Creiff Medical Centre
The Red Practice
King Street, Crieff PH7 3AS

Partners:

Dr George Savage, BSc (Hons), FRCP (Glasg), MRCGP.
Dr Peter Ewing, MBChB, MRCGP, DRCOG, DFFP
Dr Helen Kirkwood, MBChB, MRCGP, DRCOG.
Dr Sarah Carter, MBChB, MRCGP, DRCOG, DFFP.

Are you interested in working in rural Scotland with a committed and enthusiastic team who still regard the practice of medicine as an exciting and stimulating challenge?

If the answer is yes then read on!

Crieff is a small town of 5000 people in rural Perthshire. Dundee is 40 miles distant and Glasgow and Edinburgh are 50 miles away. Perth, which has the nearest general hospital, is 17 miles. The partners serve the rural area within a 10-mile radius. There are two practices working from our medical centre.

Medical Centre

We now occupy a new purpose built medical centre, which we took possession of in November 01. It serves a population of 11000 and is split into 4 wings and a first floor. There are two practice wings (red and blue), each has its own reception area and office. Our practice wing has 6 consulting rooms and the Registrar has their own room (with internet access). There is a Community Nursing wing, which is used by Health Visitors, Community Nurses, Midwives, and Counsellors. We also have a Practice Nurse wing with individual consulting rooms and a minor procedures suite. Upstairs there are offices, a library (with internet access), meeting room, coffee room, and there are toilets and showering facilities. In addition we are fully equipped with portable and fixed ECG and defibrillators.

A4 folders and a computerised system are used for all practice records, which are fully summarised on computer. At present we are changing our current system to the almost universally used system in Scotland, GPASS. We have a practice manager, senior secretary, 2 full-time and 1 part-time office staff. In the treatment room there is a full-time nursing sister, 2 staff nurses, an enrolled nurse, and a phlebotomist. Five nurses also work from the Health Centre (3 district nurses, and 2 health visitors).

Over the winter a series of post-graduate meetings take place.

Crieff Hospital

A new community hospital was opened in October 1995. The hospital at present has 24 GP beds and 20-bed unit with longstay elderly and dementia patients. There is a Day-Centre, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Chiropody, and x-ray facilities. There is a casualty department with modern equipment. Consultant clinics covering the major disciplines are held in the hospital.

The Medical Officer for the Dementia Unit is Dr Ewing.

The Practice

Dr George Savage graduated from Glasgow University in 1982 and became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1986. His initial training in general practice was in Crieff, and he attained membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners with distinction in 1987. He was in practice in Edinburgh from 1988 until his return to Crieff in 1996. He is the Trainer in the practice. He is the appointed Medical Officer to Morrison's Academy, Ardvreck School, and Crieff Hydro. He has trained as a Medical Incident Officer for Major Incident Management. He is a part-time Community Physician for the Strathearn area. He has considerable experience in dealing with problems of substance abuse, and is especially interested in cardiology, diabetes mellitus, immediate care, dermatology, and palliative care.

Dr Peter Ewing graduated from Aberdeen University in 1992 and trained in general practice in Oxford following which he has worked as a locum general practitioner in the Inverness area. He is a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners and holds the Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Diploma of the Faculty of Family Planning. He is particularly interested in palliative care, psychiatry, and the management of chronic pain.

Dr Helen Kirkwood graduated from Glasgow University in 1983. She trained in general practice in Glasgow, and attained the Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1985. She became a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 1987. She has worked in general practice, community child health, family planning, and well-woman screening. She is especially interested in paediatrics and gynaecology.

Dr Sarah Carter graduated from Dundee University in 1995. She trained in general practice in Auchterarder, and attained the Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1998 and became a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners with distinction in 2001. She is particularly interested in dermatology, cardiovascular medicine, and women's health.

The partners have a list of around 3400 patients. In addition to routine work they are medical officers to seven Nursing/Residential Homes in Crieff and Muthill. A variety of health promotion clinics are held including an asthma and diabetic clinic. The doctors are approved for paediatric surveillance and minor surgery. We are engaged in active auditing of our management of several major conditions: Diabetes, Asthma, Hypothyroidism, Secondary Prevention in Ischaemic Heart Disease, and Epilepsy. We produce annual morbidity data. Please feel free to look at these when you visit.

Training

Dr Savage is the Trainer although training is shared amongst the wider Primary Care Team (PCT). There are two hour-long tutorials per week, and numerous informal sessions. In addition all Registrars are invited to attend our weekly lunchtime PCT meeting, and our monthly evening business meeting. We teach medical students from Dundee University who stay for between 4 and 12 weeks. The Registrar will use the same room for consultations. We have a modern V8 Digital video camera and on-line access to the Internet and Medline. In addition our PCs have access to the Cochrane Library and the Oxford Textbook as well as the BNF. Each Registrar attends the fortnightly Day-Release course run by the region and is encouraged to use their study leave. We are committed to fostering a life-long culture of learning for each other and all members of the team.


Rota

Our out of hours rota is shared with our colleagues in the Blue Practice and the practice in Comrie 7 miles west of Crieff. The practice night on call is Wednesday, and works out at 2 Wednesdays in 6 for a full timer and one Wednesday in six for a part-timer. There is a rota for Fridays and weekends. The Health Centre phone is diverted to a mobile phone at present.

Housing

There is a wide variety of property available in Crieff and Muthill. Property prices are somewhat lower than in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, or the South of England. Accommodation for rent is also reasonably priced. As a result of Crieff Hydro and the development of Crieff as a "Holiday Resort" at the end of the last century there are a substantial number of large stone-built properties in the town.

Schools

Given the size of the population there is a wide choice of schools in the area. At primary level there are state schools in Crieff, Muthill, and Madderty, and private schools at Morrison's Academy, and Ardvreck. At secondary level there is a good state school in Crieff. For private schooling there are Morrison's Academy and, also, Glenalmond and Strathallan.


Recreation

Crieff is a high amenity area with a wide variety of recreational pursuits. The facilities of Crieff Hydro are open to new members- swimming, squash, golf, riding etc in addition Strathearn Recreation Centre has a pool badminton courts, Five a side football, and basketball. There is also an 18-hole golf course in Crieff and several championship courses nearby, e.g. Gleneagles. Sailing and windsurfing are readily available at Loch Earn, and both loch and river fishing can be arranged. Hill walking, mountaineering, curling, and skiing, at the appropriate season, are within easy reach to those who are interested. There is an active rugby/cricket club in Crieff, which has good clubhouse facilities. There are a number of special interest clubs in Crieff, e.g. photography, which readily welcome new members.

Contact Us

You can contact us by post: Crieff Medical Centre, King St, Crieff, Perthshire PH7 3SA Scotland.

Or by phone: 01764 652456, by fax: 01764 657060

Or by e-mail: Practice Manager marchibald@crieff1.tayside.scot.nhs.uk
Dr George Savage: Email: gsavage@crieff1.tayside.scot.nhs.uk
Dr Peter Ewing: Email: peter.ewing@virgin.net

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Last updated  19 July 2004 by Bridget Crossman