Immediate Care

 

Furnace and Inveraray Medical Practice and Strachur Medical Practice share an electric MG 4 to use as a DOCTOR car to respond to emergencies

Immediate Care is when a doctor or nurse from a rural medical practice volunteers to attend 999 emergencies at the request of the Scottish Ambulance Service.  This can mean a doctor or nurse being on scene before the ambulance, or it can mean bringing medical assistance to the scene of a difficult or serious situation to supplement the skills of the paramedics

The British Association of Immediate Care (BASICS Scotland) provides training and the Sandpiper Trust provides equipment.  You may see the term BASICS Doctor or BASICS Nurse, which (contrary to the name!) means a doctor or nurse with advanced training in Immediate Care. 

Doctors can respond using green flashing lights on their cars.  Furnace and Inveraray Medical Practice is one of only a handful of practices in Scotland that can respond to 999 emergencies using blue lights and sirens.  

The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided us with an Airwaves radio which works in more locations than a mobile phone and tracks where we are and allows us to communicate with Ambulance Control.  

Recently Dr Coull and one of the Practice Nurses attended a serious road traffic crash on the A815 near Cairndow.

Dunoon Observer article from 22.03.2024 regarding a three car crash where Dr Coull and one of the Practice Nurses were 1st on scene

The team often work alongside helicopter doctors and paramedics to transport emergency patients to hospital in Glasgow.

The previous Strachur Medical Practice BASICS car involved in a 999 call where a patient was airlifted to hospital from the Strachur shinty pitch.