Patient Guide
West Hallam Medical Centre
The Dales, West Hallam, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 6GR
0115 9440088
West Hallam Medical Centre is a small, well-established practice. Our team of doctors, nurses and support staff offer general medicine, on-site dispensary and a range of specialist healthcare clinics.
Based in West Hallam village, we offer a friendly and flexible approach to a wide range of patients in our practice boundary area. This area includes parts of the DE7 postcode, covering West Hallam, Stanley, Stanley Common, Breadsall, Morley, Smalley, Mapperley and parts of Oakwood.
About this Patient Guide
This ‘Patient Guide’ has been produced by the West Hallam Patient Particpation Group (PPG) and it tells you about our services. There are some things we have to tell you – like all GP surgeries do. But we’ve also included extra useful information. For example, we have to tell you about our doctors’ qualifications (so you know you’re in safe hands!) but we also think it is useful to know the times our doctors usually work, and the areas they take a particular interest in. So, whether you are a new patient thinking about joining us, or an existing patient wanting to know more, you should find the guide helpful.
- Part one explains who we are, what we do and how to use our services. It tells you about our clinical staff (doctors and nurses) and our support staff. There is information on our appointments (routine and emergency) and clinics, and about visiting and support services who come to the surgery to help our patients
- Part two tells you about our on-site dispensary service
- Part Three is about our policies: put simply, what we expect from you and what you can expect from us
- The Key Facts page is a summary of our services and how to contact us - you may want to keep this sheet, so you have information when you need it.
Part 1 - Who are we and what do we do?
All our doctors, nursing and support staff are based at our medical centre. We also work with attached staff frommaternity services, district nursing, health visiting and counselling teams.
A.Who are we?
1.Our Clinical Staff – Doctors
Currently we have five doctors. Our two practice partners, two employed doctors and one locum doctor. The doctorshave interests in specialist areas. So if you have long term condition, or need more detailed advice, you can ask to see a particular doctor.
- Dr Stephen Houlton MBBS (London) 1985 MRGCGP.FP Cert is one of our partners. His areas of special interests are Diabetes and Joint Injections
- Dr James Burns (MB.BCh (Cork) 2000 MRCGP.MRCPCH is our other partner, with interests in Child Health and Dermatology
- Dr Robert Sword BA.BM.Bch (Oxon) 1984 DCH.DRCOG.MRCGP.FCA specialises in Rheumatology and Joint Injections
- Dr Summer Scullard BM BS Bmed (Nottingham) 2005 MRCGP DRCOG. Her special interest is in women’s health.
2.Our Clinical Staff – Nursing and Healthcare Team
We have a Nurse Manager (Gillian Fletcher), two nurses (Sisters Tami Marle and Frances Meakin) and two Health Care Assistants (Lisa Holmes and Beverley Wilson).
Our nursing and healthcare team provide a wide range of services. Like our doctors, the team have particular interests and support specialist clinics.
3.Our Support Staff - Reception, administration and practice manager
Our friendly receptionists are the face of our practice! Christine Fletcher, Beverley Wilson, Lisa Hubbard and Elly Knighton are your first contact for appointment booking and general queries. Also working hard behind the scenes are our practice manager Richard Page and our dedicated medical secretaries (Mandy Dallaway and Maria Johnson).
4.Visiting and support services
Midwife Sue Hardwick runs our weekly antenatal clinic. Clare Johnson (District Nursing Sister), with colleagues Hazel Clark, Frances Hoult and Angela Prokpiuk nurse patients at home.
B.What do we do?
As well as providing general medicine (by appointment), we support our patient’s medical needs (through focused health care clinics) and additional needs (through our work with groups like Citizen’s Advice Bureau).
