Warwick House Medical Centre

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Where to find us

Welcome to our Practice

Warwick House Medical Centre is an NHS General Practice offering the General Medical Services covered by the NHS and some private services.

We are a practice of seven doctors (each working part time) plus nurses, health visitors and midwife and we aim to provide a high standard of care in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We believe we have an efficient, dedicated and hard-working team who are easily approachable and enjoy their work.

As a patient, you are registered with the practice rather than with a specific doctor. You are free to see whichever doctor you wish but as each of the doctors works on a part time basis, you may find that you can see some doctors more quickly than others. Our practice is fully computerised and paperless, so that every doctor is able to access your detailed records immediately. In the interests of continuity, however, you may prefer to see the same doctor during each bout of the same illness, although this is not essential.

Within the Medical Centre the doctors work alongside complementary medical practitioners to extend and improve the health care available to you.

Appointments

Appointments can be made by telephoning or calling at Warwick House. Each day a few appointments are set aside for urgent problems. In this way we hope to be able to see everybody promptly. As all of our doctors are part time and work on different days, you may find that on any particular day, you can be seen more quickly by one doctor than another.

We operate an extensive computer system, which holds all of your detailed records, so any doctor will be able to access your records on any occasion. However, for the sake of continuity, you may feel that it is better to wait a little longer to see the same doctor again if you are returning for an additional consultation regarding the same bout of illness.

Although we run an appointments system, some appointments do overrun and delays do sometimes occur. We appreciate that this may cause inconvenience at times. Please be patient; you may require the extra time one day! Appointment times generally follow the published schedule, but may vary with holiday cover.

Doctors offer additional appointments at busy periods or when a Partner is away, and may be available at other times to see you. Please ask the receptionist for details.

Extended hours

The practice offers appointments between 6.30 and 7pm on every evening except Friday and on some Saturday mornings for patients who find it difficult to attend during the usual working day. Appointments are precious and patients who do not arrive for their appointment waste an opportunity which others could have used. If you are unable to keep your appointment please let us know, so that another patient can be seen.

Home visits

If you are too ill to come to the medical centre you will need to arrange a home visit, please try to telephone between 9:00 - 10.30a.m. This helps us to plan our rounds. Details will be taken by one of our receptionists.

When the Medical Centre is closed

• Services between 6.30 pm and 8.00 am Monday to Friday, and all the weekend are provided by the Somerset Out of Hours Service.
  To contact the service, please call 0845 408 8000
• Between 08.00 and 08.30 on Monday to Friday the practice offers an emergency only service. To contact this service call 01823 282 147 and you will be put in touch with a doctor who can advise you.
• Normal appointments cannot be made between 08.00 and 08.30.

Telephone Enquiries

Each doctor has a contact time every day when you may speak to them on the telephone for advice. Please telephone early in the day for details of the contact time. Often the receptionist can help with queries, and save the doctor's time.

Laboratory results

Laboratory results are received by the practice at 2.00 p.m. every afternoon. If you simply want test results telephone after 2.0 p.m. and the receptionist may have a message for you.

Confidentiality

Repeat Prescriptions

Please either post, fax (01823 338181) or hand in your request for a prescription at the reception counter.

All requests will be dealt with within 48 hours by the surgery. If you require your prescription to be dispensed by the chemist please allow longer.

We do have a secure mechanism for requesting prescriptions over the Internet using a username and password mechanism. This facility needs to be switched on for each patient who requests it; if you are interested please ask at reception, or ask your doctor.

Private services

Family planning services

Ante-natal clinic

Family Health Clinics

To have your baby weighed or to discuss your family health please ring your Health Visitor to book an appointment on 01823 447370 The Health Visitors are available to give telephone advice. Leave a message on the answerphone and a Health Visitor will return your call.

Child immunisation clinic

Well woman service

Well person checks

Menopause advice

Diabetic clinic

Asthma clinic

Vasectomies

Minor surgery sessions

New patient check-up

Travel clinic and Yellow fever vaccination centre

Practice nurses

• dressing wounds and injuries
• immunisations and injections
• ear syringing
• checking blood pressure, weight, urine etc.
• taking blood tests or smear tests
• new patient checks
• Dietary advice and general health questions.

• Rebecca Parry - Asthma, COPD, Travel Clinic, Vasectomy Counselling, Children's Immunisations
• Elaine Bagwell - Diabetes, Dopplers & dressings.
• Caroline Parkin - – Dressings, pill checks & contraceptive advice.
• Alison Short - General Nursing and Phlebotomy.

Community nurses

Community Midwife

Physiotherapist

Appointments are made by referral from the doctors.

Dietician

Health visitors

Angela Litstone, our health visitor specialises in the care of mothers, babies and preschool children. She calls at Warwick House every day during the week and can be telephoned on 01823 447370.

In addition, the following clinics are held on a weekly basis, with a health visitor or community nursery nurse in attendance should any help or advice be required:-

All Doctors are registered to provide: - General Medical Services - Maternity Care - Family Planning Services - Child Development Checks - Minor Surgery.

LEAD RECEPTIONIST Carol Board


RECEPTIONISTS Linda Boobier, Sue Kerr, Lesley Fox, Jo Bell, Marie Spink and Kate Western.

Your first point of contact will usually be one of our Receptionists. They are available to help with enquiries and to make appointments and are important in the smooth running of the practice. We believe they carry out a difficult job very well, and you can rely on them to do their best to help you and to maintain complete confidentiality.

Disabled patients

Parking.

Chemist

Medical students and research

Confidentiality

Chaperone Policy

We are committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times.

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. For more information see our chaperone policy.

Private services

Complaints, compliments and suggestions

The following practitioners are available either by referral from a doctor or by direct appointment.

Private clinic

Warwick House Medical Centre is committed to improving its communication from and to its patients. Here are some of the ways we hope to achieve this

Website and Practice Leaflet

This website http://www.warwickhouse.org.uk will become our main form of communication and information. In future, we will not produce a practice leaflet, but instead will provide those who do not have access to the internet with pages printed from our website.

The latest information will always be on the website.

E Mail

Increasingly, we use email in place of memos, letters and other forms of paper-based communication. However it should not be used for urgent medical requests.

There is a good chance that the person to whom the email is addressed may not pick it up for a day or two, or longer if they are on a course or on holiday.

We are happy to receive non-urgent emails and would suggest this is used primarily for compliments, comment or criticism of the website or our services.

Electronic Prescription requests

We do have a secure mechanism for requesting prescriptions over the Internet using a username and password mechanism. This facility needs to be switched on for each patient who requests it; if you are interested please ask at reception, or ask your doctor.

Suggestions

We still have a suggestions box on the reception desk (and yes we do open it and read them).

Please continue to use that box if you wish. Alternatively, please email your suggestions to Joanna Haxby

Questionnaires

Government policy requires us to seek patients' views from time to time using standard format questionnaires. We are happy to do so, as we need feedback on the changes we are making in order to improve further.

We hope you will not find the questionnaires overly intrusive or burdensome. At first, they will be paper based, but in time we will also use web-based questionnaires to measure your feedback on our progress in meeting your needs.