Clinical Partners;

Poplars Surgery

Poplars Surgery has 5 clinical partners and 1 non-clinical partner. There is 1 salaried GP and there are 3 Practice Nurses. The doctors practice together as a non-limited partnership.

Clinical Partners;

Dr Simon Clay (Male) MB ChB FRCGP DPD

(Birmingham 1986)

Dr Adam Ismail (Male) MB ChB DROCG DFFP DCH

(Manchester 1992)

Dr Samantha Walker (Female) MB ChB MRCGP DRCOG DFFP

(Birmingham 1994)

Dr Misha Voikhansky (Male) MB BS BMedSci

(London 1992)

Dr Omair Sheikh (Male) MB ChB nMRCGP

(Birmingham 2009)

Non-Clinical Partner;

Mrs Kim Russell (Practice Manager)

Salaried GP;

Dr Arathi Shanmugam (Female) MBBS MRCGP MRCOG DFSRH

(India 1994)

Practice Nurses;

Mrs Geraldine Spencer

Mrs Annie Mee

Mrs Siobhan Gavin

WELCOME TO THE POPLARS SURGERY

Poplars Surgery was originally situated at 61 Sutton Road, Erdington, and was run by Dr Aspinall. It consisted of an extremely large waiting room with one corner screened off to form an office. This measured approximately 3ft x 4ft and housed all of the records, switchboard and typewriter. There were two consulting rooms with a shared examination room and a cubbyhole with a steriliser.

Dr Guy Parkes came to assist Dr Aspinall in 1955. In 1956 Dr Aspinall passed away and Dr Parkes took over the surgery when it became Poplars Surgery. In 1957 he joined the surgery with Dr Whitehouse Parkes, Dr Violet Parkes and their sons Dr Alan Parkes and Dr John Parkes. In 1966 Dr J Thomas, a single handed GP in Erdington joined the Poplars Surgery, bringing his patients with him.

The original Surgery house had a back garden which backed onto Holly Lane, so a purpose built surgery was opened in Holly Lane.

By the late 1970’s, the Poplars Surgery became a training practice, and so the current building was again too small. A first floor was built over the ground floor.

By the late 1980’s the amount of work that could be carried out by Practice Nurses to assist GP’s had considerably increased. To manage this, more nursing space was needed, as well as more office space due to the start of computerisation in general practice. A triangle of land was purchased to the rear of the surgery and on this plot of land a single storey building was erected.

In the 1990’s there had been a move away from hospital based services, and as a practice we were encouraged to provide these services in the surgery. A third extension to the original building was started in 1995 which involved building out laterally some 4.5 meters at the end of the building to the depth of the original building and at two levels of ground floor and first floor. This increased the floor area by 66%.

As we are ever increasing in our patient list size, and following the conversion of Dr Voikhansky’s room to become a pharmacy, we are currently in the process of planning application for a further extension to the building for additional clinic rooms.

At Poplars Surgery, we work in partnership with our patients and staff to provide the best Primary Care services possible so that they can receive high quality, accessible care. We are part of Birmingham Cross City Commissioning Group, and we work closely with other practices in the group to ensure a high quality of services across the area.

