Our location
Useful phone numbers
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) 0845 769 7555
CRUSE (bereavement counselling) 01463 713741
Dental helpline 0845 6442271
Department of Social Security (DSS) 01463 663500
District Nurses 01463 234038
Health Visitor 01463 714929
Highland Hospice 01463 243132
Kinmylies Chemist 01463 221094
Marriage guidance/Relate 01463 712888
Osprey House 01463 716888
Raigmore, New Craigs, RNI 01463 704000
Reachout Highland 01463 711585
Samaritans 08457 909090/ 01463 713456
Social work dept 01463 791338
Women’s Aid 01463 220719
Leaflet produced by Kinmylies Medical Practice
Leaflet reviewed February 2012.
Dr Helen Richards MBBCh (Wales 1986); MRCGP;
DRCOG; DCH; DFFP; DPD; PhD
Dr Stuart Smith MBChB (Aberdeen 1991); MRCGP;
MRCP (UK); DRCOG; DFFP
Assynt Road, Inverness, IV3 8PB
Telephone (01463) 239865
Fax (01463) 711218
Website: www.kinmyliesmp.org.uk
Contents
page
Welcome
3
The practice team
4
Registering & general information
6
Surgery opening times
6
Appointments
7
Home visits
7
Evenings and weekends
8
Test results
8
Medical certificates
8
Prescriptions
9
Special services and clinics
10
Community staff
11
Patients’ rights & responsibilities
12
Complaints & comments
12
Accessing your medical records
13
Confidentiality of records & information sharing
13
Useful phone numbers & location map
Back page
Kinmylies Medical Practice is part of the South East Highland Community Health
Partnership: Alder House, Cradlehall Business Park, Inverness IV2 5GH Tel:
01463 706948. Full details about local primary health care services can be
obtained from: Chief Executive, NHS Highland, Assynt House, Beechwood
Business Park, Inverness.
Welcome to Kinmylies Medical Practice
Kinmylies Medical Practice is situated on the western side of the
city of Inverness. Although we serve the whole of Inverness, most of
our patients live close to the practice.
In October 2006, the practice was taken over by a new partnership
comprising two full-time doctors: Dr Helen Richards and Dr Stuart
Smith. The practice has a manager, a deputy manager and five
receptionists. We also employ two practice nurses and one
Associate GP.
We offer a full range of primary care services, including clinics for
chronic diseases such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes;
family planning advice; and minor surgery. In addition, weekly
clinics are held at the practice by a community midwife and a
physiotherapist.
We work closely with the district nurses, and the practice has
access to beds in the Royal Northern Infirmary (our local community
hospital).
Medical students from Aberdeen University are regularly attached to
the practice on 5 week placements.
We aim to provide the very highest standard of medical care to our
patients, within an effective, efficient, well-managed and friendly
small practice. Both partners believe that personal, individualised
care and continuity are best achieved by smaller practices. Details
of how to register are given in this leaflet.
If you would like to suggest ways in which we can improve our
service to patients, please tell us, speak to our reception staff or
write to the practice manager.
3
Dr Helen Richards MBBCh (Wales 1986), MRCGP, DRCOG, DCH,
DFFP, DPD; PhD
Since 1990, Dr Richards has worked in general practice in England
and Scotland. She believes that general practice is best delivered by
small practices which can provide personalised, continuous care for
individuals and families. She has extensive experience of research
and undergraduate teaching. Her clinical area of interest is
dermatology (skin disease).
Dr Stuart Smith MBChB (Aberdeen 1991), MRCGP, MRCP (UK),
DRCOG, DFFP
Dr Stuart Smith has been working in the Highlands since 1996, with
widespread experience from remote, rural and urban general
practices. He has a background in hospital medicine, having gained
MRCP.
Associate GP
Dr Alison Nicholls MBChB (Aberdeen 2002), MRCGP, DRCOG,
DFFP
Dr Nicholls consults on Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon.
Practice Nurses
Heather MacFadyen RGN is primarily responsible for managing
chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic airways
disease (COPD) and asthma.
Wendy Tait RGN, Dip DN, BSc, NP, joined us in July 2007. She
carries out all general nursing duties (blood tests, ECGs etc) and is
increasingly involved in chronic disease management.
Rachel Mackay is a fully trained phlebotomist who runs a weekly
phlebotomy clinic.
Medical students
Medical students are tomorrow’s GPs and hospital doctors. Medical
students greatly value their time at the practice and it is a crucial
opportunity for them to experience a wealth of medicine and learn
about the importance of general practice to UK health care. The
University of Aberdeen and its students regard our practice very
highly and we value your help in teaching these doctors-to-be.
