Our Woman's Health Clinic can now do Pessaries!

We have just had news that funding for providing vaginal pessaries in our Women's Health Clinic changes has been approved.

This means that we will now be able to insert / remove / change vaginal pessaries for patients.

 

Our Women’s Health Clinic is open to all women living in Argyll and Bute- you don't need to be a patient at the practice.  It runs around once a month - call the practice on 01369 860 224 for the times of our next clinics and to book an appointment.

 

We provide contraceptive implants, coils, and pessaries for any patient in Argyll and Bute, as well as menopause advice for patients registered at the practice.. 

Pessaries are used to treat conditions such as prolapse and urinary incontinence which can cause a huge amount of hidden suffering for women.  Women with pessaries need them checked or changed regularly.   Since the covid19 crisis there have been very long waiting times for pessary changes in hospital clinics, which has caused a lot of issues for patients. 

More information about this condition, treatment, and how it affects patients.

QuickRead Go CRP Blood Test machine

 

Thanks to the amazing work of the patients and staff in Strachur area for raising the money to purchase and run our QuickRead Go blood test machine.

Strachur Medical Practice is one of the first practices in Scotland to get one of these machines.  

The machine can test for inflammation levels in the blood in 2 minutes with a thumb prick.  This is vital in remote communities because it is an early marker for serious infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, and early diagnosis saves lives.

It costs about £3 per test to run the machine, but our patients have already donated enough money to keep us going for a year or so.  Since the nearest CRP machine is in Inverclyde Hospital a 1 hour drive and ferry journey, it will also save Strachur patients time and money by avoiding them having to travel to hospital as often.

The machine can also measure Heamoglobin levels to check for anaemia, and can test in 7 minutes for the dangerous Strep.a throat infections (compared with waiting days for a swab result to come back). 

Thanks again to our patients and staff for all the hard work (including a Loch swim!) to raise the money to fund this service.