Volunteer health personnel in North Harris will attend medical 999 calls in the area, if asked to do so by the Scottish Ambulance Service when the local ambulance is out of the immediate area on another call.
A number of GPs, paramedics and nurse practitioners have put their names on an informal
list willing to be called for an emergency when they are off-
All Tarbert-
Western Isles medical director, Dr Angus McKellar, who stays in Harris, has put his name on the list as has local GP, Dr Anthony Latham.
Informal arrangements to back-
27 November 2015
The informal arrangements are only for 999 emergencies and not for the controversial
out-
However, the Scottish Ambulance Service is willing to work with the health board to train up paramedics to provide initial assessments of patients in North Harris with the aim to attend patients who need to be seen promptly but not as emergencies.
It is hoped this would remove the need for community unscheduled care nurses to travel from Stornoway to see patients at home.
It follows concerns in the community after Dr McKellar's former practice in Tarbert stopped providing a GP on call outwith working hours.
Islanders had called for a out-
The replacement service requires patients to make their way to the Stornoway hospital.
People having endured the trip in bad weather in the middle of the night while other
were reluctant to call for help until the local surgery re-
If NHS 24 deem it necessary, a medical professional will travel from Stornoway to attend patients at home.
It is policy not to visit children and people who are not housebound.
Dr McKellar said: “We have to move on from demands to have what cannot be had."
He is "really encouraged that the community seem to be starting to see what the limits of possibility are so that we can work together to improve the service."
The medical director added: “The new developments are very positive for the emergency situation, to give reassurance to the community, and I think there’s a definite shift in public engagement.”