AvonValley Practice

Patient Information

Version 5: 1st September 2013

Do you know what the Summary Care Record is?

We offer our patients the choice of having a Summary Care Record.

The new NHS Summary Care Record has been introduced to help deliver better and safer care and give you more choice about who you share your healthcare information with.

What is the NHS Summary Care Record?

The Summary Care Record contains basic information about:

  • anyallergies you may have,
  • unexpected reactions to medications,
  • and any prescriptions you have recently received.

The intention is to help clinicians in A & E Departments and ‘Out of Hours’ health services to give you safe, timely and effective treatment. Clinicians will only be allowed to access your record if they are authorised to do so and, even then, only if you give your express permission. You will be asked if healthcare staff can look at your Summary Care Record every time they need to, unless it is an emergency, for instance if you are unconscious. You can refuse if you think access is unnecessary.

Children under the age of 16

Patients under 16 years will not receive this form, but will have a Summary Care Record created for them unless their GP Practice is advised otherwise. If you are the parent or guardian of a child then please either make this information available to them or decide and act on their behalf.

You do not have to have a Summary Care Record, although you are strongly recommended to consider this choice. If you are happy for a Summary Care Record to be set up for you then you need take no further action. If you want to opt-out please ensure you tick the box on your New Patient Questionnaire and return it to Reception as soon as possible.

For more information visit or call if you cannot find the answers to your questions 0300 123 3020.

Welcome

Avon Valley Practice is well established having started before the NHS existed. The Practice now operates across two surgeries along the AvonValley.The main surgery is based in Upavon and the branch surgery in Durrington.

We are proud of the services we provide and hope we are able to fully support the health needs of you and your family. Treatment is available both on the NHS and privately for a wide range of general medical problems.

We hope that you find this information pack informative and useful. We are continually looking to develop our services and welcome any comments you may wish to make.

For further information, you can also visit our website, where you can also:

  • Book and cancel appointments
  • Order repeat medication
  • Inform us of a change in your address
  • Access leaflets and forms

Contact us

At Upavon Surgery:At Durrington Surgery:

AvonValley PracticeAvonValley Practice

43 Fairfield77 Bulford Road

UpavonDurrington

Wiltshire, SN9 6DZWiltshire, SP4 8EU

Tel: 01980 630221Tel: 01980 652378

Fax: 01980 630393

Access

The consulting rooms and public areas of both Surgeries allow disabled patients easy access to all facilities. Car parking is also free and there are designated disabled parking spaces.

Wheelchairs are available at reception.


Join Us

We are pleased to welcome new patients from our practice area.

If you would like to register with us, one of the receptionists will give you a registration pack tom complete and return with two forms of ID; you will also be offered an appointment for a health check with our Health Care Assistant (HCA) or one of our nurses. It is now NHS policy to verify your identity to reduce the risk of fraud. Therefore, you will be asked to provide two forms of identification, detailing your current address and displaying your photograph. Copies will be taken and field in your medical record.

A health check is an excellent opportunity to understand your baseline of current health and for us to check that all immunisations, cervical smear tests and contraceptive requirements are up to date.

You can also obtain a pre-registration form and the new patient health questionnaire from our website;avonvalleypractice.com

Practice area

The Practice Team

Doctors

Appointments with the doctors run throughout the week including Monday evenings and patients are free to choose the doctor they wish to see. The medical team comprises:

  • Dr Peter Jenkins (MB BS MRCGP)
  • Dr Fiona Ross Russell (MB BS DCH DRCOG MRCGP)
  • Dr Ian Green (BM)
  • Dr Edward Millar-Craig (MBBS BSc Hons, DCH DFSRH MRCGP)

We also have Dr Susie MacDonald (GP Registrar) with us. Both doctors will be with us until August 2014.

Nursing Team

There is a nurse available every day to help you with any problems not requiring a doctor. Our nursing team consists of:-

  • Sister Sandra CoslettSRN
  • Sister Susie Orr
  • Sister Caroline Smith
  • Hilary Brown (Health Care Assistant)
  • Louise Mundy (Health Care Assistant)

The nursing team are available, by appointment only:

Monday08.30 – 12.00 and 15.00-17.30

Tuesday 08.30 – 12.00 and 16.00-17.30

Wednesday08.30 – 12.00 and 14.00-17.30

Thursday08.30 – 12.00

Friday 08.30 – 12.00 and 1400-1600

They can help you with: -

  • Child immunisations
  • Cervical Smear
  • Removal of Sutures
  • Dressings
  • Dietary advice
  • Family Planning
  • Ear Syringing
  • Counselling
  • Travel advice and injections
  • Helping to quit smoking
  • Coronary Heart Disease
  • Diabetes
  • Asthma
  • Taking blood
  • Venesection
  • COPD

For any tests carried out by our nursing staff it is advisable to ring your preferred surgery a few days later, after lunch time, for any results. We encourage all patients to check the outcome of any blood test. Confidentiality has to be strictly observed and this means that results can only be given to the person who has had the tests done. In accordance with the Data Protection Act, information cannot be disclosed to a thirdparty, which also includes other family members without prior consent.

