Dr Derek Topliss, GP on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, with Robin Hanna, sales director, McLernon Computers

The latest chapter in the story of how the most remote inhabited island in the world got a McLernons MPS dispensing system has been written. Dr Derek Topliss, a Greystones GP, met with some of the staff of McLernons before heading out to complete a ten week stint as locum on the island of Tristan Da Cunha in the South Atlantic.

The MPS system, needed to manage vitally-needed medical supplies, had been packed up and dispatched to the island earlier this year but, given that it is flown to Cape Town and transported to the island 1750 miles west, it took some time to get there!

Helen Taylor, McLernons trainer, said, “Meeting with Dr Topliss was one of the most interesting training assignments I have ever done. He quickly grasped the basics of the system, which will be used predominantly as a stock control tool as well as Patient Medication Record – given the location, they don’t have twice-daily deliveries from their wholesalers!”

She added, “ This was definitely a two-way learning experience, and I am now a font of interesting facts about Tristan da Cunha, such as  the fact that 264 islanders share just 7 surnames, two of which are Italian in origin and which are the surnames of two sailors who were shipwrecked on the island years ago. Also,  when a baby is born on the island (and there are one or two born every year) their name has to be approved by the island council as no two people on the island have the same name.”

Any issues which may arise in situ can be dealt with quickly and easily, as the island has access to the internet and Dr Topliss will be providing McLernons with regular updates on his work.

Keith McLernon, Managing Director of McLernons, said, “Our MPS pharmacy system is the market-leader in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, and we are proud to say we are definitely the only provider of pharmacy software in this part of the South Atlantic!”.