Based in Peebles, Dr Ross Stewart became the first independent GP in the Scottish Borders when he opened The Cademuir Clinic in April 2022. Having grown up in Bearsden and then studied medicine at The University of Dundee, followed by a year at The University of Glasgow, Ross later moved to the Borders after deciding to specialise in General Practice. As he writes: “I always knew that I wouldn’t be content in life unless I was surrounded by the hills and heather…” This love of being outdoors is as important for Ross today. “There are not many places like Peebles where you have the beautiful River Tweed and the hills around you, and very quickly you can escape into some gorgeous countryside,” he says.
We asked Ross to tell us more about his decision to launch his own private GP practice, and the benefits this offers for his patients, as well as a closer look at life in and around Peebles and why this location is so close to his heart.
Can you tell us a bit about you and what you do?
I am a family man who lives in Peebles, where I am proud to work as an old-fashioned GP in the town. I trained to be a GP in Innerleithen and we loved the area so much that my family and I never left. Before I was a Private GP in the town, I was an NHS GP in Biggar, which is only half an hour up the road.
I decided to set up my private clinic as I was becoming disillusioned and frustrated by the way we were working within the NHS. I felt that this constrained me from delivering the best possible care to my patients. So, I decided I wanted to do something with a bit more freedom and deliver better care and spend more time with my patients and really get to know them. By being a GP within the town, I not only enjoy my job a lot more, I get to know more people in the community and can look after the people I see on the High Street every day, which is really nice.
Guessing you can do your job from anywhere, what led you to live and open your practice in the Scottish Borders?
I met my wife when we were both living and working in Edinburgh and it turned that out we both have links to the Borders.
Elizabeth grew up in Innerleithen and this was my training practice. So we had that in common when we first met, and very quickly we got married and had kids. We wanted to live somewhere that was more open and greener, and someplace where we could afford a family home which wasn’t as busy as Midlothian and Edinburgh. Peebles was the perfect commuter town for me to drive to Biggar and close to Edinburgh, where Elizabeth’s parents live. There is, of course, a wide range of outdoor things for us all to do which we really enjoy. I am particularly keen on fishing on the River Tweed when the salmon is in season, and we both like to run and cycle. More generally, this outdoor lifestyle really suits us as a family.
What sets you apart from a normal NHS GP practice?
Firstly, it’s just me that you will see, so patients don’t have to tell their story to three or four different doctors or nurses through the course of their illness. Generally, patients like that, just having to tell their story once, and they get as much time as they need. Not everyone is born with great communication skills and so it’s not fair of us to expect that everyone can tell their story in 10 minutes, and then for us to fix everything too.
So, giving people time is really important, where they don’t have to watch the clock and the patient doesn’t feel like they’re putting the doctor out, or that they have used up their allocated time that they’re meant to have. They can also bring more than one problem; they can bring one problem or ten problems to me and I will deal with it all there and then. Unlike NHS GP’s, I will deal with everything at once, so I will do the bloods there and then, I will do an ECG there and then. I will do it all in the one appointment.
It looks like you’re GP to a few local sports teams and clubs when you aren’t in the practice?
The nicest thing about now working in the town I live in is the opportunity to get to know local people and also to be around to help local causes. My neighbour asked me to be the doctor for the Peebles Rugby team, and now that my kids are old enough not to give me sleepless nights, I felt it was a commitment I could make and it has been very rewarding. I really enjoy being on the pitch on a Saturday at the Gytes; it’s great fun and I enjoy being in the clubhouse afterwards too, having a couple of beers and getting to know lots of people. I also do a bit of boxing cover for a few local clubs who need doctors to help when they host events to raise funds, so I’m happy to do that as well.
When I’m not working, I’m a member of the Peebles Round Table. It’s a charity a bit like the Rotary, where locals come together to raise money for good causes, and in the process of doing so make friendships and learn along the way. That is a lot of fun, and we do a lot of fundraising – we put on the Peebles fireworks and Santa sleigh every year, and we also have a few social trips. Being part of the Peebles Round Table has been great fun and something I really enjoy being part of.
What does a working day look like for you?
First of all, I will probably drop the kids off at school, which is a lovely bonus of being my own boss and running my own clinic. I get to set my own times and that means I get to do the school drop-offs.
Then I will come into the clinic and spend the morning seeing patients. The afternoon will either be a shift at the state hospital at Carstairs, where I am the GP as well, or I’ll maybe do some house calls. But, like many small businesses, there is always the admin to take care of too: the accounts, emails, prescriptions and so forth. If I’m not seeing patients, generally there isn’t a lot of spare time!
However, if I can, I will occasionally nip up to Peebles Hydro for a swim or a sneaky gym session. Sometimes I go to the Greentree at lunchtime to meet a few of the guys who work at home and just need to be out of the office. We meet up for soup and a sandwich and have a breather, a bit of a working lunch, and then back to it.
When I’m back home generally I’ll take the kids to Beavers or Rainbows and do the usual drop-offs, then twice a week I get to do some judo at Peebles Judo Club.
Where do you most enjoy escaping to when you are not working?
Well, first of all, when you live in Peebles it’s like being in a little holiday. There are not many places like Peebles where you have the beautiful River Tweed and the hills around you, and very quickly you can escape into some gorgeous countryside. For me the easiest thing to do is to walk out my back gate and run up Cademuir Hill, into Cademuir Fort and Cademuir Forest, and do a loop round there. Another favourite run is up Venlaw and into the forest and around the back, then round the mast and down into Glentress. When I have the time, that is!
Any local businesses and/or professional services would you like to highlight in your area?
In Peebles, we are very lucky to have lots of trades and nice people and businesses who we interact with. From a medical point of view, Chad Woods Physiotherapy is excellent and lots of our clients like to use Chad. There is also Home Physio by Nicola. Nicola’s in the Scottish Borders and offers home visiting physiotherapy for older people, and she’s fantastic.
On a less medical basis, Mr Maintenance, Mark Wicks in Peebles, has done a lot of my joinery work; he is both reliable and a top bloke, and he advertises in Peebles Life, an excellent local magazine and resource.
What’s next for you and your business?
It generally takes five or six years to build a private general practice to where your books are full, but hopefully in the next year or so I will be in a position to add to the team, freeing me up to do even more clinical work.
It would be nice to eventually find larger premises and take on other staff to help deliver high quality care, though finding premises in Peebles is always a challenge.
Finally, if you were to describe your dream home what would it look like?
Not sure I’m allowed to answer that without Elizabeth being here! We are pretty lucky as we live in a lovely house that backs out onto Cademuir Hill, so we are very happy with where we live at the moment. But if we were to move somewhere larger in Peebles, it would probably be to one of the lovely big houses on Bonnington Road.
However, given the wonderful location of where we are now, it could be that we extend our house in the future. Time will tell!
Find more details about The Cademuir Clinic here and follows updates on Facebook here.
Photos by Phil Wilkinson
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