Closed for training - Wednesday 17th April

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Extra way to contact us

We are aware that our phones may sometimes be busy, or it may not be convenient for patients to call us during the daytime. Therefore we are happy to introduce an additional way to contact the surgery with your administrative or non-urgent queries. eConsult is now available via our website home page, giving our registered patients the option to contact us online by completing a form.

Public Holiday 2024/25

Dounby Surgery will be closed on the following dates:

Monday 1st April

Monday 6th May

Monday 12th August

Monday 30th September

Wednesday 25th December

Thursday 26th December

Wednesday 1st January 2025

Thursday 2nd January 2025

Welcome to the surgery Hannah!

We are pleased to introduce Hannah MacDonald, our new Practice Nurse.

Hannah qualified in 2017 and since then she has worked for both the East and West Community Nursing teams on the Orkney mainland.

She has a special interest in wound care, cardiology and dermatology. 

She is eager to develop her skills in chronic disease management, dermatology and women's health. 

Hannah says that she feels really lucky to be joining the team at Dounby Surgery and is looking forward to getting to know all of our lovely patients too.

Welcome to our new Medical Student Chloe

Farewell to our Medical Students, Ron & Lana

We had a very sad day at the surgery the other week, saying farewell to our Medical Students Ron & Lana. After 9 months with us they will be sorely missed. 

We wish them all the best in their future studies. We were glad to have you both in Dounby!

Welcoming our new GP Partner, Dr A Filipek

We are very pleased to introduce our new GP Partner, Dr A Filipek to Dounby.

Dr A Filipek is originally from Poland and has been in Orkney for a few years working in several practices.

She is excited to now be working in Dounby and is looking forward to meeting new patients.

Welcome to the surgery Dr A Filipek! 

Recruitment - GP Partner

We recently advertised for a new GP Partner. We made a video about our practice to help applicants consider what it would be like to live and work here.

Welcome to the Admin team Yvonne Clay

Introducing Yvonne to our Admin team!

Yvonne joined us in June as one of our Patient Service Coordinators and has been a great asset to the Admin team already.

She has been quick to learn the ropes and is always a bright voice on the end of the phone.

Yvonne relocated to Orkney to be closer to her Orcadian relatives. She is interested in WW1 Nurse history & genealogy.  

She has enjoyed being part of our friendly team and looks forward to meeting more of the local community.

Sue's Retirement

It was a sad day yesterday as Sue retired after almost 17 years at Dounby Surgery.
Sue had a background as a Medical Secretary and brought a great deal of knowledge to the team in Dounby. We will greatly miss her guidance, medical note summarising and data quality skills along with her cheeky sense of humour, guaranteed to brighten up our surgery.
We wish Sue many happy years in her retirement.

Visitors to the Surgery 

We were joined by Jason Leitch, Scotland's National Clinical Director and Caroline Lamb, NHS Scotland CEO and Director General of Health and Care.
We had the opportunity to share our experience of the challenges that the pandemic has brought and the ways we have adapted to continue to deliver general practice services over the past 18 months.

Introducing our new ScotGEM medical students

This year we are pleased to welcome two medical students to Dounby Surgery.

Lana Stevenson has started her 3rd year of her 4 year graduate medical course. She will be based in the surgery but will also be in A&E and the wards in The Balfour. So far during her medical degree, she has spent time in Fife, Highlands & Dumfries. She is excited to be further North. She is really enjoying her time at the surgery as well as exploring Orkney. She loves going to the beach for a swim and she is looking forward to seeing as much of Orkney as she can during her time here.

Ron MacDonald comes to us from placements in Dumfries and Inverness. He will be based in the surgery over the next 10 months consulting with our patients. You may bump into him at some clinics within The Balfour as well. His aim for this placement is to visit all the outer isles and learn a few Orcadian songs and tunes whilst he is here.

Farewell Nurse Karen Leask 

Saying goodbye after 14 years, I am leaving to embark on the next chapter. I have been very lucky to be blessed with grandchildren and will be taking an active role in looking after them.

I qualified as an Enrolled nurse in 1986 at the Orkney School of Nursing with the fabulous Lorraine Littlejohn as my tutor. No nonsense hands on training with icons such as Nanna Hourston and Joyce Mudd at the helm. Doctors such as Bob Hazlehurst, Peter Fay and Jim Cromarty were a formidable sight in any ward. Following further training in 2005 I graduated to Staff Nurse working in Piper ward. This was a fabulous job, working in rehab to get patients well and home. It was while working there that the opportunity came to apply for a job in Dounby Surgery. I had been working at the health centre at the then Scapa Practice doing bloods and treatment room stuff now and then. This was a very different form of nursing found me training further to learn about chronic disease management, prescription medication, acute illness, smear taking, asthma - the list goes on. I could see the role of the nurse and the doctor start to blend together so that patients and their families would see a more holistic approach to their care.

To say I have enjoyed this job would be an understatement. I have absolutely loved my time in Dounby and have worked with some amazing people over the years - people who have supported my journey and encouraged me to achieve many things including one of my highlights. A trip to the phototherapy dept at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee gave me the ability to offer and deliver a phototherapy service to the people of Orkney. Supported by Dr Huw Thomas and the team in Dundee, phototherapy has been life changing to some of the people who used the service.

I would like to say good luck to Helen and the nursing team and send a heartfelt thank you to those wonderful people at Dounby surgery past and present, to my fantastic colleague and friend Michelle Hill and of course most of all to all you lovely patients who have coloured my 14 years and have made my job so rewarding. Although I’m leaving my permanent role you might see me pop in from time to time.

