I thank Dedicare for giving me this opportunity to work in a nice friendly place

A greeting from our Consultant Dr. Ashish Vijayan, who has just spent a week working as a Consultant Orthopaedic locum in Balfour Hospital, NHS Orkney. We asked Ashish to take us on his job journey and share his experience with us.

“I did a one-week locum Consultant job in Trauma and Orthopaedics in Balfour Hospital, Orkney. It was a pleasant experience, and all the staff and management were very friendly and helpful. Orkney is well connected to the mainland by ferries and flights.”

Ashish told us some information about the hospital –

“Balfour is a small DGH hospital, it is a new build, and the design is inspired from the Orkney neolithic settlement called Skara Brae. The consultants didn’t have a separate room or area, and we all were sitting in a big room with other staff. It reminded me of a large call center in the first instance, but this model has some advantages as it is easy to communicate with consultants of other specialties to facilitate patient care. This arrangement worked well as it is a small hospital and is a truly Consultant-led service.”

The island Ashish describes as small, with a community feel –

‘’The hospital has a really good canteen, and during my visit, I stayed in a small, terraced house which was well maintained and only about 20 minutes walking distance from the hospital. One thing I liked there was the relaxed pace of life. There is no traffic and no crowding and air quality is good. People are very friendly, and I felt welcomed there. I thank Dedicare for giving me this opportunity to work in a nice friendly place.”

Ashish, Doctor