Colonsay, jewel of the Inner Hebrides, is looking for a new GP. The successful candidate will need a taste for adventure

The details carried on the job advert are prosaic enough: GPs “with remote and rural experience” are invited to apply for a job tending to the needs of the practice’s patients, all 134 of them. But there is nothing dull about the posting on the island of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. Medical qualifications aside, a sense of adventure, self-reliance and an outgoing personality will be essential for whoever takes the helm at what may be the UK’s most remote and isolated medical practice. Above and beyond are normal here.

From April, Colonsay will lose its husband-and-wife job-sharing GPs after a decade of service. David Binnie and Jan Brooks have reached retirement age and feel it is time to hand over responsibility for this island community to a younger doctor, or preferably a couple. The challenges, according to Binnie, are numerous, but the rewards make it more than worthwhile.

“The simple logistics of getting a patient off the island can be challenging,” he said. Colonsay is linked to Scotland’s mainland services by a two-and-a-half-hour ferry journey from Oban. “Depending on weather conditions and the vagaries of the service, it can be several hours – stretching to days in some instances – before they can get to hospital. In that time we have to care for them.”

In emergencies an air ambulance is available, but a helicopter can still take several hours. In these situations the GP can be the last line of defence. “We really feel the burden of responsibility for each of our patients, although we have a fantastic support network and a retrieval team based in Glasgow. But there’s also a great deal of resilience among the islanders. The fire service have extensive first aid training and they can be of great assistance. There’s real community involvement. Everyone in the island looks after each other’s needs.”

Colonsay, together with its little sister, Oronsay, are about 10 miles long and three miles wide. Even among the jewels off Scotland’s rugged west coast, Colonsay’s beauty is outstanding. Green fields separate remote beaches from jagged peaks, and it teems with animal and bird life. Agriculture, crofting, estate work and tourism are the main sources of employment, with the population rising to more than 600 in the summer. It may be remote, but all the staples of Scottish life are here in miniature: brewery, golf course, church, shop, hotel and school (eight pupils).

Binnie added: “The challenges are also the benefits. The isolation gives you this extra sense of responsibility and reward. Dealing with illness in a remote setting taxes your medical skills, but through this you get far longer with your patients and get to know them as people.”

Eileen Geechie, who founded the island’s four-member patient group, paid tribute to their departing GPs. “They’ve been exceptional, and the service they have provided has been excellent,” she said. “They both have a flexible and can-do attitude. They have balanced professionalism with being good socialisers and members of the community. We’d be happy with more of the same, please.”

Scotland’s island economy is a fragile thing, reliant on population, climate and housing. In recent years Colonsay has welcomed back a few of its own after years on the mainland. It needs others like these to make a long-term commitment, yet there is always a need for affordable homes.

Colonsay has strived to showcase its attractions, too. Between April and October it hosts a spring festival, music festival, food and drink festival and books festival.

The job ad is to be found on the BMJ careers website and on NHS Highland. Jan Brooks says she and her husband will help their replacements make the transition: “Our experience and instincts give us a different perspective: what will work here? How can we make this work in this environment? We can work out a package, sometimes with the aid of Dr YouTube and Nurse Skype.”

Colonsay is primed for the arrival of hoped-for babies. “An obstetrics and neo-natal team regularly visits us to check on our facilities. They know our oxygen reserves and the nature of our equipment.” Expectant mothers leave the island at 38 weeks to stay with mainland friends or relatives. And for unexpected births, a helicopter is summoned, complete with obstetrician, neo-natal nurse and incubator. “This practice won’t work for the wrong person. They can’t be easily daunted, and it has to feel exciting for them,” said Brooks. “But this is a special island and the rewards are special, too.”