Skerryvore Practice

14/11/2025

Important information below from our colleagues at The Balfour pharmacy.

Reducing Medicine Waste

Over the coming weeks we will be sharing ways that you can help us reduce medicine waste.

Unused medicines cost the NHS an estimated £300m per year, and approximately 1 in 10 medicines in Scotland are wasted. Medicine waste can also be harmful to the environment and wildlife.

Medicines can go to waste when they expire, are damaged or are no longer required for treatment. It is important that you safely dispose of any unused medicines.

You should take all unused medicines to a community pharmacy for safe disposal. This includes tablets, eye drops, inhalers, creams, liquids, patches, sprays and any other forms of medication. You can also take medication that you have bought, regardless of where you purchased them from. As a reminder, never share your medicines with other people, and do not dispose of them in the toilet or household bin.

11/11/2025

We have fewer staff than usual in the office over the next few weeks.

If you need an on the day review, please complete the online request form on the home page of our website; (www.skerryvorepractice.co.uk) this goes straight to the GPs.

If you phone the practice for an on the day review, our office staff will encourage you to use the form if possible. Otherwise, they will complete the same form with you over the phone.

For any non-urgent queries, please call after 9.30am if you can.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

03/11/2025

You may have spotted Scott, a previous ScotGEM student, featured in The Orcadian this week. It was a pleasure to support him during this project, and we are so pleased to see his fantastic work getting the recognition it deserves.

31/10/2025

We’re asking any patients who have had one of our practice blood pressure machines for more than two weeks to please return it as soon as possible. We currently have 10 machines that have been out for months, this is creating a waiting list for others who need to borrow one.

29/10/2025

We are taking part in an NHS Scotland service aimed at preventing heart disease and stroke.

We’ll be offering free health checks to patients who may be at a higher risk but please only contact us if you have received a text message inviting you to take part. We will start sending these today.

Who will be invited?
- Patients aged 35–60
- Who haven’t had a full heart or circulation (cardiovascular) check in the last 3 years
- Who don’t already have conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or stroke

You can find out more about the service on our website: https://www.skerryvorepractice.co.uk/page1.aspx?p=15&t=1

28/10/2025

22/10/2025

VACANCY - MEDICAL SECRETARY

Part Time Permanent Position (25.5 hours)
Salary £29,665 - £31,884
includes Distant Islands Allowance pro-rata
Hourly Rate £15.38 - £16.53

We are looking for a part time, enthusiastic individual to join our friendly and professional team at Skerryvore Practice, based within The Balfour healthcare facility.

Please click on our website link below for more information and to download an application pack.

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

➡️ Applications should be returned by 5pm on Tuesday 11th November
➡️ Interviews will take place on Wednesday 26th November

This post is subject to Disclosure Scotland Clearance.

Skerryvore Practice - Vacancy | Medical Secretary

17/10/2025

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.

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