Remote and Rural GPs
Primary Care Department
Orcades Practice – Sanday, Stronsay and Westray Islands
Salary £91,621 - £136,751 dependent on experience (includes 45% enhancement for 24/7 cover) plus Distant Islands Allowance, all pro rata
Opportunities to work between 12 and 26 weeks/year plus annual and study leave pro rata

Be a single-handed GP in a wider supportive team of GPs and Nurses

Be an important part of a small island community

The Orcades Practice (1,972 patients) consists of six single-handed island practices with GPs and nurses providing 24/7 healthcare to the smaller remote islands of Orkney.  Weekly video conferences enable clinicians to learn through case discussion, offer mutual support and overcome professional isolation. To ensure continuity of care clinicians are appointed to one island, working in rotation with colleagues.  

As a part-time GP you have the advantages of working in one of these remote cohesive practices with more time for your patients, seeing them in the context of their lives surrounded by beautiful scenery and wildlife.  We work in rotation, usually for 3 weeks at a time, and are on call 24/7.  Practitioners either live on island or elsewhere where we can work in primary care, hospitals or even refugee camps. The best of both worlds?

Spice up your regular GP skills with the challenges of pre-hospital emergency care whilst waiting for helicopter evacuation.  Emergency care training with standardised equipment and protocols is provided.

The post will appeal to experienced GPs, but also those earlier in their careers looking for the challenge of widening their clinical skills and providing holistic care in a remote but supported environment. Annual and study leave allocations are built in to allow you to acquire and maintain those additional skills. We have a variety of permanent and fixed term contracts ranging from 12 to 26 weeks/year, but we are flexible and would be happy to discuss what would work best for you. Accommodation is provided.

The communities are vibrant and supportive with excellent schools, good leisure facilities and amazing wildlife and scenery.  Orkney has excellent transport links to the UK mainland; daily flights from Kirkwall are just an hour to all four major Scottish airports.

Click here for more information about the jobs, how we work together to provide exemplary, patient centred care, to learn about the individual islands and to watch a short film about working in NHS Orkney. Further information about living in Orkney can be found at www.orkney.com or www.orkneycommunities.co.uk and www.ohb.scot.nhs.uk

If we have piqued your interest, we'd love to hear from you, and are happy to chat about our experiences to see if this might be the job you're looking for.  Please contact chris.thorne@nhs.scot (Sanday GP), alison.lievesley@nhs.scot (Stronsay GP), or david.mazza@nhs.scot (Westray GP) to hear more.

Closing Date: Sunday 20/2/22 at midnight. 

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to come to Orkney for the weekend 5-6 March 2022 to meet the island communities and your new potential colleagues. Interviews will take place week beginning 7th March 2022 via Teams. Alternative arrangements can be made if you are unable to make the weekend.