The Village Medical Practice
The Village Medical Practice
Vernon House
164 Station Road
West Moors
DORSET, BH22 0JB
Tel (1): 01202 871999
Tel (2): 01202 877185
01202 892080
Fax:
Website www.TheVillageMedicalPractice.co.uk
When the surgery is closed call 0845 600 10 13
Welcome to The Village Medical Practice
The doctors and staff at The Village Medical Practice surgery in West Moors, Dorset are proud to
offer the highest standard of patient-centred healthcare. We run many clinics for the management
of chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes and offer a wide variety of other medical
services including antenatal and postnatal care, minor surgery, childhood vaccinations and wellperson check-ups.
In addition to everything you need to know about the practice you will also find a wealth of
health-related information in the menu on the right hand side. Please have a look around and do
send us some feedback if you like.
The Surgery is on one level with parking outside. The toilets are suitable for wheelchairs etc and
have a panic button installed. All doorways are extra wide and the entrance door has a fold back
facility.
Opening Times
Morning
Afternoon
Monday
8.30-1.00
2.00-6.30pm
Tuesday
8.30-1.00
2.00-6.30pm
Wednesday
8.30-1.00
2.00-6.30pm
Thursday
8.30-1.00
2.00-6.30pm
Friday
8.30-1.00
2.00-6.30pm
closed
Weekend
Closed for lunch between 1.00 and 2.00 - telephone still answered
Consulting Times
Morning
Afternoon
Monday
9.00-11.30
4.30-7.30 *
Tuesday
9.00-11.30
3.30-5.00
Wednesday
9.00-11.30
4.30-6.30
Thursday
9.00-11.30
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Friday
9.00-11.30
4.30-6.30
Weekend
closed
* Monday 6.30pm-7.30pm routine/pre-booked appointments only
When We Are Closed
If you have a medical emergency that will not wait until the surgery is open, you may telephone
the Urgent Care Service on 0845 600 10 13.
You may be given advice over the telephone or be asked to attend a treatment centre. If
necessary, you may be visited at home.
NHS Direct
In the case of urgent need when the practice is closed you can call NHS Direct
(www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/) (0845 4647) to speak to a triage nurse. Your needs will be assessed and
advice offered or arrangements made for you to see a doctor.
Please do not ask to see a doctor out of hours unless you genuinely cannot wait until the surgery
re-opens.
Call 999 in an emergency. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an
emergency.
Clinics
Practice Nurse Clinics
Monday
9.00am-1.00pm
Wednesday
9.00am-1.00pm
Friday
9.00am-1.00pm
Phlebotomist Clinics
Wednesday
9.00am-12.30pm
Midwife Clinics
Alternate monday mornings
Appointments
To book an appointment please contact the surgery between 8.30am and 6.30pm
All consultations and clinics are by appointment only –
If you cannot keep your appointment please advise the surgery as soon as possible so that we can
offer the appointment to someone else.
If you feel you cannot wait until the next available routine appointment, please advise the
Receptionist and you will be offered an urgent appointment.
Home Visits
If you are too ill to attend the surgery and you require a home visit please request this before
10.30am by telephoning one of the surgery telephone numbers.
Please give the Receptionist as much information as you can as this will help the Doctor to
prioritise his calls.
Telephone Advice
You may telephone the surgery between 12.00 noon and 1.00pm for a telephone consultation
with the Doctor or Nurse.
Repeat Prescriptions
If you are on regular medication you will probably not need to see the Doctor to obtain a repeat
prescription. Please tick the items you require on the computer slip which is attached to the right
hand side of your prescription and place it in the box at Reception.
Let the Reception staff know if there is any medication on the list which you are no longer
taking.
Please allow 48 hours for repeat prescriptions. If your request is urgent please advise
Reception who will make every effort to have your prescription ready the same day.
Please do not telephone for repeat prescriptions. These should be requested in writing by
calling into Reception or by posting a request through the letterbox if the surgery is closed.
If you would like your prescription posted, please enclose an SAE.
