Our Team

 Our Management Team

Good management is like oxygen: you only notice it when it's not there

 

It's very important to have an experienced and well trained management team when developing medical services.

 

We are lucky to have an excellent management team at the helm of the two practices in our alliance. 

Practice Team

Robbie Coull, GP / Innovator

Robbie has been a GP since 1998, having trained as a GP in Stornoway, and has been the principal at Strachur Medical Practice since 2006.  Robbie is an experienced computer programmer, having started out writing computer games in the 1980s he wrote an electronic medical record and telephone triage system for the Psion 5 in 1998, and in 2001 invented locum123 - the world's first automated locum matching system using SMS messaging which led to a Personal Profile of Robbie being published in the British Medical Journal.  He is an acknowledged contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (3rd Edition) after he invented the quick-look-up feature printed on outside edges of the pages of the book. Robbie has been involved in setting up two medical practices from scratch, an innovative 4,000 patient medical practice in Canada in 2009 which saw the introduction of multi-disciplinary primary care for the first time in the province. Robbie set up the province's first Patient Participation Group and adapted the Canadian open-source Electronic Medical Record OSCAR to allow patients and staff access to real-time data on how the practice was performing. Robbie is an advocate of working with patients from the earliest stages of developing services, and of using modern "adaptive" management techniques to solve complex problems. He was also involved in setting up and running a medical practice from scratch in Denmark in 2020 in an immigrant community. Before becoming a principal, Robbie ran an innovative locum GP service serving GPs in remote and rural areas, including a GP fast response car that was partly the inspiration for the Danish Acute Doctor cars. He has worked in over 50 medical practices, and in 2005 he wrote the Locum Doctor Survival Guide which received a 5 star review from the British Medical Journal.  Robbie pioneered the telephone-first system used by GPs to reduce transmission of Covid19 during the pandemic, and also pioneered the use of 3D printers to counter the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment during the pandemic.  Robbie has taught on a variety of pre-hospital emergency courses, is currently an instructor on the Acute Psychiatric Emergencies Course (APEx), and this year is busy studying towards a Certificate in Counselling Skills and writing a book called Medicine Without Answers.

Anne MacLachlan, Practice Manager

Anne has been the practice manager in Strachur since 2012.  Anne is originally from Rothsay and has a background in business management.  Anne is an experienced innovator.  As well as her experience as Practice Manager, Anne was involved in setting up our Patient Participation Group, as well as setting up our Woman's Health Clinic, our Minor Surgery and Joint Injection Service, and running our Forensic Service.  Anne was central to our Covid19 response, including pioneering the telephone-first system that protected patients and staff through the pandemic.  Anne has lead multiple projects looking to expand the practice to future-proof it  - including the two previous applications Strachur Medical Practice made to run Furnace and Inveraray.  Anne is also a talented baker and runs Fyne Cakes, a small business selling cakes and tablet.

 

Eleanor Earnshaw, Practice Nurse

Ellie has been a practice nurse since 2006, having previously been a District Nurse in the Shetland Isles.  Ellie has experience in innovation in health care, having been the manager responsible for designing and setting up the innovative practice nursing service in our practice in Canada in 2009, which was the first time a multidisciplinary team had been successfully used in Prince Edward Island.  As well as engaging with the local Collage that trained Licensed Practical Nurses in PEI, and the University of PEI, and setting up the training program for the first Practice Nurses in the province, Ellie attended the inaugural meeting of the Canadian Family Practice Nurses Association.  Ellie was also involved in designing and creating our Patient Participation Group in Canada. Ellie has a Diploma in Botanical Drawing, teaches on courses at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh, and is currently combining her skills into setting up Mindfull Drawing and Painting sessions.  

 

Patient Representation:

 

Heather Grier, Chair of Strachur Patient Participation Group

Heather is an experienced manager with a huge amount of experience in engaging and developing innovative solutions to healthcare services,  Heather has been the Chair of the Strachur Patient Participation Group since it was set up in 2012.  Heather has overseen the development of the Strachur Hub which won a national NHS award in 2020.  Under Heather's leadership the Hub has successfully applied for funding for local projects such as a local psychotherapy service.  This has been a huge benefit to the patients of the area, and has reduced the workload for the clinical team at the practice, which has allowed us to maintain easy access to the GP and practice nursing team.  Heather has also been a non-voting member of the IJB, and has an expert level of insight into the workings of the local Health Care management system.  Heather, as Chair of the PPG, is a volunteer and independent of the practice and acts in an advisory role representing the views of patients.