Administration staff
We are also involved in the further training of ‘FY2 Doctors’ who are
completing their ‘Foundation Programme’. These Doctors join the
practice for periods of four months throughout the year; they hold
their own surgeries but are be closely supported by the GPs. The
name of the current FY2 Doctor is available from reception.
Practice Manager
Mr Steven Addie is our practice manager. He is responsible for the
smooth running of the practice and is happy to help with any
queries or concerns.
Reception Team
4
Our receptionists are Martine, Laura, Rachel, Cath, and Susan.
They are here to support our clinicians and to help you. They make
appointments; answer the phone, handle enquiries, typing and deal
with prescription requests.
5
Registering at Kinmylies Medical Practice
Patients are asked to complete a registration form and health
questionnaire. A ‘new patient check’ appointment will be offered with
one of our nurses. She will ask about your health, and will check
your height, weight, blood pressure and urine. She may advise you
to see one of the doctors.
You will be registered with the practice, but not with a specific doctor.
You are welcome to see the doctor of your choice, but this may
mean you have to wait longer for an appointment.
Surgery opening times
The surgery is open every day from 8am until 6pm, except
Wednesdays, when it closes from 12.30pm to 2.30pm for staff
training.
On Wednesday, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, a doctor is available for
emergencies by contacting the practice on (01463) 239865 and
listening to the message.
Dr Smith does not consult on Monday afternoon or Friday and Dr
Richards does not consult on Tuesday afternoon or Thursday.
Appointments
Routine appointments
Consultations are by appointment. A standard appointment is 10
minutes. In order to run to time, doctors can normally only deal with
one problem during a single appointment. If you think that you need
more time, please make a ‘double appointment’. Patients will be
seen within 20 minutes of their appointment time, or be offered an
explanation for the delay.
If you do not specify a doctor, you will normally get an appointment
within 2 working days. If an appointment is not available within 2
days, a phone appointment will be offered for that day.
Urgent appointments
If you think you need an urgent appointment please phone as early
as possible. You will either be seen that day, or will be offered a
phone appointment that day with a doctor.
Phone appointments
For your convenience, we offer phone appointments. When you
make a phone appointment, a receptionist will arrange a time that
the doctor will call you.
Home visits
Dr Nicholls consults on Thursday and Friday afternoons.
The practice closes at 1.30pm on four “NHS REACT” training days
throughout the year. These dates are on display in the waiting room.
The practice is covered by NHS 24 on REACT training afternoons
(see page 8 for NHS24 information).
6
If you require a home visit, please phone the surgery before 10am.
The receptionist will ask you for a phone number so that a doctor
can contact you, if necessary, before attending. The receptionist
may ask you some questions to allow visits to be prioritised. It is
very time-consuming for the doctor to do house calls, and generally
safer to assess patients at the surgery, so whenever possible, you
will be encouraged to attend the surgery.
7
Evenings and weekends
Prescriptions
For urgent medical care outside surgery hours, please contact NHS
24, on 08454 24 24 24. You will be offered advice or asked to attend
the ‘Out of Hours’ Centre at Raigmore Hospital.
Repeat prescriptions
The practice will inform you of any abnormal results. However,
please phone for results one week after a blood test, or two weeks
after an x-ray, even if you have not heard from us.
Your repeat prescription can be renewed without seeing a doctor.
All prescriptions have a tear-off re-order slip. When you are nearing
the end of your prescription, please post or deliver your re-order slip
to the surgery (using the post-box in the foyer, or order via our
website). Your medication will be at your chemist 48 hours later.
From time to time, you may be asked to make an appointment for a
medication review.
Medical certificates
Special requests
For the first five working days of sickness absence, you can
complete a ‘self-certificate’ (SC2) - available at reception. Doctors
can only provide a certificate for absence after the first five days. A
certificate for a new period of absence can only be dated from the
day that you are seen, unless we have a report from another doctor.
Some medicines (such as antidepressants and pain-killers) are
generally not available as repeat prescriptions because we want to
closely monitor their use. These will not automatically appear on the
tear-off slip. However, they can be ordered as a ‘special request’, by
writing the name of the medicine on the tear-off slip and either
posting or delivering it to the surgery or by email.
Test results
Please note that for reasons of safety, we cannot not take
orders for any prescriptions (repeat prescriptions or special
requests) over the phone.