Our regular health care clinics
Our regular clinics include:
- Antenatal - every Thursday 9.20 am to 1pm (by appointment)
- Childhood immunisation clinic – 1st and 3rd Thursday each month (by appointment)
- Blood testing (Phlebotomy)
- Travel clinic and vaccinations – please book 6-8 weeks before your trip
Our screening programme
We do health screening in the form of registration checks for new patients and NHS Health Checks for adults between ages 40 and 74. We support women invited for 3 or 5 yearly cervical screening.
Our specialist clinics
Your doctor may suggest you attend one of our specialist clinics, which include Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Diabetes, Blood Pressure and Heart Checks, and Asthma.
Our advice clinics
Other clinics we run provide free, confidential advice about Family Planning, emergency contraception and sexual health.
We support clinics on stopping smoking (Derbyshire County Stop Smoking Service offer free support to stop smoking and can be contacted on 0800 085 22 99).
Visiting Advisory and Support services
We work closely with support and advice providers to help our patients
- We’re linked to the Health Visiting team, who support local families with young children
- Our counsellor is available on referral from the Doctors (sessions usually take place at the surgery, by appointment)
C.How can you use our services?
Opening times
Reception / Monday-Friday 8.00 am - 6.30pm (late night Wed until 8.30pm)Doctor scheduled appointments / Mon-Fri 8.30am-10.30 am and 4.00pm-5.30pm (late night Wed 6.30pm-8.30pm)
Nurse scheduled appointments / Mon-Fri 8.30am-12.00noon and 2.00pm-6.00pm (late night Wed 6.30pm-8.30pm)
Visiting us in person
Our surgery is based in a modern single storey building, with an accessible toilet. The reception has a low counter, but you can also ask to speak to a Receptionist privately. We hope you find us welcoming but as we’re always keen to improve, please let us know if you have particular access needs or if you have suggestions about improving our facilities.
Contacting us by phone: Main number (Reception) 0115 9440088
During opening times, our Receptionists are your first point of contact. For out of hours, the answerphone will direct you to 111.
Online:
Our new look website has a wealth of information about us. You can book appointments online once you have registered for online booking.
D.Appointments
You can contact us in person, by phone or online to book most appointments, which are usually in ten-minute slots intended for one person. If you think you need longer, or you want to combine appointments (for example you and your child), please talk to us.
On the day
We keep a small number of ‘book on the day’ appointments that you can book from 8 am. Ask for these in person or by telephone.
Emergency appointments
If there are no ‘book on the day’ appointments available and you need to see a doctor, you will be asked to come to the surgery for an emergency appointment. These are held at the end of the scheduled morning appointments. You may have to wait to be seen, depending on the number of doctors available and the number of other patients. Emergency appointments must be booked in person or by phone.
Non-urgent appointments
Non-urgent appointments can be booked via the website, phone or by reception. These can be booked up to six months in advance.
Telephone Advice
Please call us before midday to ask a doctor to call you back later in the day.
Home visits
Please phone Reception before 10.00 am to ask about a home visit. Our doctors will visit you at home if necessary, but they will probably want to talk to you first. We ask all our patients to come to the surgery if possible. We can see four patients in the time it takes to do one home visit.
Medical Advice Out of Hours
If you need urgent advice, please contact 111.
Part 2 – Our On site Dispensary
A.Who are we?
Louise Read is our Dispensary and Reception Manager, supported by Dawn Middleton.
B.What do we do?
We can offer advice about medication and can dispense prescriptions from our doctors for some of our patients. If we can dispense your medicines, we can also help you with your repeat prescriptions (give it to us before 11.00am to aim for it being ready in two working days).
C.How to use our services
Opening Hours
Dispensary / Mon-Fri 8.30am-1pm and 3.30pm-6.30pm (late night Wed 6.30-8.30 pm)Contact us: Dispensary 0115 9322567
Out of Hours Prescriptions
Please contact 111.
Part Three: What we expect from you and what you can expect from us
A.What we expect from you
Help us continue to provide an effective service by following these simple tips:
- If you’d like to become a patient, please complete the forms available from Reception or our website and attend your registration check
- For all patients, please be reasonable in what you ask us. Do you really need a home visit or an emergency appointment?
