成人快手

Scotland's GPs are at the frontline of cradle to grave healthcare. Every day over 90,000 people visit their GP but, as the number of consultations has risen three times faster than the number of GPs, it is a service under strain.

This three-part series goes behind the scenes at Elgin Health Centre, one of Scotland's busiest GP Practices, to reveal the reality of running a service with an acute shortage of GPs and ever more stretched resources.

In the second episode, the focus is on those carrying out clinical duties which were once the sole preserve of the family doctor. The lack of GPs has forced medical centres like Elgin's to become creative in how they deliver healthcare to the community. One controversial solution is the use of emergency care practitioners, which in the case of Elgin is an advanced paramedic and an advanced nurse. They form an integral part of the duty team, dealing with unscheduled appointments and many home visits.

Among paramedic Kevin Reid's cases is a patient who has arrived complaining of severe chest pains. Concerned that he might have a serious heart condition, Kevin summons an ambulance from the local hospital.

Advanced Nurse Naomi Lodge visits an elderly patient with worrying symptoms. Her patient is one of several listed in the centre's 'virtual medical ward' - an innovative system designed to monitor their most vulnerable patients. Working alongside them is the busy district nurse team, who offer vital support in the community. Already short-staffed, the nurses suffer another blow with the resignation of their team leader and the news that she won't be directly replaced. Emotions run high at her leaving party, as do concerns on how they can maintain a service with dwindling resources.