Congratulations Dr Gills

Dr Gills has passed all her Royal College of General Practitioners exams, and expects to be a fully qualified GP on 30th October. Dr Gills has worked at the surgery throughout her training and is a great asset to the team. 

Dounby Surgery Covid 19 update 

We continue to follow government guidance to keep our surgery safe, thank you for your patience and understanding.

Congratulations to our Practice Nurse, Megan 

Congratulations to our Practice Nurse, Megan, who has successfully completed a Non-Medical Prescribing course with the University of the Highlands and Islands. This will allow Megan to issue prescriptions safely and competently within the context of her professional role.

Welcoming our new Practice Nurse, Helen Clouston

We are delighted to welcome Helen to our Nursing Team here at Dounby Surgery. Helen joined Dounby Surgery in February this year. She qualified in 2008 and since has worked in the Macmillan Unit, Primary Care, and latterly with the East and West District Nursing Teams.

Helen has special interests in wound care, bladder dysfunction and Nursing research and education. She is looking forward to developing her skills in women's health and chronic disease management.

Welcome to the team Helen!

Our Medical Student, Matthew Maerz

First Contact Physiotherapist

We would like to welcome Graham Boniface to our team as our First Contact Physiotherapist.
Graham will be able to assist you with bone, joint or muscle pain. He will be able to assess you, diagnose what is happening, give expert advice and refer you to a specialist service if necessary.
Please telephone reception to arrange an appointment.

Sheila's Retirement

A sad day at Dounby Surgery yesterday, our Sheila has retired after 23 well served years. Sheila will be sorely missed by staff and patients.
We wish Sheila many happy years in her retirement. Thank you for being a big part of the team, for your professionalism, care and hard work.

Goodbye from Dr. J Cunningham

18 months have passed since I started working at Dounby Surgery, yet it hardly feels like I have been here any time at all and now I must bid farewell. I came to Dounby in February 2019 to complete the final stage of my GP training having already completed 7 years of university and work in Edinburgh followed by a short period in Caithness and then a year long stint in the local Balfour hospital. 

It has been my absolute pleasure to finish my medical training working in your local community. Since arrival I have been humbled by the kindness and patience you have shown towards me as I gradually worked towards becoming a fully fledged GP. It has not always been easy. Final year GP trainees have to dedicate a lot of time to gathering evidence for a rigorous e-Portfolio, there were many trips to Inverness for intensive training days, exams to pass and of course Covid-19 changed everything for us all. Despite this I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The practice is well run and constantly seeking to improve. All of the staff are enthusiastic and utterly devoted to delivering an excellent service; from all of them I have learned the art of General Practice. The patients, all in their own individual ways, have also helped me in my training and enjoyment of my time here. To all of you, my eternal thanks. 

Sadly, I am moving on. I will be taking up a post employed by NHS Shetland but working throughout Scotland in mainly rural areas to assist other practices that need help with doctor cover. I look forward to gaining a wider breadth of experience of different ways of working. I have loved my time in Orkney and don't be surprised if perhaps I return at some point in the not too distant future...

Dr Jack Cunningham

Online Consult

We are trialing a new system called Online Consult. You can use it to contact us by submitting a form with details of your symptoms or query.

It is available through a link on the homepage of our practice website. All you need to do is click the link and it'll take you to an online form where you can outline your symptoms and submit the form to us. You can also view relevant articles and information.

A clinician will then assess the information provided and within 2 working days we will give you advice you need on what to do next.

You can fill in the forms at any time, day or night, so it means that you have round the clock access to the information you need to manage your conditions.

COVID-19 Coronavirus 

CORONAVIRUS – COVID-19

URGENT PATIENT INFORMATION 

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Dounby Surgery will be implementing the following measures immediately to protect the health of our patients and staff and reduce the footfall of patients into the practice. 

If you are concerned that you may have coronavirus please visit www.nhsinform.scot for self assessment tool and advice. 

To reduce patients entering the surgery we are taking a number of new and innovative steps during this period 

• Only patients with an appointment should enter the surgery. Only bring someone with you if you need help. Parents please do not bring children to your appointment. Children should attend with one adult, please do not bring siblings into the practice.
• Please only arrive at the time of your appointment and leave the building immediately afterwards.
• Any follow up appointment  should be arranged by phone.
• Do not attend the practice if you have respiratory symptoms, colds or flu like illnesses.
• If you need to consult with a GP you will be given a phone-call initially and if clinically indicated asked to come into the practice.
• Repeat prescription requests should be placed through our website www.dounbysurgery.co.uk or by calling 771209.
• Prescriptions will be sent to the pharmacy of your choice. If you are unwell, please arrange for a friend or family member to collect your medication.
• Documents will be posted out to the patients address

Online Appointment Booking - Suspended

We are now able to offer the patients the ability to book routine GP appointments online. To do this you need to complete a registration form (available below) and bring it into the surgery along with photographic ID.

Patient Access Registration Form

This service is currently suspended due to the need to check that patients do not have symptoms of coronavirus prior to attending the surgery.

Book Exchange - Suspended

Our Patient Participation Group have established a book exchange in the waiting room at the Surgery. Please feel free to browse and exchange books. Donations can be made to the Dounby Surgery Patient Fund.

We are sorry but the books have been temporarily removed from the waiting room.

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