- Remember you can contact us in person, by phone or online
- Arrive on time and report to reception before your appointment
- If you want us to provide someone to be with you when you see the doctor, let our Receptionists know when you arrive
- If you need to cancel, please call us as soon as you can – even at late notice, we may be able to offer another patient your appointment time
- Please treat all our staff and visitors (including other patients) properly. We support the NHS policy on zero tolerance. If you abuse us (verbally, physically or in any threatening manner), we may remove you from our practice list. This means we won’t continue to treat you as our patient and could even mean we contact the police about you
B.What you can expect from us
We have a Patient Charter that details our responsibility to deliver high standards of care to all our patients. Please ask at Reception, or view the charter on our website.
Confidentiality
We respect your right to privacy and keep all your health information confidential and secure. It is important that the NHS keeps accurate, updated records about your health and treatment. This information is only available to those involved in your care, and helps ensure we give you the best possible advice and care.
How are we doing?
Knowing how you feel about the services we offer is really important to us. We know you might be worried about needing to see us. So we want to be sure you receive a warm welcome, are treated confidentially, with respect and dignity and have the information you need.
Patient surveys and your feedback
From time to time, we may ask you to complete a patient survey but we welcome suggestions at any time. We’re always keen to improve, so if you have an idea, please visit, call, write to us or use the ‘contact us’ link on the website.
Patient Participation Group
If you would like to get more involved, why not join our Patient Participation Group? The group meets every three months to discuss concerns and help improve how we work. Information about the group is available on the waiting area notice boards, from Reception and on our website.
Complaints
Please talk to us if you are unhappy about our service. You can write to us, or confide in whoever you feel comfortable with (like your doctor). Our practice manager Richard Page is responsible for managing formal complaints in line with our confidentiality policy and our patient charter.
C.The NHS in our area
For out of hours and non-urgent advice, contact 111 or visit
Patient Advisory and Liaison Advisory Service (PALS)
Erewash PALS 0800 783 7279
Email:
Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group
Cardinal Square
10 Nottingham Road
Derby
DE1 3QT
01332 888080
West Hallam Medical Centre - Key Facts
We have up to five doctors, 3 nursing staff and related teams providing both general medicine and specialist advice and treatments.
Contact us
Online: provides a wealth of information about us, and the NHS in our community. Once you register for our online booking service, you can use the website to book most appointments.
Phone: Reception: 0115 9440088 and Dispensary: 0115 9322567
In person: Our surgery at The Dales, West Hallam Village, DE7 6GR is a modern single storey building with all facilities on the ground floor. Please let us know if we can help you access our facilities more easily.
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 8.00am to 6.30pm (late night Wed until 8.30pm).
Out of hours: For out of hours/non-urgent advice, contact 111 or
Appointments
- ‘On the day’ scheduled appointments to see any doctor: phone or visit at 8.00 am
- ‘Emergency end of surgery’ to see any doctor: phone or visit as early as possible
- Asking for a Home visit: phone before 10.00am
- Asking for phone advice (doctor to call you back): phone before 12 midday
- Scheduled appointments to see any doctor, or your chosen doctor if possible: book in person, by phone or online
- Scheduled appointments to see a nurse: book in person, by phone or online
- Regular clinics (like antenatal and blood testing): book in person, by phone or online
- Advice clinics (Family Planning, Stop Smoking): book in person, by phone or online
- Non-medical advice clinics (Health Visitor, Counsellor): talk to us
- Health screening (new patient/NHS Health check): book in person, by phone or online
- Specialist clinics (like Asthma or Diabetes), book in person, by phone or online
Changing or cancelling your appointment
Please ensure you attend appointments. Please contact us in person, by phone or online to cancel or change an appointment.
West Hallam Medical Centre Patient Guide October 2013
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