"There’s a degree of magic
about the place. I’ve never
been anywhere in Europe
that compares with it."
Dr Andreas Herfurt,
Clinical Lead for the NHS in Sutherland
So says the Clinical Lead for the NHS in North-West Sutherland, Dr Andreas Herfurt. Originally from Mainz which can be found west of Frankfurt, on the Rhine, Dr Herfurt has lived in Scotland since 1994. It's a country he says he always wanted to visit.
"I started off as a junior doctor in Greenock (near Glasgow where my wife is from) and worked in a few other areas before coming to Sutherland. I've been here a number of years now and my wife and I are very settled. I really like the landscape and the people. The way the Scots pronounce their words makes me feel at home."
Dr Herfurt trained in General Practice in Argyll but he wanted to work in an even more rural area. Once in Sutherland he became a GP in Armadale where he is still based, serving a patient base of nearly 900.
As the Clinical Lead his responsibilities include: a clinical advisory role to management; being in contact and available to managers for clinical advice; and providing a link between management and the health provision staff.
Away from work he enjoys landscape photography and says Sutherland must be one of the easiest places in the world to do it: "You just have to make sure the lens cap is off and point the camera to get a stunning landscape shot here."
He still watches out for the Bundesliga results of his home football team Mainz 05 but at 41 he has no plans to return to his homeland, except perhaps when he retires.
Dr Herfurt mused over why he likes living in Sutherland so much. "Attractions? It's difficult to say. There's a degree of magic about this place. I've never been anywhere in Europe that compares with it."
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