WAWN STREET SURGERY
WAWN STREET
SOUTH SHIELDS, NE33 4DX
TELEPHONE 0191 4542211
SURGERY PROFILE
May 2015
General Practice
General practitioners (GPs) work in primary care and are part of a clinical
commissioning group (CCG) which have responsibility for purchasing healthcare
from secondary healthcare providers, such as acute/hospital and community/mental
health trusts and the independent and voluntary sector.
Changes to the healthcare system in England means that the NHS will need more
GPs in the future and the number of training places is increasing. It is anticipated
that up to 50% of all specialty training places in the future will be in general practice.
General practice is an essential part of medical care throughout the world. GPs are
also the first point of contact for most patients. The bulk of the work is carried out
during consultations in the surgery and during home visits. General practice allows
individual doctors a wide choice of where to practice, with whom and how.
GPs provide a complete spectrum of care within the local community: dealing with
problems that often combine physical, psychological and social components. They
increasingly work in teams with other professions, helping patients to take
responsibility for their own health.
They attend patients in surgery and primary care emergency centres if clinically
necessary, visit their homes and will be aware of and take account of physical,
psychological and social factors in looking after their patients.
GPs call on an extensive knowledge of medical conditions to be able to assess a
problem and decide on the appropriate course of action. They know how and when
to intervene, through treatment, prevention and education, to promote the health of
their patients and families.
The wide mix of general practice is one of the major attractions. There can be huge
variation in the needs of individual patients during a single surgery. No other
specialty offers such a wide remit of treating everything from pregnant women to
babies and from mental illness to sports medicine. Individual doctors may develop
special interests in diverse areas. General practice gives the opportunity to prevent
illness and not just treat it.
There are opportunities to become involved in hospital work, in education of those
training to be general practitioners (course organisers and tutors) or in local issues
(for example on Local Medical Committees or clinical commissioning groups).
Individual general practitioners can reach a relatively high income early in their
career and it is one of the specialties most suited to part time and flexible working.
Most GPs are independent contractors to the NHS. This independence means that
in most cases, they are responsible for providing adequate premises from which to
practise and for employing their own staff.
Practice Premises
The purpose-built premises, which have been extended over the years, are bright,
modern and well-maintained. The clinical area is on the ground floor and there is a
council car park adjacent to the surgery. On entering the building, there is a foyer
which leads to the reception and large waiting room. The waiting room leads to the
main ground floor corridor with fourteen GP consulting rooms, treatment rooms,
patient and staff toilets, a meeting room and a number of storage cupboards.
Stairs lead to the first floor where there is a meeting/training room with combined
library, an open-plan office for the secretaries/summarisers and support staff. There
is another office for the administrative staff and two further offices for the practice
manager and deputy practice manager. There is also a kitchen, staff room, doctor’s
staff room, stationery cupboard, server/photocopier room and toilets.
The Practice Philosophy
Wawn Street Surgery is a friendly and well-organised practice aspiring to providing
high quality care for patients and a good working environment. The Partners and
Management value the staff and support excellent team-working. The practice has
a good reputation and a strong ethos with GP training.
The practice tries to
maximise income opportunities, achieving high targets for QOF (Quality and
Outcomes Framework), and participating in many enhanced services. Patient
satisfaction from national surveys is generally high.
The Patients
There are currently around 9,100 patients registered with the practice with a list size
which is steadily growing. The patient list consists of a mix of socio economic
groups, with a few pockets of deprivation. The practice has recently taken over the
care of patients in a local care home.
The practice is open from 8.30am-6.00pm, Monday to Friday, with evening
appointments until 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The practice has a patient participation group (PPG) which is working well to involve
and engage with patients. The Managing Partner, Deputy Practice Manager and a
GP Partner attend meetings which are held every other month.
Services to Patients
In addition to general medical services, offered via a General Medical Services
(GMS) Contract, the following services are provided on site:
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Diabetes Clinics
CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) Clinics
Respiratory Clinics (COPD and Asthma)
Hypertension Clinics
NHS Health Checks
Contraceptive Clinic (Nurse Led Clinic) as well as GPs
Minor Illness Clinic (Nurse Led Clinic – patients aged 18 and over only)
Minor Surgery Clinics – GPs
Insertion/Removal of Subcutaneous Contraceptive Implants
Smoking Cessation Clinic – Led by the Health Care Assistant
Midwives, mental health and drug link-workers, district nurses and health visitors
work in partnership with the surgery, using on-site facilities when appropriate.
The practice is a member of the local Clinical Commissioning Group which involves
GP Partners, Managers and Nurses attending regular meetings. The Practice
Manager is on the Board of South Tyneside Care, a local Federation and Provider
Organisation and holds the position of Finance and HR Lead.
Organisational Structure
The Partners
The four Partners are independent contractors, running the business in partnership
with each other. As with all other independent NHS contractors, the Partners are
responsible for running the business affairs of the practice, providing adequate
premises and infrastructure to provide safe patient services.