SURGERY TIMES*

Dr Clay / Monday / 08.30 - 12.00 / 16.00 – 18.00
Tuesday / 09.00 – 11.00 / 16.00 – 18.00
Wednesday / 07.00 – 10.40**
Friday / 08.30 – 12.00
Dr Ismail / Monday / 08.50 – 12.00 / 16.00 – 20.00**
Tuesday / 08.30 – 11.30
Wednesday / 08.30 – 10.00
Thursday / 16.00 – 18.00
Friday / 08.50 – 12.00 / 16.00 – 18.00
Dr Walker / Monday / 08.30 – 12.40
Tuesday / 08.30 – 11.40 / 16.00 – 18.00
Wednesday / 07.00 – 10.50**
Thursday / 08.30 – 11.50 / 15.30 – 17.30
Friday / 08.30 – 10.40
Dr Voikhansky / Monday / 12.00 – 15.20
Tuesday / 12.00 – 14.50
Wednesday / 12.00 – 13.50 / 17.10 – 19.40**
Thursday / 12.00 – 13.00
Friday / 12.00 – 14.50 / 16.00 – 18.00
Dr Sheikh / Monday / 09.30 – 13.00
Tuesday / 09.30 – 12.00
Wednesday / 16.40 – 19.40**
Thursday / 09.30 – 13.00 / 15.00 – 18.30
Friday / 14.30 – 18.00
Dr Shanmugam / Monday / 09.00 – 12.30 / 14.30 – 17.10
Tuesday / 09.00 – 12.10
Wednesday / 09.00 – 12.20 / 14.00 – 16.30
Thursday / 09.00 – 11.50
Friday / 09.00 – 12.00

* Surgery times are subject to change

** Extended hours are subject to doctor availability

PRACTICE STAFF

Doctors;

Dr Simon Clay – Dr Clay is the senior partner at the surgery. He has worked here since 1992. Dr Clay has a specialist interest in dermatology.

Dr Adam Ismail – Dr Ismail has worked here since 1998. Dr Ismail has a specialist interest in diabetes and endocrine medicine.

Dr Samantha Walker – Dr Walker has worked here since 2001. Dr Walker has a specialist interest in sexual health and long-acting contraception.

Dr Misha Voikhansky – Dr Voikhansky has worked here since 1998. He has a specialist interest in drug and alcohol counselling. He is also the lead for nursing home care.

Dr Omair Sheikh - Dr Sheikh has worked here since 2014.

Dr Arathi Shanmugam – Dr Shan is a salaried doctor and has worked here since 2009. Dr Shan has a specialist interest in contraception.

Nurses;

Mrs Geraldine Spencer – Geraldine has previously been a district nurse and has worked as a practice nurse since 2009. She joined us in 2013.

Mrs Annie Mee – Annie was previously a hospital based nurse and has worked in minor surgery, orthopaedics and plastic surgery. Annie has worked here as a practice nurse since 2015.

Mrs Siobhan Gavin – Siobhan has just joined us as a practice nurse. She has been working in the district for many years and has a wealth of knowledge to bring to the team.

Health Care Assistants;

We have two health care assistants at the surgery. Karen has worked here since 2003 and was joined by Rukhsana in 2015.

Practice Manager;

Mrs Kim Russell – Kim has been at the practice since 1986, with job roles including receptionist, administrator and secretary before becoming practice manager. Kim looks after the day to day running of the practice.

IT Manager;

Mrs Tracey Kenny – Tracey is the IT manager at the surgery and looks after the IT side of general practice. Tracey has worked at the practice since 1993.

Assistant Practice Manager;

Miss Katie Russell – Katie supports Kim in the running of the practice. Katie joined the practice in 2009 with job roles including receptionist and administrator. Katie is also one of the medical secretaries.

Reception Managers;

We have two reception managers who look after the smooth running of reception. Julie has worked at the surgery since 1994 and Mandy since 2003.

Medical Secretaries;

There are two practice medical secretaries. Frances looks after the admin work for Dr Clay, Dr Walker and Dr Shan. Katie looks after the admin work for Dr Ismail, Dr Voikhansky & Dr Sheikh.

APPOINTMENT SYSTEM

The doctors and nurses will only see you if you have an appointment. 20% of appointments with the doctors are available to pre-book up to two weeks in advance. 70% of appointments become available on the day. 10% of appointments are reserved for the doctors to see patients who require a review. Simply contact us by telephone on the day that you need to be seen and we will do our best to accommodate you, if at all possible with the doctor of your choice. Please ring at 8.30am. If you do not have access to a telephone, you can call into reception in person from 8.10am, but you will have to be prepared to return later for your appointment. Appointments are also available to book online. Please visit to register for this. Appointments with the nurses are always booked in advance. The reception staff are available to speak to face to face from 8.10am-6.30pm and by telephone 8.30am – 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.

TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS

If you need to speak to a doctor or a nurse and the clinician is not consulting, your call will be put through to them. If they have begun surgery, you will be advised of the time they finish seeing patients and will be asked to call back at that time. If you ring again and are still unable to speak to the clinician, the receptionist will ask the clinician to call you back when they are free to do so.

HOME VISITS

For a home visit, please ring 0121 377 2133 before 10.30am. If you require a home visit out of surgery hours, please call 0121 377 2133 and have a pen and paper to hand to take the number of the out of hours service.

DISABLED ACCESS

The premises and toilet facilities on the ground floor are accessible to people with disabilities and wheelchair users. Any patient having problems accessing the surgery should ring the bell at the front door and a member of staff will offer assistance. Patients unable to use the stairs can see the doctor of their choice on the ground floor. Please inform the receptionist when booking the appointment so that prior arrangements can be made.

PRACTICE SERVICES

A number of clinics are held within the practice. These are arranged at varying times to suit the needs of our patients.

Family planning/contraception – We offer a comprehensive range of services delivered by our family planning trained nurses and doctors, including contraceptive implants, coil fittings, contraceptive pill, emergency “morning after” advice, sterilisation/vasectomy advice. All consultations are strictly confidential.

Maternity – All of the doctors provide maternity services and we host midwives from Good Hope Hospital twice a week.

Minor surgery – Minor surgical procedures are arranged individually by the doctor and are undertaken in the practice’s purpose built treatment room.

Cervical smears – These are done by the practice nurses. Our policy is to test all women aged between 25-49 every three years, and all women aged between 50-64 every five years, as advised by national guidelines (unless the cytologist specifically requests repeating a smear more often).

Childhood immunisations – The practice is totally committed to a policy of full immunisations for all children. If you have any queries about any aspect of the immunisations, please feel free to discuss these with a doctor or nurse. First childhood immunisations will be given after the 8 week check with the doctor.

Asthma & COPD – These clinics provide help with the care of asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), in terms of education, preventative measures, medication and management of the illness.

Diabetic checks – Most patients with diabetes are managed within the practice. Dr Ismail and one of our nurses are qualified in diabetes care.

Smoking cessation – Our specially trained nurses offer counselling, help and support with stopping smoking.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTION SERVICE

You can order your repeat medication in the following ways;

-Email your request via the prescription link on

-Put your request in the box in the porch

-Fax your request to 0121 382 9576

-Post your request to us

Please make sure you clearly mark which item(s) are requested.

There is a designated prescription line for use by the over 70’s and housebound patients. This number is 0121 377 2138. This line is open from 9.30am – 11.00am from Monday to Friday.

Please allow two working days (excluding Saturday and Sunday) for your prescription to be processed. If your prescription is requested after 12.00; the next day will be the first working day. Poplars Surgery recently introduced Electronic Prescribing Service (EPS). If you nominate a local pharmacy who are also signed up to the service, your prescription will be sent to your pharmacy electronically so you will not need to collect it from the surgery. Information leaflets are available to collect from reception with more information about this service.

All medications have at least two names – a generic name and one or more brand name. An example of this would be Salbutamol (a blue inhaler) has a brand name of Ventolin. We make every effort to prescribe generically wherever possible, therefore sometimes the brand name of medication that you are prescribed may change, but there will be no change to the actual medication that you are taking.

