Are You A Doctor? We Prescribe A Move To Shetland!

Our friends at NHS Shetland tell us that they’re keen to recruit a doctor to the Lerwick Health Centre so, if you’d welcome a change of scene, this could be a wonderful opportunity.

The health centre is a salaried general practice and the staff look after around 9,100 patients in Shetland’s capital and the surrounding area. It’s a welcoming and supportive team in a paper-light, training practice. Advanced Nurse Practitioners deal with on-the-day acute presentations and there are also Practice Nurses and a Healthcare Assistant. The GPs in Lerwick participate in the out-of-hours co-operative, which is said not to be onerous. There’s patient access through EMIS; DOCMAN supports administration.

Why Shetland? Well, it really is a very special place to live and work. We’re known for our ponies and knitwear, but there is much, much more. Interestingly, medical doctors have been very prominent among those who have documented the archipelago’s remarkable geology and distinctive flora and fauna over more than two centuries.

The landscapes and seascapes are, quite simply, stunning; and other doctors have been among those who’ve drawn, painted and photographed them. The birdlife is legendary, with many rarities turning up each year and, of course, huge colonies of seabirds. Seals are never far away – they often haul out just along the road from the Health Centre – and it’s not too hard to spot otters, as this is one of their strongholds. Larger marine mammals, including porpoises and whales, are regular visitors to our coasts.

Shetland was once under Scandinavian control and that flavour lingers in some of the architecture, in the design of traditional boats, in music, in dialect and – perhaps most obviously – in placenames. Perhaps most fundamentally, the heritage is integral to daily life, not something that’s packaged for visitors. The extent and quality of archaeological remains is outstanding. Community life is vibrant, with just about every interest catered for.

Facilities for leisure, recreation and the arts are of an excellent standard, given that the population is only around 22,000. There are eight modern swimming pools across Shetland, mostly combined with leisure centres; the biggest is in Lerwick. Boating, kayaking and sailing are popular and we have marinas in most parts of the islands; games and sports such as golf, rugby and archery are catered for.

A new arts centre offers a first class concert hall and two superb cinemas. There are several gallery spaces, too, including one in the award-winning Shetland Museum and Archives. Schools are of a high standard; degree-level study is possible in colleges that are part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Direct flights connect Shetland to Aberdeen, Kirkwall, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow. If you’d like to explore Norway or venture farther afield in Scandinavia, Bergen is just an hour away. There’s a nightly overnight ferry to Aberdeen, with some services calling at Orkney en route.

If we’ve whetted your appetite, there’s lots more information at www.shetland.org and you may find the section on living in Shetland especially helpful. If you know someone who might be interested, please let them know about this post.

For an informal discussion, you can contact Lisa Watt on 01595 743209 or Dr Dylan Murphy on 01595 693201. The salary offered for a 40-hour week is in the range £59,105 - £89,191 per annum. There’s a Distant Islands Allowance of £1,705 per annum and a Local Retention Premium of 2% of basic salary. A relocation allowance of up to £8,000 is available.

Please apply for the post of Salaried GP (Ref: IRC6282) at Lerwick Health Centre via the following e:ESS website link:- https://www.jobs.nhsscotland.com. The closing date is 12 August 2015 and interviews will be held in Shetland in the week commencing 31 August 2015. NHS Shetland promotes equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

NHS Shetland wants to deliver the best for their patients and they need you to help them do that.