A NEW provider has been awarded the contract to deliver general medical services out of the practice in Lockerbie.
Dr Kashif Ahmad and Dr Michael Ramsden were already serving as locums at Lockerbie Medical Practice, but successfully bid to take over responsibility for managing services.
Deputy Medical Director Dr Grecy Bell said: “NHS Dumfries and Galloway welcomes the outcome of a process aimed at securing an independent contractor to deliver general medical services out of Lockerbie.
“This now places Lockerbie Medical Practice in line with the majority of other GP practices within the region.
“A scoring panel was formed which included representatives from the local community, and Drs Ahmad and Ramsden impressed the panel with their obvious desire to serve the area and build a successful model for provision of local healthcare.”
Drs Ahmad and Ramsden say they are keen to build on the work they have already been undertaking at the practice, and to create a sustainable practice providing quality care.
However, they caution that that this will take time, and that the national contract for GP services means moving forward with the rest of Scotland to a multi-disciplinary team approach, where patients are served by a range of health professionals with different skills.
Dr Ramsden said: “We are looking forward to developing a practice which can provide quality care for the people of Lockerbie and surrounding areas. We realise they have been through a turbulent time over the past number of years and faced a lot of uncertainty. Particularly, we want to improve patient access, increase face-to-face contact, and restore care for those with long-term health problems.
“However, we hope people will understand it will take time to realise our ambition, that things won’t change overnight, and that the health service still remains under strain.
“We are dedicated to the multi-disciplinary approach already undertaken at the surgery and encouraged by the current GP contract in Scotland, which means you will see different types of clinician depending on your problem, and see this as essential to survival of the surgery when demand is only increasing and recruitment and retention of GPs is difficult.”
