Lancaster Gate Medical Centre 20 21 Leinster Terrace London W2 3ET Telephone: 020 7479 9750 Practice Booklet 1
WELCOME TO OUR PRACTICE This booklet has been designed to give patients information about the practice, how to see a doctor, and the special services we provide. DOCTORS Dr Soraya Meer General Practitioner - Principal (female) Dr Jose Gonzalez-Garcia General Practitioner - Principal (male) MB BS, MRCP, MRCGP SURGERY APPOINTMENT TIMES MONDAY 8.00am-1.00pm 2.00pm-6.00pm TUESDAY 9.00am-1.00pm 2.00pm-7.30pm WEDNESDAY 9.00am-1.00pm 2.00pm-7.30pm THURSDAY 8.00am-1.00pm 2.00pm-6.00pm FRIDAY 9.00am-1.00pm 2.00pm-6.00pm SAT & SUN Closed On Mondays & Thursdays we have bookable appointments from 8am THE PRACTICE TEAM Practice Manager Assistant Practice Manager Receptionists Practice Nurse Mera Akhtar Kelly Arnold Ellie-Jo Allman Mariana Pinto Mrs Karen Taylor Jennifer Obazuaye Midwife The Community Midwife is concerned with the care of all pregnant women and visits mother and baby at home in the early days after delivery. Health Visitor The Health Visitor is closely involved in the health care of patients, particularly new mothers and children under 5 yrs old. District Nurse The District Nurse is for people who need nursing care at home and can be contacted via the surgery. 2
Link Worker Visits people aged 65 and over in their own homes to offer help and advice on a wide range of social and health issues. THE PRACTICE The Practice is located in a terrace of shops at the Bayswater Road end of Leinster Terrace and opposite its junction with Lancaster Gate. The Practice serves the area between Chepstow Road and Westbourne Terrace. Dr Maini has been a General Practitioner in Leinster Terrace since 1988 and the premises were modernized and expanded in 1999. Some rooms are at basement level accessed via a staircase but there is a large consulting room at ground floor level with wheel chair access. HOW TO REGISTER AT OUR PRACTICE Prospective patients are asked to read a simple statement about the practice to ensure we provide the type of service they require. Patients are then asked to complete a form and a Questionnaire that can be obtained from the Receptionist. You are asked to complete the health questionnaire prior to seeing the Practice Nurse for a simple health check. This is to enable us to obtain details of your past medical history and any medication you may be taking. This information is required as it can take some time before we receive any previous medical records from the Health Authority. HOW TO SEE THE NURSE The Nurse is seen by appointment only, usually for dressings, injections/vaccinations, removal of stitches, cervical screening and general health promotion and advice. The nurse also sees patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and, asthma. Appointments are available morning and afternoon daily. Triage: if you ask to see the doctor as an emergency you may be asked to see the Nurse first so that she can assess your medical problem. SHARED CLINIC When we only have one doctor on duty in the morning sessions are sometimes shared by the Senior Practice Nurse and the Duty Doctor. We hope that this way of working will shorten patient waiting times when the doctor is especially busy. HOW TO SEE THE DOCTOR Walk in session: There is access to a doctor Monday to Friday morning between 9.00am 10.00am for those who wish to come without an appointment. This surgery can get quite busy so patients with complex or ongoing problems may prefer to book an appointment. 3
If you are at the surgery before 10.00am you can be seen by a doctor that morning if the walk in appointments are still available, as there is only limited availability. Patients are seen in turn and this may involve a long wait. Appointments: Appointments can be made by telephoning 020 7479 9750 after 10am or by visiting the surgery to arrange an appointment. Each appointment is for one person only, so make separate appointments for each person seeing the doctor. Emergency appointments: Medical emergencies are seen on the same day. Please let the receptionist know if you feel that it is an emergency. CANCELLING APPOINTMENTS If you are unable to keep a booked appointment with either the doctor or the nurse it is very important that you telephone the surgery at least 24hrs before if possible to let the receptionist know. This will enable the receptionist to offer this appointment time to another patient who may be in urgent need of it. TELEPHONE ADVICE It is not possible to speak to the doctor or nurse while he/she is consulting. Generally it is better to make an appointment to see the doctor if you are unwell. HOME VISITS Home visits are made at your doctors discretion and are for people too ill or too disabled to come to the surgery. Please phone before 10.30am when possible and give full details and your telephone number. Please remember we have better treatment and examination facilities at the surgery and home visits are relatively time consuming. NIGHTS AND WEEKEND FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY. A doctor is always available for advice, consultation or for a visit if the need arises. If you have a medical emergency that cannot wait until the surgery opens next please ring 020 8969 7777. The surgery is a member of the KCW Co-op and all calls are recorded. You will be answered by an operator who will take your details, these are then passed to the duty doctor. Please be prepared to accept telephone advice from the out-of-hours doctors if they think a visit is not necessary. If the doctor thinks you need to be seen out-of-hours, you may be asked to attend an emergency centre. If a home visit is necessary, a GP will attend as soon as possible. REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS Repeat Prescriptions may be given, by agreement with your doctor, for some long term treatments. Attached to each repeat prescription is your request form with details of the medication available to you on a repeat prescription. Please keep this and use it to order your next repeat prescription. The Doctor will want to see you at 4
