The decision to leave has ultimately been a personal one for each of us and has been extremely difficult to make. We each have our own reasons, however there is no doubt that general practice has changed significantly in recent years.

“The demands upon GPs are greater than they used to be, which mean that it is no longer possible to work in the ways that GPs used to do, particularly in remote and rural areas.”

The statement went on to say that Dr Colebrook and Dr Topham worked day and night for almost four years, “sometimes in difficult circumstances”.

It continued: “Younger doctors will just not consider working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“This is evidenced by that fact that there is real difficulty recruiting new GPs to remote and rural Highland practices, where responsibility for out-of-hours cover remains within a practice. Indeed, on the rare occasion where we have needed to obtain locum cover for this practice, we have found it extremely difficult to do so.

“We are all people with families and personal needs to consider. The personal strain that has been taken by the three of us in order to develop and provide a modern, quality medical service for our patients has been considerable and is not sustainable in the longer term.

“Therefore, we feel we have been left with no option but to resign.”

Dave Thompson, the SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, yesterday called on NHS Highland to move quickly to find replacements to keep the medical centre running.

He is also due to raise the issue in the Scottish Parliament today with health secretary Nicola Sturgeon.

Mr Thompson said he had written to NHS Highland to voice his concern at the “lack of support” for doctors in rural and remote communities. He said: “For both partners and the practice manager to leave Acharacle Medical Practice in quick succession is, in effect, a very loud cry for help.

“Doctors in rural and remote areas take the strain of caring for patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because it is harder than ever to find doctors who are willing to share this burden and provide support, rural doctors are under more pressure, and are in more need of support.”

Gill McVicar, the director of operations for the area at NHS Highland, said: “The GPs and practice staff in Acharacle have done a tremendous job since taking over the practice in 2008, and NHS Highland, through the Mid Highland Community Health Partnership, has been working with them and supporting them as required throughout that time.”

She continued: “The onerous nature of providing 24/7 cover through a very few individuals is well recognised by the board.”