DR AMANDA WALKER
The Surgery
Balmacaan Road
DRUMNADROCHIT
Inverness-shire
Tel: (01456) 450577
Fax: (01456) 450799
drumnadrochitsurgery.tripod.com
PARTNERS
Dr A Walker (Trainer)
Dr P Wilkes
DESCRIPTION
This is a two person dispensing practice situated in the village of Drumnadrochit some is miles from Inverness with a total list size of 1,750 patients. The practice extends from Lochend in the north to Glenmoriston in the south and westerly up Glenurquhart to include Cannich and Tomich.
The premises are very modem having been purchased from the Health Board three years ago by the doctors and extended and renovated under the Cost Rent Scheme. There are three consulting rooms, a large dispensary, a nurse's room and ancillary accommodation for administration, etc. One of the triple duty nurses in the area works from the surgery, the other covering the more outlying areas of the practice is based in Cannich but attends meetings regularly in the surgery. There are four members of ancillary staff employed to work in the surgery.
The practice has been used for training for at least the past twenty years and has never been without a GP Registrar. Accommodation is provided locally and is of a high standard.
PRACTICE ORGANISATION
All consultations are by appointment. Every day there are surgeries between 9.00 am and 11.00 am and between 11.30 am and 1.00 pm. There is also an evening surgery from 4.30 pm to 6.00 pm and every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons there are clinics - a Well Person clinic on Tuesday afternoons, an ante-natal and Child Health Surveillance clinic on Wednesday afternoons and an Asthma/Diabetes clinic on Thursday afternoons. Other health promotion activities area included in the normal day's work of the practice. Minor surgical procedures are performed outside normal consulting hours.
The practice also provides a complementary therapy service to its patients with Dr Walker performing acupuncture and Dr Wilkes providing homeopathy when required.
The practice has a wide variety of equipment including state of the are ECG and defibrillator, emergency equipment for use at road traffic accidents (oxygen, drips, collars, splints, etc), nebulisers, sonic aid, audiometer, tenometer, peak flow meters, etc. The practice is computerised, all present with a single computer but shortly to have computers in every consulting room. The computer is used for generating all repeat prescriptions, for performing searches (all notes are summarised on the computer), for all health promotional activities, for audit and for recording acute consultation data. The practice has a commitment to research being a member of the Medical Research Council General Practice Network and is currently taking part in a project on the treatment of asthma. There is also a high commitment to audit and education is a priority for both partners as well as the GP Registrar.
Educational activities include a daily lunch-time meeting to discuss clinical problems, a weekly tutorial, regular partners' meetings and regular staff meetings. The practice has a video camera and video analysis of consultations is a regular feature. GP Registrars are encouraged to attend the Ross-shire group which meets fortnightly during the year and also to attend the courses in the Postgraduate Centre. They are also encouraged to take the MRCGP examination and other examinations such as the DRCOG and DCH if appropriate. We also encourage the GP Registrar to visit other practices, particularly urban ones so that they have an appreciation of the different types of general practice.
