THE PARK SURGERY
The Glen Primary Care Centre
Glen Street, Hebburn, Tyne & Wear NE31 1NU
Telephone: 0191 283 2250
Fax: 0191 283 2251
Email:
(for non urgent communications only)
INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS
DOCTORS
Dr Kerstin Akporehwe
III State Exam, Germany (Munich 1995)
Dr Simon Hutchinson
MB ChB, MRCGP (Leeds 2004)
Dr Heather Joll
MRCGP, MCEM, MB BS (2001)
Dr Rachel Jones
MRCGP, MB BS (2010)
Dr Urmila Roy-Craggs
MB BS, BSCMRCGP (2014)
Dr Richard Ellenger
MB BS, MRCGP (2016)
WELCOME TO THE PARK SURGERY
“We strive to provide evidence-based, cost effective and up to date medical care for our patients without prejudice and with compassion and empathy. Our goal is to ensure that your health care needs are met through efficient use of appropriate resources available”
The Practice adheres to National Primary Medical Services contract. The contract is with North East Primary Care Services.
Patients will have right to
· Expect the Practice to provide a good medical service and to know that Doctors and Staff keep up to date with their own Professional Development
· To know they are a valued patient
· Understand that we put patients first and we involve them in choices
· To treat all patients equally with respect and courtesy
· To respect your privacy and confidentiality
· To be open and honest in our dealings
· To deal with your requirements as quickly and effectively as possible
· To do our utmost to match your needs with the best available care
· To provide you with a clean and comfortable environment
· To deal with requests and feedbacks promptly and professionally.
Please visit our website on www.theparksurgery-hebburn.nhs.uk for more information on the Practice.
OUR TEAM
Doctors
Dr. K Akporehwe
Dr. S Hutchinson
Dr H Joll
Dr R Jones
Dr U Roy-Craggs
Practice Manager – Mrs Lynn Crutwell manages the practice and is responsible for our general direction, control and co-ordination.
Medical Secretaries – Michelle, Kate & Gillian – act as Secretaries to the Doctors. Please contact either of them if you have queries about your hospital appointment or if you are enquiring about insurance form completion etc.
Reception / Administration Team – The reception / admin team are there to help you with the administrative side of your healthcare, e.g. appointments, queries, etc.
Nursing Team – Our Practice Nurses, Angela Parry, Nicola Brannen and Wendy Campbell are highly trained health professionals in their own right, taking responsibility for assessing and managing a wide range of medical conditions.
Health Care Assistant – Jan Scrowther looks after the health promotion in the practice. She runs smoking cessation & weight management clinics. She is also trained to check blood pressure, performing electrocardiogram (ECG) and administering Vitamin B12 injection.
Pharmacist – Our Practice pharmacist Lisa is available for advice on any problems with your medication. Part of her duties is to review
those patients on repeat medication, particularly those patients taking many items, and you may be asked at some point to make an appointment to see her for this purpose. If you have any queries about the medication you are taking, she will be able to advise you. She can be contacted via Reception.
Midwife – Our Community Midwife can be contacted either through the surgery or at South Tyneside District Hospital (4041000).
Patients can access certain services directly:
· Dietician
· Pharmacist
· Community Drug and alcohol services
· Physiotherapist
· Primary Care mental Health service
CLINICS
Family Planning & Smear: By appointment only
We also offer insertion & removal of nexplanon (Contraceptive implants)
Baby Clinic: 6 week baby checks and immunizations
Asthma and COPD: Practice Nurse – By appointment
Diabetes: Practice Nurse – By appointment
Addiction Therapy: on shared care basis with First contact
Antenatal: through Community Mid-wives
Minor Surgery and Joint Injections: usually on Thursday afternoons by appointment
Obesity/Weight Management: run by Health Care Assistant by appointment
Smoking cessation: run by Health Care assistant by appointment
Diet advice: through community dietician
Travel advice and vaccinations: run by Nurses by appointment.