regular intervals to review your medication and the date that your next review is due is printed on the request form. You will need to make an appointment just before that date. You may either hand in your request for a repeat prescription or post it to the surgery enclosing a stamped addressed envelope. We try to have all repeat prescriptions ready within 48hrs of the time we receive the request in the surgery (not weekends) but you should order your repeat in good time in case the surgery is exceptionally busy. We are very sorry but repeat prescriptions will not be taken over the telephone, however written requests can be put through the surgery letterbox when the surgery is closed. Generic and Brand Name Medicines. Every medicine has two different names, the generic name and the commercial brand name. The generic name is the proper chemical name of the preparation. RESULTS The practice policy is that we only contact patients if there is anything unsatisfactory about the results. However if you are concerned please make an appointment to see the Doctor or the nurse. We do not give out results over the phone. SICKNESS CERTIFICATES. If your illness has lasted more than 7 consecutive days you will need to see a doctor so that a sickness Certificate can be issued. We regret that the GP will be unable to issue a certificate without seeing the patient. If your illness lasts 7 days or less you should complete a Self-Certificate for your employer. ITEMS FOR WHICH THERE IS A CHARGE. Some services are not covered by the NHS. We are pleased to provide these services whenever we are able but they may incur a charge. For example: Private Sick Note, Passport Validation, Private Prescriptions, Insurance Medicals, School Fees Medical, Holiday Cancellation, Copying Notes and Reports, Driving License Medicals, Parking Permits and some vaccinations. Please allow at least three days notice. All charges are in line with the BMA recommended rates. For details please ask at reception. Blood Grouping is not a routine test this can be arranged privately. INTERPRETING SERVICES. The Practice will always try to book an interpreter from a local Interpreting Service for booked appointments with the Doctor or the Nurse for patients who do not have sufficient understanding of English to ensure a successful consultation. Please make it clear to the receptionist if you are booking an appointment for someone who will need an interpreter. 5
SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE PRACTICE WOMEN S AND SEXUAL HEALTH CLINIC. Every Tuesday afternoon 02:30pm to 04:00 pm with the female GP. You will be able to discuss issues around women s and sexual health including contraceptive implant, coil fittings, period problems, menopause, fertility concerns and chlamydia screening. CHILD HEALTH SURVEILLANCE CLINIC Wednesday afternoon 2.00pm 3.00pm (appointment necessary). The Clinic is run by the Health Visitor, Practice Nurse and the Doctor. It is important that all children are immunized against serious childhood illnesses. If you would like more information please speak to the Health Visitor or the Doctor. Remember the clinic is for Well Babies only. Sick children are seen in normal surgeries. ASTHMA The Practice Nurse provides asthma education and monitoring and promotes a self management plan. DIABETES The Practice Nurse provides diabetic education, blood tests as required and monitoring. HYPERTENSION AND HEART DISEASE The Practice Nurse provides Hypertension and Heart Disease education and monitoring. PATIENTS AGED 75 YEARS AND OVER An annual health check is offered to all patients over the age of 75, along with an influenza vaccination. TRAVEL ABROAD We recommend that patients intending to travel abroad seek advice at least six weeks before they intend to travel. Some travelers require types of vaccination that we are unable to provide at this surgery so please seek advice early. For Emergency Treatment Whilst Abroad obtain forms CM1 and E111 from a post office or your local benefits office. This enables you to get emergency medical treatment in the EC. HEALTH SUPPORT TEAM Specialist community Nurses and an Advice Worker provide support and advice to homeless people and/or refugees. HEALTH PROMOTION A healthy life style means: No smoking Sensible drinking Regular exercise Healthy diet 6
Learning to cope with stress Then you ll hardly ever need to see us. CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER Please inform the receptionists as well as your doctor of any change of address / telephone number, this can be vital in an emergency. SUGGESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS We welcome any ideas to improve the service and smooth running of our surgery. If you have any suggestions or complaints please speak to the Practice Manager. We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. Information about this is available from reception. This does not affect your right to approach the local primary care trust if you feel that you cannot raise your complaint with us or if you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. WE ASK YOU TO HELP US BY: Keeping your appointment time Informing us as early as possible if you cannot keep your appointment Being patient if someone is taking more of our time Being polite to staff at all times Helping to keep the surgery premises and surrounding