Skerryvore Practice

06/10/2025

Notice of disruption.

Training Closure - Wednesday 8th October - afternoon only.
Our office and some clinical staff will be in training in the afternoon.

- We’ll be open and working as usual from 8:30am–12.30pm.
- Pre-booked appointments after 12.30pm will still go ahead.
- Our phone lines will close after 12.30pm. The phone line will have instructions of how to contact us in the case of a clinically urgent issues only that can-not wait until Thursday.

Phone System Testing - Thursday 9 October
From 12pm – 2pm there will be a resilience test on the phone system used at The Balfour. During this short period, you may experience disruption if calling us.

03/10/2025

01/10/2025

✨Prescription Ordering – Important Reminder✨

We are receiving an increasing number of same-day prescription requests, urgent prescriptions cannot always be guaranteed.

🗓️ Please request your repeat prescriptions when you have 7–10 days of medication left. 🗓️

Each request must be checked and signed by a GP before being processed by the pharmacy, where further checks are carried out. This process takes time and ensures your medication is safe and accurate.

Although pharmacies keep many medicines in stock, some items need to be ordered in, and availability can change from month to month.

By ordering in advance, you help us and your pharmacy make sure your prescription is ready on time and avoid unnecessary delays.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

28/09/2025

Just a reminder: We’ll be closed tomorrow and will reopen on Tuesday.

If you need an on-the-day appointment, our online form will be available from 8am via the homepage of our website, and our phone lines open at 8.30am.

Please note, the Tuesday after a bank holiday is usually very busy. For routine enquiries, you may find it easier to get through by phone after 11am.

Monday 29 September is a Public Holiday for NHS Orkney. All GP surgeries will be closed on the Public Holiday, but in an emergency you can contact a GP in the same way as routine evening/weekend cover. If you are ill when your practice is closed and can’t wait until it reopens, you should call NHS 24 on 111.

You can also find more helpful tips on NHS Infom 👉 https://www.nhsinform.scot/

Community Pharmacy Arrangements on Monday 29 September
👉Boots Kirkwall - closed
👉WHB Sutherland Kirkwall - open 9am - 5.30pm
👉WHB Sutherland Stromness - open 9am - 5pm
👉Norsepharm Dounby - open 9am - 5pm

22/09/2025

✨ One Week of Accurx – How’s It Going? ✨

We’ve just completed our first full week of using Accurx to manage on-the-day appointment requests, in those 5 days:

- 65 patients filled in the online form directly via our website.
- 144 patients phoned us, and our admin team completed the form with them.

Since introducing Accurx three weeks ago, we’ve also sent out an incredible 611 texts and emails to patients, saving hundreds of outgoing phone calls.

This means our team spends less time dialling out and more time being available to answer your calls quickly.

Thank you to everyone who has embraced this new system, it’s already making a big difference for both patients and staff!

18/09/2025

Our GPs, nurses and admin staff also run the Nordhaven Clinic. This is a free, confidential sexual health service open to anyone within Orkney. From next week our weekly drop in will move to a Tuesday afternoon.

Starting from next week, our drop in clinic will move to a Tuesday. Please see updated poster.

15/09/2025

We’ve listened to your feedback and we know how frustrating it can be to get through to our reception team at 8:30am when many patients are calling at the same time for an urgent on the day review.

From Tomorrow
If you feel you, or someone you care for needs an urgent same-day appointment, please use our online request form instead of phoning. The form goes directly to a GP for review.

How to Access the Form:

1️⃣ Go to our website:
👉 www.skerryvorepractice.co.uk

2️⃣ Scroll down to the box that says:
“Submit a new request, contact us online.”

3️⃣ Complete the short form (available Monday–Friday, 8am–12pm)

📞 If You Can’t Access the Internet
You can still call us on 01856 888240.
Our reception team will complete the form with you over the phone.

*Edit: please continue to phone the practice if you need to request a home visit for youself or someone you care for*

We are grateful for your continued support and are delighted that recent changes have been met with such positive feedback.

Skerryvore Practice Skerryvore Practice,The Balfour,Foreland Road,Kirkwall KW15 1NZ, Information about the doctors surgery opening hours, appointments, online prescriptions, health information and much more

12/09/2025

We were delighted to welcome Jordan, Ellie and Ollie to the practice this week. Over the last few months they've been helping us get ready for implementing Accurx and have been delivering online training and support.

Following their visit and the time they spent with all of our staff we will be introducing more of it's features to our patients next week.

09/09/2025

🌟 Vacancy | Medical Secretary 🌟

Full Time Temporary Position (37 hours)
12 Month Maternity Cover

Salary (includes Distant Islands Allowance)
£28,523 - £30,652
Hourly Rate £14.78 - £15.89

We are looking for a full time enthusiastic and dedicated individual to join our friendly and professional team at Skerryvore Practice, based within The Balfour healthcare facility. We are also happy to consider applications from candidates seeking part time hours.

As Medical Secretary, you will play a key role in delivering high quality reception and administrative support, acting as one of the first points of contact for our patients. This is a busy and varied role requiring excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and a strong sense of confidentiality.

➡️ For more information, please visit our website using the link below.

An application pack can be obtained by emailing ork.skerryvorepractice@nhs.scot,
by contacting the Practice on (01856) 888 240, or by downloading from our website.

➡️ Applications should be returned by 5pm on Tuesday 23rd Sept
➡️ Interviews will take place on Tuesday 30th Sept

This post is subject to Disclosure Scotland Clearance.

Skerryvore Practice - Vacancy | Medical Secretary

05/09/2025

🌟 A huge thank you to our patients this week! 🌟

We’ve started using Accurx, our new secure messaging platform, for sending appointments receiving photos and for some communication. We’re delighted at how smoothly it’s gone so far thanks to your support.

Over the coming weeks, as our team gets more familiar with using Accurx, you'll likely be asked if you’re happy to receive updates or responses via a secure text message instead of waiting for a phone call.

Examples of messages you might receive include:

- Notification of prescriptions issued following a request from our colleagues in Secondary care,
- Follow-up advice,
- Simple queries answered directly by your clinician or our reception team,
- Sick Notes.

We have attached some images below of what messages may look like.