Reassurrance given on merging of two GP practices in Caithness

Riverbank Practice in Thurso and the Lybster Practice will merge this month bringing benefit to both patients and staff thanks to closer working relationships between the teams.

NHS Highland stated that the two local practices have always worked closely together but the merger will now bring a formal arrangement into place.

There will be no change to how patients of either practice access services but it is hoped working more closely together will make the service more sustainable and, with shared systems, patients will see an improvement with access and patient choice. Staff will be working in a larger multi-disciplinary team which will create opportunities for clinical supervision, mentoring, training and development.

Jill Mitchell, primary care manager from NHS Highland, said: “I would like to offer reassurance that there will be no practice closures, no changes to the opening hours at either practice and there is no risk to anyone’s post or position.

“This merger offers a number of opportunities including a larger team to help support a sustainable GP service in the area and an ability to share workload across both sites; more choice, access and service provision for our patients; and sharing of experiences, knowledge and skills to help in developing services in the future.”

Practice management and the local primary care manager have contacted staff and have been available to answer any questions they may have. Patients are also being given an opportunity to feedback if they wish via the Feedback Team – nhshighland.feedback@nhs.scot.

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