area clean and litterless Making sure the younger members do not damage the fixtures or fittings Trying simple home and common-sense remedies first, before seeking our advice. NHS ZERO TOLERANCE CAMPAIGN In line with the Government and NHS Zero Tolerance Campaign against violence to NHS workers, we believe that all our patients have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect, and equally, we believe that the doctors and staff who work here have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect. Consequently patients who are verbally or physically violent or abusive (this includes swearing at staff) will no longer be able to attend the Medical Centre. PROTECTION AND USE OF PATIENT INFORMATION Patient information is information about you and your health. We ask you for information so that you can receive care and treatment and we keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed when we see you again. You may be receiving care from other people, both in the NHS or outside of it, so we may need to share some information about you so that we can all work together for your benefit. 7
We may use some of this information for other reasons: e.g. to help us protect the health of the public generally and to see that the NHS runs efficiently. This may involve planning services for the future, training staff, investigating complaints, checking quality of care and to check that NHS money is well spent and staff are paid appropriately. Information may also be needed to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone. We are required by law to keep information about you confidential but sometimes the law requires us to pass information on e.g. to notify a birth. Information is not given to third parties without patients permission except in special circumstances. The sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law. Anyone who receives information from us is under a legal duty to keep it confidential. Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and you have the right to say if you do not want information about you given to others. I.T AND INFORMATION CONFIDENTIALTIY AGREEMENT All clinical and non-clinical staff in the practice are required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Agency or third party users who are not already covered by a contract including a confidentiality agreement are also required to sign an agreement with the practice. THE PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY Lancaster Gate Medical Centre is committed to providing high quality GP services in a well organised, modern and friendly setting. Mission statement To meet the healthcare needs of our patient population by effective implementation of the National Service Framework and Primary Care Trust policies. This practice aims to provide the highest quality health care available under the NHS to all its patients with a well trained and motivated primary health care team. The Practice values Patients' medical conditions will be managed according to the highest standards as defined by the profession. Patients will be treated with courtesy and consideration by all our staff. Patients will receive appropriate information about their condition and treatment. 8
The practice will endeavor to educate patients on health care matters whenever possible and the doctors, nurses and staff will be encouraged to pursue appropriate further training. USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS: St Mary s Hospital All Night Chemists 020 7886 6666 Edgware Road 020 7723 2336 Patient Care: 020 7 886 6000 Marble Arch 020 7723 6116 Westminster INWL 0207 150 8000 Benefits Agency (Paddington) 0845 377 0002 Housing and Social Services Helpline (Westminster) 020 7641 6000 Registrar of Births and Deaths (Westminster) 020 7641 1162 CASUALTY SERVICES/ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY (OPEN 24 HOURS) St Mary s Hospital Praed Street London W2 020 7886 6666 You should attend your local casualty service for problems such as: * severe difficulty in breathing * choking * loss of consciousness/blackout * deep bleeding cuts * possible broken bones * severe burns * accidental poisoning (take the container of tablets/liquid swallowed with you to show the doctor) TOOTHACHE If you experience toothache, it should be treated with painkillers available from your local pharmacy. In case of a dental emergency phone your local dentist for advice or contact: Eastman Dental Hospital (24 hr emergency service) 258 Grays Inn Road London WC1 020 7915 1000 EYE EMERGENCY In case of an ophthalmic (eye) emergency please call your GP first or contact: Western Ophthalmic Hospital (24 hr emergency service) Marylebone Road London NW1 020 7886 6666 WALK IN CENTRE Treatment for minor injuries and illnesses such as strains and sprains, coughs and colds can be obtained at the Walk-In Centre. Experienced NHS nurses provide the service, and no appointment is necessary. Soho NHS Walk-in Centre Opening Times: 1 Frith Street (off Soho Square) Mon-Fri 7.30am-9.00pm London W1V 5DH Sat/Sun 10.00am-8pm USING YOUR PHARMACIST OR CHEMIST SHOP The pharmacy/chemist make up NHS and private prescriptions but also provide a wide range of services such as: advice on treatment of minor health problems, how to take your medicinces, and deliveries to house bound patients etc.,. NHS DIRECT (Tel no. 0845 4647) This is a 24-hour confidential telephone helpline staffed by experienced nurses who provide health advice and information about local health services. 9
CONTACTING WESTMINSTER PRIMARY CARE TRUST If you lose your medical card or need a new one for some other reason you should contact the Primary Care Trust directly for this: 020 7150 8000 Practice Location RR/LGMC/Sept 2011 10