Toberargan Surgery, 27 Toberargan Road
Pitlochry PH16 5HG

Tel : 01796 472558, Fax : 01796 473775 (Dr D Cruikshank)

Dr David A. Cruikshank
Dr Douglas S. Kennedy
Dr David P. Leaver
Dr Jamie I.R. MacHugh
Dr Graeme W. McCrory

The practice which was formed in 1969 now consists of 5 full time partners and has a list size of 4,400, 2,300 of whom live in Pitlochry and the remainder in the surrounding districts.

The practice covers an area of approximately 700 square miles but in fact the four corners are virtually uninhabited and the population is almost entirely concentrated along the two main road axis. The mileage driven by the partners therefore is in fact quite modest for a rural area.

Like all rural communities the indigenous population is ageing and the area is also popular for retirement. These features produce a resident population with 25% over the age of 65 and therefore there is a considerable amount of geriatric medicine. There are, however, additional resources within the community which help to manage this problem.

The tourist industry brings a broad spectrum of patients with an extremely wide range of clinical problems and morbidity. The industry, being seasonal, has a swinging effect on the practice workload and our busiest time is in the summer, unlike urban practices where the peak of illness is usually in the winter.

Each partner by in large looks after the patients on his own personal list. Although the total list appears small for the number of partners, other commitments of the practice make the workload more than this figure might suggest.

At the present moment the General Practitioners have direct admission right to the 11 community or GP beds at the Irvine Memorial Hospital which means that patients with a comprehensive range of medical problems can be admitted and looked after by these doctors. The General Practitioners also cover the Minor Injuries Unit where casualties are cared for and treated 24 hours a day. The partners see around 1000 new self referred casualties each year and they are sole providers of all other GP medical services at the hospital.

In addition to the 11 community beds there are 12 beds in the Atholl Unit along with a small Day Hospital Unit provision which are part of the long stay continuing care establishment of the Care of the Elderly Division of Perth & Kinross Health Care Trust. Day to day care of these patients is undertaken by one of the General Practitioners in his role of Clinical Assistant.

Each year the partners see 16,000 patients during consulting hours in Pitlochry and 2,000 patients in the Branch Surgery in Blair Atholl. In addition the two Practice Nurses who job share see 5,000 patients per year.

The practice area has approximately 35 miles of the A9 arterial road from Perth to Inverness, which is renowned for its number of road traffic accidents. However, due to the modernisation of the road the accident death rate has greatly fallen, but the serious accidents have remained. This is the reason for the practice forming an Immediate Care Scheme and being a member of BASICS. The incidents of this work are not very great but are a regular feature throughout the year.

One of the partners is also employed as a deputy police surgeon.

The practice has been involved in Undergraduate Training and Postgraduate Training for many years. There are excellent Postgraduate Educational opportunities in Perth & Dundee. During the winter months the 5 NorthWest Perthshire Practices, of which Toberargan Surgery is one, meet together on a monthly basis with their own programme of Postgraduate Education.

Between November 1994 and September 1996 the practice, along with our 4 neighbouring practices in the NorthWest Perthshire Locality, participated in a pilot Locality Planning and Commissioning Project. Since April 1997, the practice has been involved in Primary Care Purchasing and has held its own budget for this. This will finish at the end of March 1999, with the formation of the new Primary Care Trust.

This is a very happy, enthusiastic and cohesive practice whose objective is to deliver the highest standards of clinical care to our patients by a motivated Primary Health Care Team in a stress free environment.

All enquiries to Dr D.A.Cruikshank and Dr G.W. McCrory:

Tel : 01796 472558, Fax : 01796 473775
dcruikshank@pitlochry.tayside.scot.nhs.uk
gmccrory@pitlochry.tayside.scot.nhs.uk

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Last updated  19 July 2004 by Bridget Crossman