Linking GP practices would be a mistake
I live with my severely disabled wife on the Ross of Mull. We are very dependent on the excellent medical facilities here and, in particular, on our local GP, Dr Frank Teunisse, who has run the independent practice serving the Ross of Mull and Iona and given us continuity for the past 18 months. He gave his notice in December 2017 and will be retiring at the end of May. There is no plan in place for his replacement and the health board has been unwilling to advertise his post because it now proposes to incorporate the existing independent practice serving the Ross of Mull and Iona into a single practice serving the whole of Mull, which will be based at the north of the island.
This plan might suit residents of Tobermory, Salen and Craignure, where more than half the population of Mull live, but Fionnphort and Iona are one hour away by car from Craignure and one hour and 40 minutes from Tobermory via a single-track road across a mountain pass, which can be congested in summer and impassable in winter.