Good news for Grangemouth medical practice as three new GPs join the team

The prognosis for Grangemouth's Kersiebank Medical Practice was not good at the start of 2018 but it now looks to be well on the road to recovery.

The Kersiebank Avenue clinic was in the news in February when it was hit by a staffing crisis – losing three GPs and reporting another three were due to leave for new jobs within a matter of months.

At that time NHS Forth Valley, which is responsible for managing the practice, stated it aimed “to ensure the practice remains open and continues to provide services to the local community”.

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The board engaged with other local GP practices “to see if they can provide some support” over the months while new staff were being recruited.

It looks as though the recruitment exercise was successful as NHS Forth Valley confirmed three new GPs had now been taken on.

Dr Stuart Cumming, NHS Forth Valley’s associate medical director, said: “We have been working very hard to increase the capacity of our current practice team

and have managed to successfully recruit a number of GPs and other healthcare professionals.

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“This is significant progress given the current difficulties in recruiting GPs across the UK. It will also help us build on the multidisciplinary workforce already in place at the Practice and ensure local patients have access to a wider range of services and support.”

As well as the three new GPs, Kersiebank has also brought onboard three new advanced nurse practitioners and additional pharmacy staff who are working alongside the existing mental health nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacy staff currently based at the practice.

Grangemouth Community Council will be holding a special public meeting next month to discuss the future of crisis hit Kersiebank Medical Practice.

Members of staff from the Kersiebank Road practice will be present in Grangemouth High School from 7pm on Thursday, November 22 to outline and explain changes which will be made in the coming weeks.

The meeting is open to everyone, but in some cases it will not be possible to respond to questions relating to individual cases due to patient confidentiality.