Medical Centre Message DCC Contacts/News 12/13

Alford Medical Practi ce

We are experiencing severe recruitment issues at the moment and have not yet issues at the moment and have not yet been able to fi ll the post vacated by Dr been able to fi ll the post vacated by Dr Naismith, despite our best eff orts 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 adverti sing this vacancy along with Dr Naismith’s we have, as yet, been unable to recruit a replacement.

Unfortunately, this situati on is not isolated to Alford with many practi ces throughout Grampian (and beyond) fi nding themselves in the same diffi cult situati on.

We are working hard to fi nd replacements for these vacancies and despite the loss of clinical ti me we are endeavouring to provide the same/next day service off ered since March 2020. However, it is inevitable that there will be delays on some days.

We will conti nue to provide a contact fi rst service, meaning that clinical staff will review all requests for appointments and decide on the most appropriate acti on, be it a phone consultati on, being brought into the practi ce for an examinati on or signposted to the most appropriate person, eg pharmacist, denti st, opti cian.

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 diffi cult ti me.

Donside Community Council

Community councils are voluntary organisati ons that act as a voice for their local area. They meet regularly to discuss issues aff ecti ng their area, including planning and licensing applicati ons.

If you are interested in local projects or in working to make Donside even bett er and if you have some ti me and energy to spare, why not consider joining Donside Community Council?

Electi ons were held at the end of May this year but there are sti ll quite a few vacancies in most areas. See our current list of councillors and vacancies online.

Members can be co-opted between electi ons 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 informati on 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/coff ee from 7.15pm Where? Alford Community Campus

Councillors' Contacts

This is your MP and MSP

Cllr Moira Ingleby 07770 410539 cllr.m.ingleby@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Cllr John Latham 07876 475038 cllr.j.latham@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk Cllr Gwyneth Petrie 07891 296064 cllr.g.petrie@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Cllr Robbie Withey 07388 956147 cllr.r.withey@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

S������� P���������

Alexander Burnett MSP 0131 348 5642

Alexander.Burnett .msp @parliament.scot

W����������

Andrew Bowie MP 0207 219 2791 andrew.bowie.mp @parliament.uk

13