GREYFRIARS MEDICAL CENTRE

PREMISES

Greyfriars Medical Centre is a town centre practice based in a Georgian terrace alongside various other business properties including solicitors, architects, dentists and two pharmacies.  There is reasonable street parking (restricted by a disc zone system) and a few other nearby off street free (disc zone) parking areas.  Discs are available at our Reception desk or many town centre shops.

Greyfriars Medical Centre front door on to Castle Street.

Prior to the two partnerships amalgamating in January 2000, one of the original groups was based at Number 33 - (see the page on the history of Greyfriars which has pictures of the original surgeries and Reception desk in 1979).  They opened up the basement of Number 33 in 1981 and extended through to the basement of 35 Castle Street in 1993.  A major upgrading and extension in 1999 incorporated the full four floors of 35 and 37 in addition to 33 Castle Street.  Castle Street is a Grade A listed Georgian terrace so certain plans to improve the functionality of the building had to be compromised.  For example disabled access has had to be provided from the rear of the building with a lift in a new extension in the rear car park..  The original intention had been to the lift had to be sited in the central stairwell of 35 Castle Street.  Nevertheless, the accommodation works well with access by lift to all clinical areas on the ground floor and basement.  Disabled access therefore is from the rear of the building with an intercom link for visitors to request that the Receptionist open the door to the lift.  

A major redevelopment finished in 2008 after a long process of working around contractors.  We bought the first and second floors of 33 Castle Street to complete the full four floors of three adjacent properties - 33, 35 and 37.  The major work and cost was the installation of a second lift to all four floors that can be accessed easily from Reception.  The lift at the back of the building is also still in place providing easy access to the ground floor, basement and disabled car parking space to the rear.   We now have 16 clinical rooms, sufficient for all doctors, nurses, health care assistants, registrars and medical students.  Our conference room has been transformed into an IT teaching suite, suuported by a grant from the Scottish Government. 

Reception desk, Greyfriars Medical Centre

(Compare this with the old desk in 1979!)

There are eleven doctors' consulting rooms, one nurse practitioner consulting room, two nurses' consulting rooms, each with a fully adjustable operating table, two health care assistants' rooms, 6 waiting areas and a large welcoming Reception area.  Upstairs there is ample office accommodation, a conference room, a common room and space for attached staff such as district nurses and health visitors.  There are toilets on all floors.

Ground floor

Ground Floor Plan - the front on to Castle Street is at the bottom and rear to George Street Mews at the top.

Basement

First floor

First floor plan - the front is at the bottom looking on to Castle Street, the back is at the top looking over George Street Mews.

Second floor

The old surgery at 33 Castle Street before 1980 was entirely contained within the ground floor area of 33 as detailed on the plan.  It then consisted of four extremely small consulting rooms - see picture below (now converted back to two normal sized rooms for Rooms 1 & 2).

Dr Jamieson's room 1979

Where the current Reception area is now, there was an "L"-shaped Reception / record storage / office area along two sides of a single waiting room.  Note the old Lloyd George record envelopes and the tiny hatch at eye level for "welcoming" patients.  The chair looks like a hazard which would now be condemned under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Old Reception desk 33 Castle Street 1979

Plan of 33 Castle Street Surgery 1979