| Extra staff are being rostered for the local out-of-hours service that deals with primary care emergencies when GPs are closed.
With Christmas and Ne’erday both falling on Thursdays this year, that means surgeries and many pharmacies will close for four successive days each week.
But the woman in charge of NHS Tayside’s out-of-hours service, Dr Joyce Meikle was unflappable at the prospect of the shutdown.
She has been medical director of the service since 2004 when GPs gave up 24-hour responsibility for their patients and the health board took over that responsibility when surgeries were closed.
“This will be our fifth Christmas and New Year,” said Dr Meikle. “Apart from last year, they have all been four-day weekends.
“To a certain extent we are getting used to them now. We have staffed up to hopefully cover that.”
She said that full details of festive arrangements for primary care emergency centres and minor illness and injury units with drop-in clinics would be advertised in the Tele and other local papers shortly.
Dr Meikle encouraged people to make sure they planned ahead and ordered adequate stocks of any regular medication to tide them over the festive period.
Details of pharmacies that would be open during the holiday period would also be made public with the out-of-hours arrangements.
The doctor was keen to remind people that the out-of-hours service was not for routine problems which could wait until a person’s regular surgery re-opened.
“Be aware the service exists to see people who cannot wait until their own GP is open,” said Dr Meikle. “It is not for routine stuff. It is for stuff that cannot wait.”
Nationally, those charged with planning winter services considered asking GPs to stay open to cover the festive period.
However, that was ruled out as the likelihood was that some would agree and others would stay shut, creating confusion for patients.
Dr Meikle said she was aware national discussions had taken place and the extended opening of GP surgeries was ruled out.
“I would agree that unless it is a universal thing, if it is patchy, then it is quite difficult because if some GPs open and some GPs close, it is difficult to get that message over. Extended opening is not always as helpful as it might seem.” |
