MUSSELBURGH’S MSP said “good progress” was made at a top level meeting to discuss steps to improve access to health services at the town’s Riverside Medical Practice.

Colin Beattie said he set up the discussion to address “ongoing concerns” about the practice, primarily difficulties patients have contacting the Riverside by phone.

Mr Beattie said eight call handlers had been recruited to manage the volume of incoming calls to the practice – the largest in East Lothian and one of the biggest in Scotland, with about 19,000 patients.

The Riverside is also bringing in expertise in the form of a senior figure with significant clinical and operational experience, who will be able to evaluate the telephony issues and work out how these can be enhanced and improved.

An update of the practice website is planned to enable patients to find the best place to get help more easily and free up the phone line for people who need to speak to their GP or a practice nurse.

Organised and chaired by Mr Beattie last week, the meeting involved practice representatives, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS 24, and the Riverside Medical Practice Patient Participation Group.

The MSP said: “I will not pretend that I expect all issues to be resolved overnight from this meeting but I do believe that this is good progress, with all parties accepting deficiencies in the service and committing to working to eliminate them.

“The practice, supported by East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, is eager to make some real changes that will provide patients with a service that they feel more supported by.

“I will continue to organise these meetings over the coming months to ensure we remain on the right path and improve local satisfaction with the practice.

“Riverside have outlined that one of the biggest issues over the last few months was that there were not enough staff members available to answer the phones, which was worsened by Covid-19 absences and a large increase in calls following lockdown.

“It certainly seems that they are on the right pathway to improving these telephone access issues. Riverside have now recruited eight call handlers to manage the volume of incoming calls to the practice. The practice has outlined that this should allow them to answer around 10,000 calls monthly, which is the capacity at which they believe telephone access times for patients becomes acceptable. This should also allow for shorter average waiting times in getting through so that patients are not on hold for longer than normal.

“For now, something we can all be doing is making ourselves aware of the services that are available and can take the pressure off our GP practices, who are going to be under strain as they administer Covid-19 vaccines to keep us all safe.

“A great place to start is by looking at the NHS Inform website at nhsinform.scot. Another easy option is the dedicated Riverside Medical Practice website at the riversidepractice.co.uk

“Your local community pharmacist can help with treatment of minor ailments and queries about medications.

“The Pharmacy First website (pharmacyfirst.co.uk) explains how simple this is for us to use.

“If you have a minor injury you can use the ‘Call MIA’ service for expert help and treatment (services.nhslothian.scot/Emergencies/Pages/MinorInjuryUnit.aspx).

“NHS 24 111 provides urgent care advice, day or night, and health and dental support when your GP practice or dentist is closed. The service can also help if you are in mental distress.

“I will be maintaining close relations with the practice and relevant stakeholders to ensure good progress is made.”

Dr Richard Fairclough, GP partner at Riverside, said: “We were pleased to attend the meeting with Mr Beattie, East Lothian Health & Social Care Partnership and NHS 24, to discuss how we can all work together to provide the best possible health services to the local community.”

Riverside has now vaccinated more than 100 people against Covid-19.