Published: Thursday, 14th January, 2010 6:00am

Yeti comes to the rescue of doc struggling to reach patients

by Bryan Copland

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WHEN snow and ice covered the county and turned it into a landscape that looked more like the Himalayas than Haddington, one doctor from the town received help from the most unexpected source - Yeti!

As Gordon Cameron, who is the club doctor for Scottish Premier League football side Falkirk, toiled to make it to his surgery in Edinburgh on another freezing morning, he made a phone call to a friend and 'Yeti' came to his rescue.

But it wasn't the abominable snowman, Nepal's most famous mythical resident, who went to his aid in the midst of the white-out; it was a brand new Skoda 4x4 model of the same name.

Dr Cameron's journey from his home in Knowesley Park to the Milton Road surgery in the outskirts of the Capital had become so treacherous and difficult in his little environmentally-friendly Citroen C1 that he knew he had to find another way of getting to his patients, or risk being stuck in Haddington for days.

And, after a quick call to friend Campbell Chatham, chief executive of Graeme P Chatham car dealership in Edinburgh, he was presented with the brand new Skoda Yeti - used by the company for test drives - to keep free of charge, until such times as the snow clears up.

He explained: "Normally I drive to work each day in my small Citroen C1 car - I chose it because it was the most environmentally friendly car I could find. But it just couldn't even begin to handle the recent winter conditions.

"Getting out of Knowesley Park was tricky enough, but navigating the A1 was almost impossible some days and then the side streets around my practice area were as bad as many in Haddington.

"I was genuinely worried that I wouldn't be able to look after my patients properly.

"I got in touch with Campbell Chatham last Wednesday to see if he could help me until the weather improved. Mr Chatham came up trumps - and in a way that I didn't expect."

The 4x4 Yeti is designed for the wintery conditions, with Yeti-style footprints painted across its body.

However, Dr Cameron admitted that his new mode of transport had become the butt of jokes among his colleagues and family members, including his seven-year-old daughter.

"The car itself has been a talking point too," he said. "My wife and my GP partners laugh when I drive off to house calls in it and Anna, my appearance conscious daughter, thinks it's so 'uncool' that she refuses to have anything to do with it."

Dr Cameron, 47, who has lived in Haddington for 10 years, previously worked as a GP covering the Port Seton, Prestonpans and Longniddry areas between 1988 and 1998.

He added that he has seen a "fair number" of people injured by the recent cold snap, treating about six patients hurt by slips and falls in the past week, which is the same number he would expect to see over a period of two months.

Mr Chatham, of Gullane, said he was more than happy to help out in the circumstances.

"We thought it would be quite good fun, and the fact that it's a 'Yeti' coming to his rescue put a smile on people's faces. I'm just delighted to help him out," he added.