Repeat prescriptions can be arranged by visiting our website at
www.kinmyliesmp.org.uk and clicking on the ‘prescriptions’ link.
8
9
Special services and clinics
Community staff
The nurses
Chronic disease clinics The nurses run clinics for diabetes,
hypertension, heart disease, epilepsy, asthma and chronic airways
disease (COPD).
Health promotion The nurses run health promotion clinics such as:
‘well-woman’ (including cervical smears and contraception), ‘wellman’, smoking cessation and advice about alcohol and diet.
Travel advice Patients needing advice about vaccinations or other
matters relating to foreign travel should ask for a travel advice form
from reception. An appointment will be made to discuss your travel
plans with the practice nurse. There may be a charge for some
vaccines and tablets.
The doctors
Minor surgery Both doctors perform minor surgery, such as removal
of skin lesions. In addition, Dr Smith carries out joint injections.
Patients are first assessed by a doctor and then advised about the
type of appointment they need for the procedure.
A number of additional services are provided by community based
colleagues attached to Kinmylies Medical Practice, including district
nurses, health visitors, the community midwife and a
physiotherapist.
District nurses District nurses provide care to patients in their own
homes (mainly older people or those with chronic ill health or
disability). They aim to promote independence, and to prevent
hospital admissions. The district nurse attached to the practice is
Marie Lumsden.
Health Visitor The health visitor carries out home visits, from newborn to school age; gives advice before and after the birth of a
baby, such as advice on postnatal depression; provides health
promotion in the family setting. The health visitor attached to
Kinmylies is Janette Ferguson, who can be contacted through the
practice.
Contraception Both doctors provide contraception, including the
‘morning after’ pill (which can be obtained using a phone
appointment).
Community midwife The community midwife offers care and
advice throughout pregnancy and immediately after. On becoming
pregnant, women may make an appointment for ‘antenatal booking’
with the midwife without first needing to see a doctor. The
community midwife attached to this practice is Joan Kelly, who
holds a weekly clinic on Tuesday afternoons.
Minor injury We offer a service for minor injuries. If possible, make
an appointment with the nurse, but if there are no appointments
available, a doctor or nurse will assess minor injuries without an
appointment.
Physiotherapist The physiotherapist offers initial assessment and
advice to patients with musculoskeletal problems. She holds a
weekly clinic on Thursday afternoons. The physiotherapist attached
to this practice is Neil Brotherstone.
10
11
Patient rights and responsibilities
If you wish to talk to someone out with the practice, please contact:
Behaviour
Complaints Team, NHS Highland, John Dewar Building, Inverness Retail
Park, Highlander Way, Inverness, IV2 7GE. Telephone 01463 705997 or
Email: nhshighland.complaints@nhs.net
We aim to treat our patients courteously at all times. We expect
patients to treat our staff in a similar way. Abusive behaviour by
patients towards staff is taken seriously. If a patient is abusive, they
will be given a warning. If the behaviour persists, the patient may be
removed from the practice list.
Cancellation of appointments
On page 7, normal waiting times for seeing a doctor are given. In
order to meet these standards, the practice tries to minimise the
number of missed appointments. Please phone to cancel your
appointment if it is not needed, so that it can be allocated to another
patient. Patients who persistently miss appointments may be
removed from the practice list.
Complaints and comments
We operate a complaints procedure, which complies with national
criteria. If you wish to make a complaint, please write to or speak to
the practice manager. You will receive an acknowledgement of your
complaint within two working days, and a formal response within ten
working days. In investigating your complaint, we aim to find out
what happened and what may have gone wrong; enable you to
discuss the problem with those concerned; ensure you receive an
apology, if appropriate; and try to prevent the same thing happening
in the future. It would be helpful if you could inform us of any
complaint as soon as possible, and, at the latest, within 12 months.
12
Accessing your medical records
You are entitled to access your clinical records held by the practice.
A written request should be made to the practice manager, stating
exactly what information you require.
A charge of between £10 and £50 will be made.
Confidentiality of records & information sharing
The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical
Records legislation. When necessary, information about patients
may be shared between health care professionals, and (with the
patient’s consent) with other agencies such as the social work
department. Information can also be shared when we have a duty to
others, for example in child protection cases.
Anonymous patient data (i.e. with all identifying information
removed) will also be used at local and national level to help the
local health board and government to plan services.
Practices undergo regular inspections, in which all aspects of
patient care are examined including the inspection of randomlyselected medical records. The assessors adhere to a strict code of
confidentiality. If you do not wish your records to be inspected,
please inform the practice manager.
13