Receptionists and Dispensers

Kor, Sam, Lesley, Deborah, Helen, Fran, Alison, Ruth, Kim, Emma and Gailare here to help you. They answer the telephones; make appointments, deal with enquiries, dispense medication and undertake various administration tasks. They work to guidelines which have been agreed by the doctors and are not in a position to offer medical advice.

Nina oversees the smooth running of reception and the dispensary, ensuring the Practice achieves its promise to patients to provide medication within 2 working days.

Jim also delivers repeat medication twice a week to patients. If you are interested in receiving medication direct to your door, please ask at reception.

Administrators

Susannah, Sandy, Fran and Sandraare our administrators. Between them, they undertake a variety of essential administrative duties including appointment maintenance, stock control and processing referrals, correspondence and requests for medical reports.

Nicky is responsible for administration, computer and data management; she maintains the computer system and ensures the quality of information recorded on medical records is accurate.

Practice Manager

Anna Morton has overall responsibility for the running of the Practice and would be pleased to hear your views and suggestions regarding the services we offer. You can write to her at the practice or email her on

Community Team

Midwives (direct telephone number: 01722 425185)

The midwives hold weekly antenatal clinics to guide you through your pregnancy, prepare you for motherhood and promote good health for yourself and your baby.

Health Visitors (direct telephone number: 01980 633175)

A health visitor gives expert advice on health, particularly for expectant mothers, children, older people and people with disabilities. They run child health clinics by appointment and also have a drop-in session for new mothers and babies. Together with the doctor they run the child health surveillance programme.

District Nurses (direct telephone number: 01980 625340)

Patients who are confined to their homes and who require nursing assistance may arrange with the doctor for a district nurse to call. Following a hospital admission the nurse will normally call on patients who are newly discharged and who still require nursing treatment at home.

Appointments

The Practice operates an appointment system every week day from 08.30 to 12.00 and from 14.30 to 18.00 (approximately). Appointments are 10 minutes long and can be booked ahead. You can arrange to see a doctor at either surgery by calling in or telephoning Upavon Surgery on 01980 630221 or Durrington Surgery on 01980 652378. The first available appointment will be offered to you.

Some appointments are kept for ‘on the day’ and medically urgent problems. These can be booked by telephone from 08.00 each morning. If you telephone before 10.00, you will be offered an appointment or telephone appointment that day but it may not necessarily be at your preferred surgery or with your preferred doctor.

If you cannot keep your booked appointment please let us know as soon as possible.

The appointment system works on a "one appointment, one patient" basis. If you have a complicated matter to deal with you may wish to ask for a ‘double appointment’.

Whilst every effort is made to keep to appointment times, occasionally a patient with serious problems or an emergency means that a doctor will run late. We ask for your understanding and patience if this is the case.

Evening Appointments

There are late evening appointments every Monday from 18.30 – 21.00 at Durrington Surgery. Appointments must be made in advance.

Telephone Advice

Often problems can be dealt with over the telephone. If you would like to speak to a doctor or nurse, please call 01980 630221 for Upavon Surgery and 01980 652378 for Durrington Surgery and a telephone appointment will be made. At the end of each appointment session there are telephone appointments reserved especially for this purpose, so as to avoid interrupting other patients’ consultations.

Home Visits

If you require a home visit, please telephone your nearest surgery with the details before 10.30. Only emergency visits will be arranged after that time.

Please give the receptionist as much information as possible to enable the doctor to allocate priority to home visits. Please remember that several patients can be seen at the Practice in the time that it takes to do one home visit.

Holidays

During holiday periods or when your doctor is on study leave, there may be a delay in appointments, but this will be kept to a minimum. You may be asked to see one of the other doctors from the same practice, or a ‘locum’ doctor.

When the Practice is closed

The Practice is closed from 18.30 each evening until 08.00 the following morning and from 18.30 on Friday until 08.00 on Monday morning. If you need advice or urgent attention between these hours, you can visit Salisbury Walk in Health Centre or telephone 111.