OFFICE HOURS
Reception is open from 8.30 am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday. The surgery is also open until 8pm on Thursdays where GP & nurse appointments are available.
· To make APPOINTMENTS by telephone, please ring 2832250
· To order a REPEAT PRESCRIPTION by telephone, please ring 2832252
between 10.00 am and 11.00 am, when a member of staff will be available to
take your call. Alternatively you may leave a message on this number
requesting your repeat medication. This facility is available 24hours a day.
· Please arrive on time for your appointment.
· Please notify us of any change of name/address/telephone number so we can
amend our records.
· Please don’t ask to squeeze other people in to your appointment slot.
· Please try not to save up several problems for one appointment. If you require a longer appointment, please ask when booking.
· Please cancel any appointment you are unable to attend in sufficient time for
us to re-use your time slot.
· Our staff have a difficult and demanding job and will try in every way to help you and answer your queries. Please remember that if you are kept waiting, or if the questions they seek seem intrusive, the receptionist is only carrying out our policies, which are aimed at smooth and efficient running of the Practice. This is especially relevant when you request to speak to the on call doctor urgently or request a home visit. The reception staff and the doctor have to judge the urgency of your request, therefore please try to supply the necessary details to the Receptionist.
APPOINTMENTS
We offer pre-bookable appointments with both our Doctors and nurses. Where possible we will offer patients an appointment with the GP or nurse of their choice but you may have to wait longer than normal to see that particular doctor or nurse and there may be occasions when patients, who have expressed a preference, may have to see a different doctor or nurse particularly if you need an urgent appointment. There are also dedicated telephone appointments available for those patients who would like to speak to the Doctor by phone. Please ask at reception.
If you find you do not need your appointment PLEASE TELEPHONE & CANCEL so it can be used for someone else. You can also book your appointment online through ‘Patient Access’. Ask at reception to register.
URGENT APPOINTMENTS
If you require an urgent appointment or advice and prefer not to wait for the next routine appointment you will be offered the opportunity to speak to an on call doctor. You will be asked for a telephone number so you can be contacted by a Doctor to discuss your urgent problem. If the problem cannot be sorted by telephone you will be given an appointment to attend surgery. PLEASE DO NOT JUST TURN UP AT THE SURGERY ASKING TO BE SEEN THAT DAY. You might be expected to wait to see a doctor when being seen urgently as the doctor might be attending to other patients or emergencies.
HOME VISITS
Home visiting by the Doctor is now accepted as not being an efficient use of time. Home visits will be offered to those physically incapable of attending the surgery. If you feel you need a home visit by the Doctor please try to telephone before 10.00 am. A Doctor will contact you to as early as possible to discuss the problem, offering advice, a prescription, a visit by a nurse or health visitor, surgery attendance or acute care team or a GP visit.
REPEAT PRESCRIBING
Repeat prescriptions are medication that the Doctor or Hospital feel you need to take on a long-term basis. Once this has been initiated by the Doctor, it will be prescribed as a 28-day supply when required. You can request repeat medications by
· Ticking the box on the side slip of your prescription to indicate the items you require and dropping it in the box available on the reception desk or you can send it to us enclosing a stamped addressed envelope and we will post it back to you. Please allow sufficient time for the postal system.
· We offer a telephone service between 10-11am each day. The telephone number is 2832252. Alternatively you can leave a message on our 24hour answer machine. WE REGRET WE CANNOT ACCEPT TELEPHONE REQUESTS OUTSIDE THESE HOURS UNLESS IT IS AN URGENT REQUEST. Do make sure you order your repeat medication well before your supply is due to run out.
· If you prefer you can ask at reception to register for ‘Patient Access’ where you will be able to order prescriptions on line.
Alternatively you can e-mail your prescription request to:
48 HOURS NOTICE IS REQUIRED FOR REPEAT MEDICATION REQUESTS
If you need medication, which is not an authorised repeat, you might be advised to make an appointment to see the doctor.
