It’s been frustrating trying to meet all the rules
With the current restrictions we’re only able to see a fraction of the patients we used to, and to do that we’re working until 8pm at night to try and fit them in.
Even though we have four surgeries in our premises – and we’ve got modern clinics with excellent air ventilation systems which allow us to turnaround quicker after each patient than many other practises in older buildings – it’s hard to see how we can continue to sustain this.
Like most other Scottish practices, we have a mixture of private and NHS patients, and we are determined to continue offering that for as long as we can.
But it’s been frustrating and difficult trying to meet all the rules issued by the government on NHS care.
Trying to explain to patients that if they pay we can offer all sorts of services, but if they are an NHS patient we simply can’t unless it’s deemed an emergency, is stressful and upsetting.
We worry that if things don’t change soon, practices will decide that it’s just not sustainable to continue offering NHS treatment and it’s the most vulnerable people who will lose out.
Only being able to diagnose a patient over the phone is not something that any of us want to do because so many things, like oral cancer or other serious illnesses, can easily be missed unless you can actually examine the patient.
Oral cancer in particular can be present without the patient being aware and of course we have concerns that there will be a spike because of the restrictions in not being able to see patients.
We were under orders to prescribe antibiotics and painkillers for everything, but that’s not something we’d recommend as it simply increases community resistance to antibiotics and that is not at all helpful. Martin Allan runs Borland and Morton Dental Care in Hamilton with his brother Paul.