Our local Pharmacies offer a prescription collection service. Please let Reception know if you
would prefer to collect your prescription from:
Reception Moors Pharmacy,
Farm Road,
West Moors
Boots the Chemist,
Tricketts Cross (next to Sainsburys)
To help us minimize mistakes, may we ask that you collect your prescription from the same
place each time.
If you live more than one mile from a Pharmacy, we are a Dispensing Practice and will
supply your medication(s) directly to you.
Prescriptions Charges and Exemptions
Extensive exemption and remission arrangements protect those likely to have difficulty in paying
charges (NHS prescription and dental charges, optical and hospital travel costs).
The NHS prescription charge is a flat-rate amount which successive Governments have thought
it reasonable to charge for those who can afford to pay for their medicines. Prescription
prepayment certificates (PPCs) offer real savings for people who need extensive medication.
NHS charges
From 1 April 2009, the charges are:
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Prescription (per item): £7.20
12-month prepayment certificate (PPC): £104.00
3-month PPC: £28.25
If you will have to pay for four or more prescription items in three months, or more than 14 items
in 12 months, you may find it cheaper to buy a PPC. The charge for a single prescription item is
£7.20, whereas a three month PPC will cost you £28.25 and a 12 month PPC £104.00.
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Telephone advice and order line 0845 850 0030
General Public - Buy or Renew a PPC On-line
There is further information about prescription exemptions and fees on the NHS website
(www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx)
Please allow 48 hours, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays, for your request to be processed.
Any problems please telephone the surgery.
Clinics & Services
Clinics & Services
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Asthma and diabetes checks
Wound and ulcer dressings
Cervical smears,
Adult and child immunisations
Smoke stop advice
Well woman
Well man advice
Contraception
Antenatal and postnatal care
Test Specimens & Results
Test Specimens & Results
Please hand specimens to Reception in sterile containers (available from Reception) and ensure
that they are correctly labelled.
Specimens must be handed in by 12.45pm to enable us to have them ready for collection by
hospital transport.
Please telephone for test results after 3pm.
Please allow 14 days for results to be fully processed.
All test results, as well as all correspondence, are viewed by the Doctor and you will be
contacted by the surgery if we need to pass on any messages to you.
We will not contact you if your results are normal.
If you wish to contact the surgery yourself for test results, please telephone in the afternoon. Our
Reception staff can only discuss test results with the patient concerned.
Non NHS Services
Non NHS Medical Examinations and Services
Some of our services fall outside the NHS and charges are made for these. They include private
medical certificates, countersigning passport forms and photos, some immunisations, completion
of private health insurance forms, certain private letters, various medical examinations. Please
ask Reception staff for details.
Registration
New Patient Registration
The doctors welcome new patients who live within our practice area. As it often takes sometime
for records to be forwarded from your former practice all newly registered patients will be asked
to complete a health questionnaire and are offered a consultation with the doctor.
Medical treatment is available from the date of registration. Please contact reception for further
information.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality
The practice complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. The Data
Protection Act gives you a number of rights in relation to how your personal information is used,
including a right to access information we hold about you. Identifiable information about you
will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
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To provide further medical treatment for you eg from district nurses and hospital services
To enable our patients to be included in regional and national programmes such as the
cervical cytology screening services or immunisation programmes
To help you get other services eg from social services
When we have a duty to others eg in child protection cases
Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health
Board and Government plan services eg for diabetic care. If you do not wish anonymous
information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their
jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.
Freedom of Information
The ICO has published a new Model Publication Scheme that all public authorities are required
to adopt.
Model Publication Scheme - further information
(www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/introductory/freedom_of_in
formation_factsheet.pdf)
Comments & Complaints
Comments & Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a
genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly,
and as amicably, as possible.
To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager and she will deal with your concerns
appropriately. Further written information is available on the complaints procedure from
reception.
We are continually striving to improve our service. Any helpful suggestions would be much
appreciated and a suggestion box is located in the waiting area.
