The introduction of advanced nurse practitioners on the Isle of Cumbrae to solve Millport’s out of hours NHS crisis has been hailed as a success.

Ayrshire and Arran Health Board had been working with the community to develop a contingency plan to ensure the safety of residents or visitors who might take ill at weekends, overnight, and during public holidays.

An island health review was launched, open meetings were held and a public reference group established, chaired by Jean Kerr.

Quoted in an online publication by the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, she said: “I hadn’t heard of advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs) until then. There was a lot of resistance and fear of the unknown. Around 42% of the island’s residents are aged over 60, and opinion was divided between “We were used to nurses dealing with bedpans: what would they know about cancer or heart attacks? For my part, it was going to take a lot of persuasion.” Eddie Docherty, NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Associate Nurse Director for Advanced Practice, believes that the advanced nurses has been a pioneering concept on Cumbrae. He has been developing the role on the mainland for years, and knew that the highly skilled service had assisted hospital at night service, emergency response teams, in orthopaedics, general surgery, cardiology and paediatrics.

Eddie said: “There were many challenging conversations, but also a level of support that I was delighted by.

We took community representatives to Orkney to see how they do things there, and gradually built confidence in the vision that was developing for Cumbrae.” Under Eddie’s direction, NHS Ayrshire & Arran leads the field when it comes to training and deployment in Scotland.

He commented: “There are more nurses working in advanced practice here because we rose to the challenge. With GP out-of-hour changes and junior doctor working time restrictions, the timing was right and we are ahead of the game.” Eddie pointed out: “It is not a cheap option compared to doctors but it is sustainable- once trained, Ayrshire & Arran’s advanced nurses can do virtually everything that a middle-grade doctor can do.” Full story in this week's Largs News.