You can find Salisbury Walk in Health Centre at the Central Health Clinic, Avon Approach, or telephone 01722 331191.

In An Emergency

An emergency is a critical or life threatening situation, which may include a loss of consciousness, severe breathing difficulties, deep wounds such as stab wounds, severe chest pain or heavy loss of blood.

If emergency care is required, a trip to A&E or a 999 call for an ambulance is the right course of action to take.If your child needs emergency care, call 999.

However, if it is NOT an emergency, please do not visit A&E. Contact us, Out of Hours, Salisbury Walk in Health Centre or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

NHS Services Available

A full range of primary care is available including family planning, maternity care and child health checks. Minor surgery for warts and skin growths is carried out as are joint injections. There is also a part time counsellor available through a doctor.

In addition to guidance offered by a doctor in routine consultations, we offer specific appointments with the practice nurse. These are directed at various areas of concern – smoking, high blood pressure, heart disease prevention and diet and exercise. Regular review for patients with asthma, diabetes and heart disease is encouraged.

Medicals

The doctors are available to perform pre-employment, HGV, PSV and insurance medicals. This service is not included on the NHS and a fee maybe payable. Our receptionists can book these for you and will advise you of any fee.

Appointment reminders

You can receive appointment reminders via SMS. If you would like this service please complete and return the consent form per person. Please note, this service is not available to children aged 12 to 16. This service is also used to inform you of action needed following test results, health promotion and Practice updates.

Getting your medication

The doctors are able to write prescriptions for all patients and provide you with medication if you live within certain parts of our practice area.

If the doctor prescribes medication during a consultation, you will either collect your medication from reception or be given a prescription to take to a chemist.

However, if you are taking regular medication from your doctor or hospital, you do not always need to see a doctor to obtain a repeat supply of your medication. You will be issued with a computer slip attached to your prescription detailing your medication and we ask that you give this re-order form to your preferred surgery for your repeat medication.

You need to order your medication BEFORE you run out as we need 2 working days to process your request. You can order repeat medication:

  • Online:Visit the prescription page and

complete the electronic request form

  • In person:Drop the completed slip into the collection box at reception. If your

preferred surgery is closed you can post it through the letterbox

  • By post:Please send the computer slip to your preferred surgery. Please

address the envelope to the ‘Dispensary’

  • By fax:Fax the computer slip using 01980 630393
  • By phone: Please try to call outside appointment times, between 14.00 – 15.30,

to ensure your request is processed that day

If you need medication urgently, please speak to a receptionist so that she can process your request appropriately.

You can collect medication from 08.00 – 18.30, Monday to Friday and from 18.30 – 21.00 on Mondays (from Durrington Surgery). However, you may be eligible for our FREE delivery service for dispensed medications (excluding refrigerated items and controlled drugs). Please ask at reception for more details about this service.

Please be aware that your prescription or medication will be availablewithin two working days unless suppliers are short of stock. If you are collecting medication or prescriptions for others, the receptionists may ask for proof of identity. Where prescription payment exemption applies, proof of this and completion of the back of the prescription will be required.

Carers

Introduction

A carer is someone, who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help.

Anyone can become a carer; carers come from all walks of life, all cultures and can be of any age. Many carers do not consider themselves to be a carer, they are just looking after someone and getting on with it. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability.

A considerable number of carers also work outside the home and are trying to juggle jobs with their responsibilities as carers. The majority of carers struggle alone and do not realise that help is available.

Are You A Carer?

If you let a receptionist, nurse or doctor know that you are a carer, you can ask for this information to be recorded on your medical notes. You can do this by completing a patient health questionnaire, asking for a carers form at reception or sending a letter to us.

Please also ask a receptionist if she can take any special needs into account for your appointment.

The person you care for can also let the Practice know that he or she is happy to share health information about their condition.

Carer Support Wiltshire

Carer Support Wiltshire offers carers in Wiltshire access to information and advice about anything to do with caring as well as support to them as individuals. They also provide opportunities for short breaks and social activities, as well as someone to listen when needed.

If you would like a free carers information pack telephone 0800 181 4118 or visit

The Practice can refer you to Carer Support Wiltshire. One of their representatives will contact you directly.

Did you know you can get a Carers’ Library Card which enables you to loan books for 6 weeks and make free reservations! Just pop in to your local library.

How do I?

Receive SMS messages and emails

If you would like the Practice to contact you by text message or email for the purposes of appointment reminders including annual reviews, actions from test results, health promotion and general updates, please complete a consent form available from reception or visit our website.