Closed for training - 18th December
We will be closed for training from 1pm on Wednesday 18th October. A GP will be available on the usual number for any urgent matters before 6pm. We will reopen as usual on Thursday.
Extra way to contact us
We are aware that our phones may sometimes be busy, or it may not be convenient for patients to call us during the daytime. Therefore we are happy to introduce an additional way to contact the surgery with your administrative or non-urgent queries. eConsult is now available via our website home page, giving our registered patients the option to contact us online by completing a form.
Public Holiday 2024/25
Dounby Surgery will be closed on the following dates:
Monday 30th September
Wednesday 25th December
Thursday 26th December
Wednesday 1st January 2025
Thursday 2nd January 2025
Welcome to the surgery Hannah!
We are pleased to introduce Hannah MacDonald, our new Practice Nurse.
Hannah qualified in 2017 and since then she has worked for both the East and West Community Nursing teams on the Orkney mainland.
She has a special interest in wound care, cardiology and dermatology.
She is eager to develop her skills in chronic disease management, dermatology and women's health.
Hannah says that she feels really lucky to be joining the team at Dounby Surgery and is looking forward to getting to know all of our lovely patients too.
Welcome to our new Medical Student Chloe
Chloe Fernie is in year 3 of a 4 year graduate medical course. She will be in the surgery as well as the Balfour until summer 2023.
Chloe is thoroughly enjoying being immersed in the surgery as well as island life. It’s given her not only invaluable teaching but time to enjoy forgotten hobbies like wild swimming. Being part of the community is important to her so you may well catch her out and about as she gets involved with local activities.
We're delighted to have Chloe as part of our team!
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Farewell to our Medical Students, Ron & Lana
We had a very sad day at the surgery the other week, saying farewell to our Medical Students Ron & Lana. After 9 months with us they will be sorely missed.
We wish them all the best in their future studies. We were glad to have you both in Dounby!
Welcoming our new GP Partner, Dr A Filipek
Recruitment - GP Partner
We recently advertised for a new GP Partner. We made a video about our practice to help applicants consider what it would be like to live and work here.
Welcome to the Admin team Yvonne Clay
Introducing Yvonne to our Admin team!
Yvonne joined us in June as one of our Patient Service Coordinators and has been a great asset to the Admin team already.
She has been quick to learn the ropes and is always a bright voice on the end of the phone.
Yvonne relocated to Orkney to be closer to her Orcadian relatives. She is interested in WW1 Nurse history & genealogy.
She has enjoyed being part of our friendly team and looks forward to meeting more of the local community.
Sue's Retirement
It was a sad day yesterday as Sue retired after almost 17 years at Dounby Surgery.
Sue had a background as a Medical Secretary and brought a great deal of knowledge to the team in Dounby. We will greatly miss her guidance, medical note summarising and data quality skills along with her cheeky sense of humour, guaranteed to brighten up our surgery.
We wish Sue many happy years in her retirement.
Visitors to the Surgery
We were joined by Jason Leitch, Scotland's National Clinical Director and Caroline Lamb, NHS Scotland CEO and Director General of Health and Care.
We had the opportunity to share our experience of the challenges that the pandemic has brought and the ways we have adapted to continue to deliver general practice services over the past 18 months.
Introducing our new ScotGEM medical students
This year we are pleased to welcome two medical students to Dounby Surgery.
Lana Stevenson has started her 3rd year of her 4 year graduate medical course. She will be based in the surgery but will also be in A&E and the wards in The Balfour. So far during her medical degree, she has spent time in Fife, Highlands & Dumfries. She is excited to be further North. She is really enjoying her time at the surgery as well as exploring Orkney. She loves going to the beach for a swim and she is looking forward to seeing as much of Orkney as she can during her time here.
Ron MacDonald comes to us from placements in Dumfries and Inverness. He will be based in the surgery over the next 10 months consulting with our patients. You may bump into him at some clinics within The Balfour as well. His aim for this placement is to visit all the outer isles and learn a few Orcadian songs and tunes whilst he is here.
Farewell Nurse Karen Leask
Saying goodbye after 14 years, I am leaving to embark on the next chapter. I have been very lucky to be blessed with grandchildren and will be taking an active role in looking after them.
