ABOUT THE EARLY CAREER GP FELLOWSHIP
The purpose of the scheme is to consolidate and develop the skills and confidence of recently qualified GPs (within 5 years of CCT), offering the opportunity to develop knowledge and experience to meet the needs of the GP of the future within a supportive environment.
The GP Fellow will work in a host practice developing both general and specific skills relevant to General Practice work. This will include all duties normally carried out in practice, including the opportunity to attend practice meetings, helping to gain further understanding of general practice as a business.
Sessions in OOH will provide the Fellow with an opportunity to gain further experience in urgent care, an understanding of the 24/7 patient journey as well as the interface with other acute areas. This particular component will be flexible for the individual in Orkney, supported by NHS Orkney.
This post offers 6 in-hours General Practice sessions, comprising 4 x GP, 1 x specialist interest and 1 x CPD per week with additional OOH sessions equivalent to 1 session per week with NHS Orkney. The Fellowship is for a minimum 12 months, up to maximum 24 months period.
THE SPECIALIST INTEREST COMPONENT
MEDICAL EDUCATION - With over 25 years' experience as a training practice, six of our current partners have trained here. We have a strong commitment to training. One Partner is the GP Rural Track Training Programme Director and we train medical students, Foundation Doctors and GPSTs. We also support other colleagues with their professional development through non-medical prescribing qualifications & clinical examination skills courses, for example.
Many of our GPs participate in the Orkney PBSGL (Practice based Small Group Learning) network, and the local group is always eager to welcome new members. There are various other educational opportunities locally including Rural Hospital Grand Rounds, weekly Primary/Secondary care clinical education meetings and a local First5 group.
SEXUAL HEALTH - Skerryvore practice run the Nordhaven Sexual Health Clinic for patients across Orkney and provide a Needle Exchange service.
The Nordhaven Clinic provides a weekly drop in clinic as well as covering comprehensive services providing contraception, STI testing and treatment, PrEP, family planning and pregnancy related advice, and much more.
If you have an interest in a specialty not listed above, let us know and we can see what can be facilitated for you.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE PRACTICE
We are a semi-rural practice based in the town of Kirkwall providing General Medical Services to a population of approximately 8,700 patients on the mainland of Orkney.
We have a multidisciplinary team comprising 8 Doctors, an ANP, Nurses & HCAs, Pharmacotherapy Team, and Community Link Workers. The clinical team is supported by an experienced and committed management and administrative team.
As GPs we meet every morning for half an hour before surgery starts. Once a week we are joined by the Macmillan and Community Nursing teams. On other days we meet with our extended MDT colleagues. We also visit the local care home once a week.
Outside work our GPs are involved with several community organisations and projects, including the RNLI, the British Red Cross, the Orkney Prostate Awareness group and local sports teams. As a whole practice we are in the process of implementing the RCGPs Daffodil Standards for palliative care.
We moved in to brand new purpose built premises within The Balfour Hospital site on the outskirts of Kirkwall in 2019.
ABOUT THE WAY WE WORK
Each GP provides 23 x 15 minute appointments over the course of the day. We offer a mix of face to face and telephone consultations (both pre-booked & on the day) and offer an extended hours service. Our on-call days are shared between two GPs covering home visits and triage, supported by an advanced nurse practitioner.
The Practice uses Vision and Docman. We have implemented a work-flow optimisation process with data administrators in the office team and the pharmacotherapy hub reducing the Docman burden on GPs. We have developed a front desk direction process to ensure patients are directed to the most appropriate member of the team or service.
We are one of the first GP Practices in Scotland to pilot AccuRx and are rolling out the use of this system to support on the day triage and improve communication with our patients.
About Orkney & how to get here
If you aren't familiar with Orkney, below is some information about our islands.
Orkney is an archipelago of beautiful islands with a deep cultural heritage. A warm welcome and a resourceful community awaits you. Our islands have excellent schools, leisure facilities and a wide range of activities including sport (Orkney hosted the International Islands Games in 2025), music, art and drama.
Orkney hosts an array of festivals from music (folk, blues and jazz!) to science, the arts, story telling, nature and the International St Magnus Festival spread across the year. Stunning wildlife and history, ranging from World Heritage Neolithic sites to numerous nature reserves, is all around.
There are excellent links to the Scottish Mainland by air, with regular direct flights to Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness as well as links to London. There are also numerous ferry sailings to Aberdeen, Scrabster and Gills Bay.
Orkney is a wonderful place to live offering excellent schools and leisure facilities, low crime, low pollution and amazing scenery.
To find out more about living and working in Orkney visit https://www.orkney.com/
How to get in touch, and useful links
Our website - https://www.skerryvorepractice.co.uk/index.aspx
Our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/skerryvorepractice
For an informal chat, or to find out more please contact:
Practice Manager - Lanna Conlon lanna.conlon@nhs.scot or
Dr. Kirsty Cole kirsty.cole@nhs.scot
Dr. Sarah Stevenson sarah.stevenson@nhs.scot
Phone - 01856 888256 or 888145
To apply, please send a CV and covering letter to: Lanna Conlon, Practice Manager, Skerryvore Practice, The Balfour, Foreland Road, Kirkwall KW15 1NZ or lanna.conlon@nhs.scot
Please indicate in your covering letter the following points: Your choice of specialist interest element (or if you have no preference). What duration of fellowship post you wish to be considered for (minimum 12 months, maximum 24 months available).
Credits:
kirstinshearerphotography.pixieset.com