The Health Service Ombudsman
The Health Service Ombudsman has published a booklet that describes the ‘six principles for
remedy’ in relation to complaints handling and involves:
1. Getting it right
2. Being customer focused
3. Being open and accountable
4. Acting fairly and proportionately
5. Putting things right
6. Seeking continuous improvements
If you remain unhappy after everything has been done to try to resolve your concern or
complaint you have the right to approach the Ombudsman.
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Write: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP.
Rights & Responsibilities
Rights & Responsibilities
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To receive a practice leaflet
To be treated with courtesy and respect
To be offered appointments within 48 hours with a healthcare professional
To be given information about your health and any treatment by a healthcare professional
and have the opportunity to ask or discuss and worries or concerns
To receive a prescription with 48 hours of ordering
To attend promptly for appointments or to cancel appointments in good time if you
cannot attend
To be removed from the practice list if violent or abusive to any of the healthcare team
Your right to confidentiality will be maintained
Change of Personal Details
In case we have to contact you urgently, please notify us immediately if your address or
telephone number changes.
Other contacts
Accident and Emergency
Both Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Castle Lane East, Bournemouth and Poole Hospital, Longfleet Rd, Poole
have A&E Departments.
In an extreme emergency such as chest pains or severe bleeding, please do not hesitate to call 999.
Minor Injuries
Victoria Hospital, Wimborne has a nurse-led Minor Injury Unit open daily from 8.30am-6.30pm, tel 01202
858255.
Staff Details
Doctors
Dr T H
McKinstry
BSc, MB, BCh, BAO registered in Belfast in 1979.
Some Background Information on Dr McKinstry:
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Batchelor of Science
Batchelor of Medicine
Batchelor of Surgery
Batchelor of Obstetrics
Holder of Family Planning Certificate
Physician Approved under the Mental Health Act
Life Member of Association of Psychiatrists (A.P.I.T.)
Council Member of the British Medical Association
Fellow of the Belfast Royal Academy
Previous Posts Held Include:
 Past Chairman of East Dorset Division of the British Medical
Association
 Deputy Police Surgeon to Dorset Constabulary
 Physician to World Professional Billiards and Snooker
Association
 Casualty Officer Royal Bournemouth Hospital
 Registrar in Psychiatry St Ann’s Hospital, Bournemouth
 Forensic Medical Officer to the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Nurses
Our highly trained Practice Nurses are available by appointment for
asthma and diabetes checks, wound and ulcer dressings, cervical smears,
routine BP checks, adult and child immunisations, travel immunisations,
smoke stop advice, ear syringing, general advice, well woman and well
man advice, weight checks, contraceptive advice.
Caroline
Syms
Phlebotomists
Holly
Bennett
We have a hospital trained Phlebotomist who takes blood samples and BP
checks on behalf of Dr McKinstry and the Practice Nurses. The
Phlebotomist clinics are always very busy and if we are unable to offer you
a suitable appointment, you will be advised to attend the hospital for your
blood test. If this is the case, you will be given information by reception
staff.
If you are attending the Phlebotomist for a warfarin blood test, please
remember to bring an SAE with your yellow book so that the book can be
posted back to you from the hospital.
Practice Management
Tracey Robinson
Reception
Anthea
Knight
Anita
Clarke
Gill
Chandler
Holly
Bennett
June Edge
The Reception staff are here to help. They do an extremely demanding
and busy job so please be patient if you have to wait a little while to be
attended to. Please do not ask the Reception staff for medical advice as
they are unable to help with this.
Community Midwives
The Community Midwife is responsible for antenatal and postnatal care. Messages
can be left for her via Reception.
Community Nurses
The Community District Nurses offer a full nursing service for the housebound and
messages can be left for them to contact patients at Reception.
Health Visitors
The Health Visiting Team are involved with the care of all patient groups but
particularly expectant mothers, young families and the elderly. They run baby
clinics and carry out child development checks. The Health Visitor can be reached
on 01202 829101 which may be an answer-phone and messages can also be left at
Reception.
Dispensers
Gill Chandler
Anita Clarke