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Dr Rakesh Bhalla – GP Partner
Dr Caroline Gill – GP Partner
Dr Karen Riddle – GP Partner
Mrs Debbie Hamilton – Managing Partner
The Management Team
Managing Partner – Mrs Debbie Hamilton
Deputy Practice Manager – Mrs Sharon Tufts
Reception Team Leaders – Ms Sharon Riley and Ms Faye Clifford
The Structure
The Managing Partner is responsible for Strategic Business Development and
provides leadership and management skills to enable the Practice to meet its aims
and objectives within a profitable, efficient, safe and effective working environment.
The Deputy Practice Manager is responsible for the production of performance and
quality standards within the Practice and oversees the reporting and claims process
for work undertaken as part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and
enhanced national or local services.
The GP’s provide general medical services managing a caseload and dealing with a
wide range of health needs in a primary care setting, ensuring the highest standards
of care for all registered and temporary patients. GP’s manage a busy and
interesting clinical caseload which includes leading on key disease areas
(monitoring trends in the Quality and Outcomes Framework, treatment, staff training
and prescribing) and assisting in developing appropriate healthcare services for a
diverse patient list (commissioning, patient participation and health promotion).
The Reception Services Team Leaders are responsible for the day to day
supervision of all reception staff and associated functions (including repeat
prescribing) to ensure the smooth running of our frontline services. Responsibility
includes ensuring all functions are carried out in accordance with agreed
procedures, protocols and time-scales.
Our Receptionists receive, assist and direct patients in accessing the appropriate
service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way. The
reception team provide general assistance to the Practice team as a whole and
project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person
or via the telephone. This role includes administrative tasks associated with patient
access, processing prescriptions and providing an efficient and safe system of
medication queries and reviews. All administrative tasks require liaising with
relevant parties, including phone contact with patients and healthcare professionals.
The Secretary’s provide general secretarial support to the Senior Management
Team, Doctors and Health Professionals including word processing and audio
typing skills, general clerical work, summarise and Read Code relevant information
from patient’s clinical records into the Practice computer system.
Our Admin Support Team provide complex administrative support and services to all
members of the Practice team, including the co-ordinating of clinics.
Practice Nurses assist medical personnel in the care of Practice patients which
include treatment, preventative care, screening and patient education.
Healthcare Assistants assist the Practice clinical team in the provision and delivery
of prescribed programmes of patient care.
Our Domestic team are responsible for the hygiene, cleanliness and upkeep of the
surgery premises.
GP Training
The practice is a GP training practice with currently one of the Partners fulfilling the
role of a GP Trainer. There are at any one time up to two GP registrars at the
practice, GP registrars are qualified doctors, training to become a General
Practitioner. The practice also trains medical students and takes part in medical
research.
Financial Management
The Managing Partner is responsible for the financial management of the practice.
The payroll and pensions administration are outsourced to a specialist accountancy
company.
The Managing Partner oversees income and expenditure, bank
reconciliations, managing the practice bank accounts, making payments, managing
the payroll and pensions administration and provides cash flow forecasts and
budgetary controls.
Management of Human Resources
The Managing Partner is responsible for ensuring that the practice is staffed and
resourced within the budget by people with appropriate skills, experience and
commitment to provide the professional, technical, administrative and inter-personal
expertise needed.
Policy and Planning
The Managing Partner and Deputy Practice Manager are responsible for regularly
reviewing the organisation and developments within and outside the practice which
will impact directly or indirectly. This includes involvement in local and national
agencies which formulate and influence primary health care strategy.
Computing and Information Technology
The Managing Partner and Deputy Practice Manager are responsible for ensuring
the effective management of information within the practice, and with outside
agencies. The practice is well advanced in terms of computerisation, with shared
drives. The clinical IT system is EMIS. There is a practice Website (www.wawnstreet-surgery.nhs.uk) which provides practice information and on-line
appointments. New Clinical and Telecommunications Systems were installed in
January 2013. The practice has more recently (April 2015) introduced a
computerised workflow system for patient data known as Docman.
Management of operational systems
The Deputy Practice Manager is responsible for the effective and efficient working
systems and operational systems within the practice. This includes making sure the
summarising of clinical information on to the patient medical records and
summarising of notes is kept up to the necessary levels. Managing systems under
the Quality and Outcome Framework (organisational and clinical) and approving and
implementing enhanced services and other contractual services.
Management of premises, equipment and stock
The Managing Partner and Deputy Practice Manager are responsible for the
management of the surgery premises which is currently owned by two existing
partners. The management team advise the practice in making full and effective use
of its current premises, equipment and stock.
Partners and Staff Meetings
The Managing Partner is responsible for the management of partnership issues and
to provide support to partners and the partnership to ensure excellent team-working
and a sound legal framework. The Partners and Deputy Practice Manager meet
once a month for a partnership meeting. The two Finance Partners meet once a
month for a finance meeting.
Other meetings include educational and multi-disciplinary meetings to discuss
patient care, business development meetings.
Agendas of meetings are planned
by the Deputy Practice Manager in conjunction with the chairperson. There are
other ad hoc meetings and occasional social events.