NEW PATIENT REGISTRATION

The doctors can only accept on the list patients who live permanently within the practice boundary area (see back page for map). To register with the practice, you will need to provide details of your previous address (if applicable), your previous GP, and your NHS number (if known). When you register with the practice, you may wish to express a preference of GP. The receptionist will add this to your records. Please bear in mind that it is not always possible to see the GP of your choice on the day of your choice. Full medical records can take some time to arrive. If you require medication you will need to see a GP for the details to be added to the computer. The practice believes that it is important for all patients to attend a “new patient screening” with our health care assistant. This usually takes around 15 minutes and includes a blood pressure check, urine examination, lifestyle screening, medical and family history screening.

CAR PARKING

There is limited availability on the car park in front of the surgery for patients. The practice cannot accept any responsibility for loss of, or damage to vehicles. The spaces designed for doctors should not be used under circumstances. There are times the doctors need to leave the surgery urgently and any obstruction can result in valuable time being wasted. The gates at the side of the surgery are in constant use by our neighbours and should not be blocked. Please park considerately on Holly Lane and do not obstruct the driveways of local residents

CONFIDENTIALITY

We ask for your personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team, it is sometimes necessary for us to share information about you between members of the team.

ZERO TOLERANCE

We strongly support the NHS policy on zero tolerance. Anyone attending the surgery who abuses the GP’s, staff or other patients, be it verbally, physically, or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the practice list. In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the practice premises.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a publication scheme. A publication scheme is a guide to the “classes” of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

ACCESS TO PATIENT’S RECORDS

The Data Protection Act 1988 allows you to find out what information about you is held on our computer systems and in certain manual records. If you wish to have access to a copy of your medical records, please collect an “Access to Medical Records” guide and application form from reception.

COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

If you would like to make a complaint, compliment or suggestion about any aspect of the service you are receiving, be it good or bad; please contact the Practice Manager, Kim Russell in the first instance. We constantly strive to provide a good, friendly and efficient service but we do realise that occasionally things do not go as smoothly as you would like. We will answer your complaint or suggestion in a timely fashion.

You have the right to complain directly to NHS England. They can be contacted on;

NHS England

PO Box 16738

Redditch

Worcester

B98 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 2233

Email:

You have the right to ask the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman to carry out an independent investigation of your complaint. Their contact details are;

The Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman

Millbank Tower

Millbank

London

SW1P 4QP

Helpline: 0345 015 4033

Website:

Email:

Poplars Surgery is contracted to Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Should you wish to contact the Birmingham Cross City CCG their details are;

Birmingham Cross City CCG

Bartholomew House

142 Hagley Road

Birmingham

B16 9PA

Tel: 0121 255 0700

Website:

Email:

PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP

Poplars Surgery wishes to establish a group of patients who are willing to contribute some of their time to the development of the practice and its health services. We are keen to make sure that the group is fully representative and therefore invite anyone with an interest to enquire about joining. We anticipate that the group will meet about 3 times per year. Arrangements will also be made for people who are unable to attend in person, but still wish to contribute. We are in the process of establishing this group, but new members are welcome to come forward at any time. Please contact the assistant practice manager, Katie Russell to request an application form via email; or these are available to collect from reception.

DISABLED ACCESS

PATIENT ACCESS

Poplars Surgery now offers patient access. Patient access allows you to view certain parts of your medical record and view your contact information. Please visit the surgery website to register for this service. To ensure confidentiality, you will be asked to provide photographic ID to register.

APPOINTMENTS ONLINE

We have set up the facility for some appointments with the doctors to be booked online. Please visit the surgery website to sign up to be able to use this service. When you register you will be given a user name and password which you will use to access the system. Once your request has been accepted by the surgery, a form with your user details will be left at reception to be collected.

PATIENT ACCESSIBILITY

Should you require this leaflet, or any other surgery information, in a different format or language, please ask at reception.

NON-NHS SERVICES

The Doctors at the surgery also provide non-medical services. This includes the completion of passport forms, private letters, insurance forms, private medical examinations etc. As the completion of these forms does not form part of your NHS care, there will be a charge for these services. Please ask the reception staff for prices as applicable. Prices are also available on the Poplars Surgery website.