TEST RESULTS
If you are calling for test results etc, please telephone between 3.00 pm and 4.00 pm, so that the Doctor has had time to look at the results. In order to maintain confidentiality, laboratory and X-ray results may be given only to the patient personally or to the parents of minors.
TELEPHONE ADVICE
As well as routine telephone consultation appointment, all members of our clinical team are able to give advice over the telephone. The Receptionist will suggest when it is convenient, as we cannot interrupt a clinician during consultations with non-urgent telephone calls.
SICK NOTES
The practice does not feel appointments for sick note certificates are urgent. We expect the patient needing long-term sickness certificates to make an appointment well in advance of the renewal date.
If you are unable to attend work due to illness, a self-certification note (SC1) should be used for the first 7 days (including weekends) of your illness. After these 7 days, you will need to see or speak to a Doctor to get a further sick note. ALL EMPLOYERS SHOULD ACCEPT THESE SELF CERTIFICATION SICK NOTES.
Since the advent of self-certification for statutory sick pay purposes in 1983, GPs have not been obliged to issue certificates for periods of sickness of less than seven days duration. When requested to do so, GPs may issue a private certificate and charge a fee for doing so, however, we feel it inappropriate that employers request medical certifications for short periods of incapacity. GPs do not relish the prospect of charging patients; moreover it is a waste of valuable NHS resources for Doctors to see patients for no other purposes than to provide short-term medical certificates. This is the purpose of the self-certification certificate.
A supply of SC1s, or SC2s if you are self-employed, or unemployed, is available from the surgery.
NEW PATIENTS
All patients wishing to register with the Practice must see our Health Care Assistant for a registration appointment and an NHS health check if you would like one. This appointment allows us to get to know you and familiarise ourselves with your past medical history and any medication you are taking as it takes some time for your medical records to be forwarded to us. Please remember to bring all current medication along with you and, for parents with children, their vaccination record card.
Our Practice has boundaries for acceptance of patients; before asking to register please think carefully that the distance from your house to the Practice is conveniently reached to take advantage of our services.
PARKING
Due to Planning Regulations, we are only able to offer a limited number of parking spaces for patients - admittance to the car park is by barrier control via reception. There is a free Municipal Car Park across the road from the surgery available for parking.
DISABLED ACCESS
The Glen Primary Care Centre has been designed with the disabled in mind and wheelchair facilities are an integral part of the building, as well as an induction loop for the hard of hearing. There are disabled parking bays at the rear of the building – admittance to the car park is by barrier control via reception.
FEES
Certain services provided by your Doctor are not covered by the NHS and a fee may be payable, e.g. pre-employment medicals, private medicals, private sick certificates, insurance claims, fitness to drive medicals, private medical insurance claims and holiday cancellation claims. Our fees are in line with the recommended BMA rates. If you have any query about fees, please ask our secretary. These additional services are not medically urgent and therefore may take 10-14 days to be completed.
OUT OF HOURS CALLS
The way you access health care information, advice and services on the telephone has changed. NHS 111 is a new telephone service which has been introduced for when you have an urgent need. The telephone number replaces the contact number for NHS Direct and our Out of Hours provider.
You should call the NHS 111 service if you need medical help fast, but it is not a 999 emergency. You will be assessed, given advice and directed straightaway to the local service that can help you best. Calls to NHS 111 are free from landlines and mobile phones.
When to call 111
· You think you need to go to A&E or to another NHS Urgent Care Service.
· Your surgery is closed and you need healthcare advice.
· You do not know who to call for medical help.
When to call 999
· Major accident or trauma, severe breathlessness, severe bleeding, loss of consciousness or severe chest pain.
COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
We always try to provide the best service possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. It is not appropriate to bring a complaint to a surgery medical appointment. If you are unhappy about what we have said or done, let us know either by writing to, or if you prefer, speaking to the Practice Manager. All complaints will be dealt with through our Practice Complaints System.
RESEARCH
We are now an accredited Research Active Practice. You may be asked to participate in research projects occasionally, but refusal will not affect your treatment at the Practice in any way. It is entirely voluntary.