‘The best care from the right person in the right timeframe’

Our General Practitioners:

• Dr Abid Irfan
• Dr Angus Whitfield
• Dr Anne-marie Faulkner
• Dr Ben Loxton-Edwards
• Dr Emily McCullagh
• Dr Graham Stiff
• Dr Imogen Caffery
• Dr Stephanie Fernandes
• Dr Zaid Al-Nakeeb

Tel: 01635 917917

Website: www.strawberryhillmedicalcentre.co.uk

Practice Booklet

Our Practice Booklet is available for all patients from the PIP (patient information point) next to reception on the ground floor or from the practice website.

Surgery Premises

Our building is modern, welcoming, and appropriate for the needs of our patients, including the disabled.

Patients’ Rights to General Medical Services

• Be registered with a general practitioner (GP)
• Be treated with dignity and respect
• Have appropriate treatment prescribed and clearly explained
• Have the presence of a chaperone if you desire
• Have access to a medical professional on the same day with an urgent condition, this may not be your registered GP
• View your medical records, subject to the Access to Health records Act 1990, Data protection Act 1998 and associated procedures, and to know that all NHS employees are legally obliged to keep the contents of your records confidential
• Be referred for a specialist or second opinion if agreed by you and your GP
• To make any suggestions, complaints or compliments to the practice and receive a response
• Access an interpreter if required

Changes to Procedures

When changes are introduced to practice procedures that affect patients, we will make sure these are clearly explained using signage in the waiting areas, our website, and social media pages, giving as much notice as possible.

Repeat Prescriptions

To ensure the best possible knowledge of your personal health, these will be signed by your usual GP wherever possible. Please allow 4 full working days when requesting your repeat prescription.

Referrals

Urgent referrals to other health and social care settings will be made within one working day of the patient appointment. Where requested, our GPs will refer you to a private health provider.

We will normally process routine referrals within ten working days of the patient appointment or the doctor’s decision to refer.

Test Results

When a doctor or nurse arranges for a test to be taken, it is the patient’s responsibility to contact the surgery for the result. Please contact us via our website or by phone after 11:00. If abnormalities are recorded, we will contact you on receipt of these.

Transfer of Medical Records

The Practice will do their best to dispatch paper medical records required by the Health Authority within four to six weeks. Some records will be sent electronically GP2GP. Our secretarial team will happily forward a summary of records to a patient’s new surgery if required.

*We will respect patients’ privacy, dignity, and confidentiality at all times*

Appointments

With a GP

Routine requests are triaged within 2-3 working days. Someone from the surgery will be in touch with the outcome either by email or phone.

With a Practice Nurse

We will aim to offer routine appointments within 5 working days of the request. If you require ongoing care e.g., fortnightly dressings, the nurse will arrange these with you.

Home Visits

We are unable to guarantee a specific doctor will visit you, as this depends on availability and other factors. The decision to home visit will be at the doctors’ discretion.

Waiting Times

• SHMC will always open promptly at 08:00
• We expect patients to be seen within 25 minutes of their allocated appointment time, in the event of a delay you will be informed
• If a GP is called out to an emergency, we will contact you as quickly as possible to give you the opportunity to re-arrange your appointment or if preferred you will be seen by another GP

Out-of-Hours Emergencies

When the practice is closed, NHS 111 are available for advice and guidance via www.111.nhs.uk or by phone.

With these rights come responsibilities. For patients this means:

• Showing courtesy to all staff at all times – remember they are working under doctors’ orders
• Responding in a positive way to questions asked by reception staff
• Attending appointments on time or giving the practice a fair amount of notice if you wish to cancel. Someone else could use your appointment!
• An appointment is for one person only – where another member of the family needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made
• Patients should make every effort when consulting the surgery to make best use of nursing and medical time – home visits are for medical reasons only and not for ease or convenience
• Give 4 full working days’ notice for repeat prescriptions to allow for accurate prescribing
• Only use the Out-of-hours service (e.g., evenings; nights & weekends) when it is felt to be truly necessary
• Keep us updated of any changes to your contact details – we may need to contact you urgently

January 2022
V1.7