I qualified as an Enrolled nurse in 1986 at the Orkney School of Nursing with the fabulous Lorraine Littlejohn as my tutor. No nonsense hands on training with icons such as Nanna Hourston and Joyce Mudd at the helm. Doctors such as Bob Hazlehurst, Peter Fay and Jim Cromarty were a formidable sight in any ward. Following further training in 2005 I graduated to Staff Nurse working in Piper ward. This was a fabulous job, working in rehab to get patients well and home. It was while working there that the opportunity came to apply for a job in Dounby Surgery. I had been working at the health centre at the then Scapa Practice doing bloods and treatment room stuff now and then. This was a very different form of nursing found me training further to learn about chronic disease management, prescription medication, acute illness, smear taking, asthma - the list goes on. I could see the role of the nurse and the doctor start to blend together so that patients and their families would see a more holistic approach to their care.
To say I have enjoyed this job would be an understatement. I have absolutely loved my time in Dounby and have worked with some amazing people over the years - people who have supported my journey and encouraged me to achieve many things including one of my highlights. A trip to the phototherapy dept at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee gave me the ability to offer and deliver a phototherapy service to the people of Orkney. Supported by Dr Huw Thomas and the team in Dundee, phototherapy has been life changing to some of the people who used the service.
I would like to say good luck to Helen and the nursing team and send a heartfelt thank you to those wonderful people at Dounby surgery past and present, to my fantastic colleague and friend Michelle Hill and of course most of all to all you lovely patients who have coloured my 14 years and have made my job so rewarding. Although I’m leaving my permanent role you might see me pop in from time to time.
Congratulations Dr Gills
Dr Gills has passed all her Royal College of General Practitioners exams, and expects to be a fully qualified GP on 30th October. Dr Gills has worked at the surgery throughout her training and is a great asset to the team.
Dounby Surgery Covid 19 update
We continue to follow government guidance to keep our surgery safe, thank you for your patience and understanding.
Congratulations to our Practice Nurse, Megan
Congratulations to our Practice Nurse, Megan, who has successfully completed a Non-Medical Prescribing course with the University of the Highlands and Islands. This will allow Megan to issue prescriptions safely and competently within the context of her professional role.
Welcoming our new Practice Nurse, Helen Clouston
We are delighted to welcome Helen to our Nursing Team here at Dounby Surgery. Helen joined Dounby Surgery in February this year. She qualified in 2008 and since has worked in the Macmillan Unit, Primary Care, and latterly with the East and West District Nursing Teams.
Helen has special interests in wound care, bladder dysfunction and Nursing research and education. She is looking forward to developing her skills in women's health and chronic disease management.
Welcome to the team Helen!
Our Medical Student, Matthew Maerz
Hello, my name is Matthew Maerz. I'm just finishing my 3rd year of a new 4 year graduate medical program called ScotGEM. As part of the program we are sent across Scotland for an apprenticeship year called a longitudinal intercalated clerkship (LIC). This is mainly based out of general practice and I've had the amazing opportunity of being based in Dounby!
I've had the privilege of working with an amazing team and with wonderful patients. Over the past 10 months or so I've been seeing patients both in GP and in hospital and I've been working on a healthcare improvement project aimed at improving the management of chronic pain.
Thank you so much for being such a welcoming community! I hope that the two students replacing me next year enjoy the community as much as I have!
All of us here at Dounby Surgery would like to wish Matthew all the best in the next steps of his studying.
Sheila's Retirement
A sad day at Dounby Surgery yesterday, our Sheila has retired after 23 well served years. Sheila will be sorely missed by staff and patients.
We wish Sheila many happy years in her retirement. Thank you for being a big part of the team, for your professionalism, care and hard work.
Online Appointment Booking - Suspended
We are now able to offer the patients the ability to book routine GP appointments online. To do this you need to complete a registration form (available below) and bring it into the surgery along with photographic ID.
Patient Access Registration Form
This service is currently suspended
Book Exchange
Our Patient Participation Group have established a book exchange in the waiting room at the Surgery. Please feel free to browse and exchange books. Donations can be made to the Dounby Surgery Patient Fund.
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