Saturday's alright for surgery appointments

IT'S JUST before 9am in the quiet Stirlingshire village of Balfron and the shopkeepers are opening up for business.

Unlike the thousands of other places across Scotland witnessing similar scenes yesterday, joining in with the traders was Dr Brian Keighley.

His surgery is one of the few in the country to open at weekends, but, if the Government's move is successful, the scenario in Buchanan Street will soon be mirrored by hundreds of other GPs.

The Balfron Surgery has been operating on Saturdays for over half a century and yesterday morning was a typical one for Keighley as around half a dozen patients of different ages arrived for consultation on a variety of ailments.

The surgery runs on a non-appointment basis through the week and on Saturdays it is supposed to be for emergencies only or for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to make it at any other time.

Keighley says that his patients generally respect this unwritten rule and only turn up for the hour-long Saturday window if it is really necessary. He said: "We have always opened on a Saturday and I think the patients realise that if they come, they may have to wait a bit longer than usual to be seen. But most of the people understand that and do not have any problems with it."

Keighley added: "Many of the locals are used to the service which we offer, but it is the incomers who are amazed that they can just walk in off the streets without an appointment. This arrangement would only really work in a rural environment because we do not have the same sort of pressures that the inner-city practices have."

However, he did voice concerns at moves to implement similar schemes in more built-up areas. He added: "If this was to be imposed on doctors in the inner-cities, the thought of someone sitting alone in a massive building with all the additional problems of keeping an eye on the medicines and other paraphernalia is quite a worry. There are huge issues for safety and security."

First through the door yesterday was 75-year-old Donald Henson, who spent a few minutes with the doctor before being given a prescription. He said: "I do find the Saturday opening useful, but, to be honest, I do not use the surgery very often and I just assumed it would be open today. However, there is definitely a call for medical facilities to be available for people who are ill over the weekend."