a message from Alford Medical Practice
We are experiencing severe recruitment issues at the moment and have not yet been able to fill the post vacated by Dr Naismith, despite our best efforts over the past 4 months. We have been lucky to appoint a replacement for Matt, our ANP who left us in September, however, Shona, the new ANP, has less availability. Going forward, Dr Ashman will start maternity leave in February 2022 for a year and although advertising this vacancy along with Dr Naismith’s we have, as yet, been unable to recruit a replacement. Unfortunately, this situation is not isolated to Alford with many practices throughout Grampian (and beyond) finding themselves in the same difficult situation. We are working hard to find replacements for these vacancies and despite the loss of clinical time we are endeavouring to provide the same/next day service offered since March 2020. However, it is inevitable that there will be delays on some days. We will continue to provide a contact first service, meaning that clinical staff will review all requests for appointments and decide on the most appropriate action, be it a phone consultation, being brought into the practice for an examination or signposted to the most appropriate person, eg pharmacist, dentist, optician. In line with NHS Grampian’s Zero Tolerance Policy, abuse of our staff (verbal or physical) will not be tolerated and we expect our staff to be treated with dignity and respect. We appreciate your understanding during this difficult time.
Donside Community Council Community councils are voluntary organisations that act as a voice for their local area. They meet regularly to discuss issues affecting their area, including planning and licensing applications. If you are interested in local projects or in working to make Donside even better and if you have some time and energy to spare, why not consider joining Donside Community Council? Elections were held at the end of May this year but there are still quite a few vacancies in most areas. See our current list of councillors and vacancies online. Members can be co-opted between elections so if you are interested, get in touch with your local community councillor through our Facebook page or email us at chair@donsidecommunitycouncil.org.uk. If you want to do some research around what is involved then have a look at the Community Council information pages on the Aberdeenshire Council website (https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/ communities-and-events/communitycouncils/)
When do we meet? Every 2nd Tuesday of the Month (except July and Dec) What Time? 7.30pm – 9.30pm Tea/coffee from 7.15pm Where? Alford Community Campus
