Calls for clarity over Furnace surgery future
Furnace residents have again called for clarity over the state of the village’s GP surgery service, as patients continue to travel to Lochgilphead for face-to-face appointments.
One Furnace resident and former community councillor hopes the ‘excellent’ building and the services it provided can be fully restored in future.
Lynda Syed said: ‘The GP surgery is an excellent facility and one of the reasons I moved to the area 20 years ago.
‘There is car parking for six to eight vehicles, while a couple of the rooms were also used for podiatry and mental health services.’
After the retirement of Dr Bijral from the surgery, the long-term post holder there, Furnace’s GP services were reduced from a five-day, walk-in service to a two-day appointment-based service operating on a Monday, with a GP, and on a Thursday, with an advanced practitioner nurse.
It closed during the pandemic and has never reopened.
But Lynda explained how a lack of clarity around the services offered at the surgery, up to the pandemic, had caused a reluctance among walk-in patients.
She continued: ‘The health board said that fewer people were going to the surgery, but naturally people who do not have an in-depth understanding of clinical roles did not know the extent of AP nurses’ knowledge and expertise along with GPs.’
Lochgilphead Medical Practice has since taken on the first responsibility of attending to patients booking appointments from Furnace and Inveraray.
But for residents left without a local surgery, Furnace to Lochgilphead is too far a journey for many, according to the former community councillor in the village.
Lynda added: ‘During the pandemic you couldn’t car-share, so for those who
couldn’t drive there were real issues with people not being able to travel for medical appointments.
‘This has been especially hard on elderly residents.
‘Even travelling to Inveraray for practice nurse appointments on the four days it is open, people who can’t drive only have a choice of three buses per day, and they can’t get a return bus back.
‘Lochgilphead is even further away, almost 20 miles down the road.
‘This is a terrible waste of a really good building in Furnace which has lain empty for two and a half years.
‘The community here still wants its surgery back.’
Lochgilphead Medical Practice continues to provide face-to-face medical appointments for Furnace residents and those from surrounding communities on Lochfyneside.
A section on Lochgilphead Medical Practice’s site dedicated to Furnace and Inveraray patients, states: ‘The GPs in Lochgilphead have provided General Practice services in Inveraray and Furnace since 2016.
‘A GP is present in Inveraray each day of the week from 9am until 5pm, with the exception of Wednesday afternoons.
‘Practice nurse appointments are available on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
‘Inveraray Surgery is open from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
‘Between 5pm and 6pm all calls to the surgery will be diverted to Lochgilphead Medical Centre where any urgent messages can be taken.
‘We strive to provide exactly the same range of services to patients registered with Inveraray and Furnace Surgeries as provided in Lochgilphead.
‘This may sometimes involve asking our patients to travel to the Mid Argyll Community Hospital in Lochgilphead for certain services which require additional space and equipment, such as sexual health and minor surgery.’
NHS Highland was approached for comment.
An earlier health board statement given to the Advertiser on healthcare provision for Furnace residents while the village’s GP surgery remained closed, said: ‘Provision of NHS Near Me and telephone consultations ensure patients continue to have access to essential primary care services.
‘The practice has also not notified NHS Highland of any intention to close Furnace surgery on a permanent basis.’
The practice in Lochgilphead remains short-staffed and is actively recruiting for an advanced nurse practitioner to help boost its staffing levels.
The Furnace GP surgery’s future remains uncertain two and a half years after its closure.