Hawthorn Drive Medical Practice
The Prospectus
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Our Philosophy
“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how
to do something well is to enjoy it.” – Pearl Buck
We strive to deliver a first class medical service to the community we serve
and to enjoy our work as a team.
Our Practice
Hawthorn Drive Surgery had its beginnings as a single handed practice in
1959. It has grown over the years and its staff include 2 full time GPs, 1 part
time female GP, 2 female nurse practitioners, 1 nurse 2 health care
assistants, 1 counsellor, 1 practice manager, 1 office manager, 3 secretaries,
7 receptionists/administrative staff.
The current practice population is 7670. We operate from a single surgery
building which was purpose-built in 1984 to incorporate the practice and
neighbouring pharmacy (Lloyds Pharmacy). The building is currently owned
by two retired partners.
We provide a full range of general practice services: child health surveillance,
family planning, maternity care, minor surgery and chronic disease
management clinics.
The practice is fully computerised using System One. We run a very paper
light system with all clinical encounters, laboratory results and
correspondence being recorded electronically. Important aspects of clinical
data entry are agreed by all the clinicians as a team, and templates have been
developed to aid consistent data entry. Computerised audits are frequently
used as a tool to help improve practice, in response to new developments
(e.g. the market withdrawal of a medication) and for administrative purposes.
The Practice Area
The Hawthorn Drive Practice area covers a conveniently tight geographical
area. The majority of our patients live within a mile and a half of the practice
within the Chantry Estate. We also have a few patients in the nearby villages
of Copdock, Washbrook, Belstead, Sproughton and Burstall.
“We work well together as a team. (It) can be stressful but (we)
always have backup.” Shirley Hazelwood, healthcare assistant
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The Working Week
The surgery is open from Monday to Friday 08:00 to18:30 with emergency
calls being taken from 08:00 to18:30. Outside these times primary medical
services are provided by Suffolk Doctors on Call (SDOC). SDOC started as a
GP co-operative to cover out of hours work. In addition to providing out of
hours work for GPs SDOC provides a chance to rub shoulders with GPs from
other practices.
There is a daily doctors meeting at 12:00 to discuss any burning clinical
issues, assign the visits and administrative work. All work, including the
daytime emergency cover is distributed equitably.
Patients are seen by appointment through an advanced access system.
Patients can only book appointments three working days ahead although
individual clinicians can book patients in further ahead if necessary. Demand
for appointments is managed through a telephone triage system.
The clinics are structured according to the preference of the individual
clinician. However, the number of consultations is fixed to provide an
equitable work load between doctors.
The Nursing Team
As well as being an integral part of the medical team Judith Osborne, one of
our nurse practitioners, heads the nursing team. This consists of Judith
Osborne, Tabetha Snape (nurse practitioner), Sally-Ann Fuller (nurse), Julie
Moore (healthcare assistant) and Shirley Hazelwood (healthcare assistant).
Together the nursing team run a full range of nursing duties including asthma,
hypertension, family planning, diabetes and chronic disease management for
coronary heart disease.
Practice Development
The partners and the practice manager meet weekly to discuss day to day
business issues of the practice. In addition to this, half day “away days” are
organised to consider the medium and long term direction of the practice.
These meetings are more inclusive. All the GPs are invited together with the
Nurse Practitioners, Practice Manager and Office Manager.
Fees and Allowances
All income earned at the practice is Partnership income except seniority
payments, which are allocated to individual doctors. Extra work payments, for
example hospital practitioner posts and out of hours work, are also retained
individually.
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The wider primary healthcare team
The practice enjoys good relations with the community nursing team with
whom we co-ordinate the care of the house bound.
The practice’s health visitor and midwife run clinics within the surgery. They
are both dynamic and experienced practitioners.
Secondary Care Facilities
Secondary care is provided by two Hospitals within Ipswich. Ipswich Hospital
HNS Trust provides all non-psychiatric services and psycho-geriatric services
and St Clements Hospital alongside Woodlands provides general psychiatric
services. In addition St Elizabeth’s Hospice, adjacent to Ipswich Hospital,
offers palliative and terminal care both for hospice inpatients and patients
cared for in the community through a hospice at home project. The Treehouse
at East Anglian Children’s Hospice provides accommodation and services to
children and their families in a non-clinical environment.
Brief Biographies of GPs and Nurse Practitioner
Dr Bettina Weiske-Lippert
Dr Winnfried Brenneis
Dr Sengapalli Ravichandran
Judith Osborne nurse practitioner (45 yrs old): Completed her Nurse
Practitioner training after joining Hawthorn Drive in 2002. Full of dynamism
there are few areas of Medicine in which she does not take an interest but her
leading interests are in respiratory disease and diabetes.
Tabetha Snape
Sally-Ann Fuller
Shirley Hazelwood
Julie Moore
“Good team working is often very demanding but able to make a
difference to health of many groups of patients within practice
population.” Judith Osborne, Nurse Practitioner.
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Life beyond Work
.Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk and is
surrounded by the attractive East Anglian
countryside and coastline. It is a busy working town
with some attractive medieval features and a
Victorian dockland area developed for recreation.
Ipswich has an extensive range of entertainment
and leisure facilities that include multi screen
cinema complexes, theatres, theme pubs,
nightclubs, an international swimming pool, and
sports centres. Local access to the rivers Orwell
and Deben offer excellent sailing and recreational
facilities. Golf is also a popular local sport
Ipswich Marina
The town is well supplied with the major national retail chains as well as an
abundance of coffee shops in the town centre (there is even a coffee shop in
the main public library!). Smaller local towns offer a contrasting range of
independent specialist retailers and boutiques.
Ipswich and the surrounding area offer a good choice of houses from new
builds to traditional village properties.
Communication links are good with London approximately 1 hour away by
train, and Cambridge and Norwich are within easy reach. Going further afield
the continent can be reached through the nearby port of Harwich, through
London Stanstead and Norwich International airports which are about an hour
away by car.
Ipswich has a good range of both primary and secondary schools, with a
choice between state and independent Day and Boarding schools within the
town and in the immediate area. Recently the number of private day nurseries
has increased offering working parents flexible approach to childcare, a
number of which are conveniently close to the Surgery.
Present Recruiting Campaign
The practice is able to offer a bespoke GP
position to suitable candidate(s). The
nature of the post will be negotiated
depending upon the candidate’s needs
and the needs of the Surgery.
Currently full time is considered to be 8
clinical sessions a week. Annual leave
The Ancient House Ipswich
entitlement is 8 working week equivalents
(including study leave and bank holidays) for full time GPs or pro-rata
equivalent. You are very welcome, and encouraged to visit the practice
informally by prior arrangement to meet the practice team and to see at first
hand how the practice operates.
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