Our Services – Your Health Partnership

Core NHS Services

Patient Services Team; Reception and Telephony

Patient Services Manager: Gina Smart

Our Patient Services Team is here to help you to navigate our services; they will usually be your first point of contact with the practice either in person at our reception desks, or over the phone through our centralised telephony team.

So that the team can help you to access the right service, they will ask you to describe, very briefly, what you need help with. Any information that you choose to share will be treated with the strictest confidence and is purely to help us to provide the most appropriate care.

Once they have an idea of what you need, they will then offer a solution(s) based on what you have told them and what is available. Sometimes the solution might be a service outside of the practice.

Our telephone options:

To help us to direct your call to the most appropriate service we use an automated telephone system:

Option 1: Appointment Cancellation
If you wish to simply cancel an appointment, option 1 will allow you to leave a message on an answerphone. A member of our telephony team will then cancel the appointment for you – they will contact you if they need to confirm some further information.

Option 2: Home Visits
Use this option if you wish to request to be visited at home by a member of our Home Visiting Team; we would ask that these requests are made as early as
possible, preferably before 10:00am. Please note that we are unable to offer home visits outside of our core hours, Monday–Friday 08:00am–6:30pm.

Option 3: Nurse Appointment
Use this option to book an appointment with a member of our Nursing team.

Option 4: Test results and questions about medication
Use this option if you would like to discuss test results or have questions about any medication that you are taking.

Option 5: Any other appointment
Use this option if you would like to make an appointment with any other member of our team.

Option 6: Secretaries
Use this option to speak to one of our medical secretaries. This option is available Monday–Friday between 11:00am and 2:00pm.

General Practitioners (GPs)

Including our 13 Management Partners and 15 Salaried GPs (doctors employed by the practice), there are a total of 27 doctors working across Your Health Partnership.

Types of appointment:

Telephone appointment: YHP operates a telephone consultation model for the majority of our GP appointments. This means that the first part of your appointment will be done over the telephone – if you are unable to use the telephone for any reason please let us know and alternative arrangements can be made.

Once you have made your appointment the doctor will you call you back as soon as they can to discuss what you need help with; if you need to be called back during certain times e.g. during a lunch break, then please tell the Receptionist/Telephonist and we will do our best to accommodate this.

If the doctor feels you need to be seen then he or she will agree with you a time to come into the practice, usually on the same day – the length of appointment will be matched to meet your needs.

When to book: These appointments are usually same-day appointments although there are a limited number made available to book in advance using the online service. – For more information see ‘Online Services’

Face to Face appointment: YHP offers a limited number of Face to Face appointments with our GPs during evenings and at weekends. These can be particularly useful if you are unable to attend the practice during the working week.

You may be asked to attend another of our practice sites for these appointments

When to book: These appointments can be booked in advance or on the same day

How to book:

– In person at one of our reception desks
– By contacting us on the telephone
– Using our online services

GP Registrars

Your Health Partnership is a training practice for GP Registrars. A GP Registrar is a qualified doctor who is completing specialist training in order to become a fully qualified GP.

Types of appointment:

Face to Face appointment: YHP offers a limited number of face to face appointments with our GP Registrars

When to book: These appointments are available to book up to 7 days in advance.

How to book:
-In person at one of our reception desks
-By contacting us on the telephone

Home Visiting Team

Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner: Rachael Hebbert

Your Health Partnership has a dedicated team to look after our patients whose circumstances mean that they aren’t able to visit the practice; this includes patients with long-term health conditions and those who are acutely unwell and therefore unable to attend an appointment at the practice.

The Home Visiting Team is a multi-skilled team containing a GP Partner, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Health Care Assistants and GP Registrars as part of their training.

Types of appointment:

Telephone appointment followed by a Home Visit if required: If you feel you need to be visited at home by a member of our team, then the first part of your appointment will be done over the phone.

If, following this initial consultation, you need to be seen we will arrange for you to be visited at home by the most appropriate member of our team.

When to book: These appointments are same-day appointments.

How to book:
– A friend or family member can book a Home Visit request in person at one of our reception desks
– By contacting us on the telephone

Clinical Support Team

Lead Pharmacist: Harry Tagger

Our Clinical Support Team is available to help you with any questions that you may have about your medication. It is staffed by experienced Clinical Pharmacists.

Clinical Pharmacists are health professionals who train for many years to become specialists in medicines and they can help you with any questions you may have about your medication including:

– Advice on how to take your medication
– Possible interactions or side effects of medication
– Prescribing of an acute medicine that is not on your repeat medication
– Medication reviews
– Switching medication
– Prescribing medication following a hospital discharge

Types of appointment:

Telephone appointment: We know from experience that appointments of this nature can usually be completed over the telephone however if the pharmacist feels you need to be seen by another clinician then he/she will be able to arrange this for you.

When to book: These appointments can be booked on the same day.

How to book:
– In person at one of our reception desks
– By contacting us on the telephone

Physician Associate Team

Lead Physician Associate: Victoria Wilkinson-Pawley

Physician Associates (PAs) support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients. They are trained to undertake a variety of roles including:

– Taking medical histories
– Performing examinations
– Analysing test results
– Diagnosing illnesses
– Prescribing medication (under the direct
supervision of a doctor)

Face to Face appointment: Our PA team offers face to face appointments

When to book: These appointments can be booked on the same day.

How to book:
– In person at one of our reception desks
– By contacting us on the telephone

General Practice Nursing Team

Senior Lead Nurse: Davinia George

We have a fantastic General Practice Nursing Team here at Your Health Partnership who look after not only routine dressings and vaccinations but oversee the management and support of all our patients with long-term conditions:

– Asthma
– Anti-coagulant monitoring
– Blood pressure monitoring
– Cervical screening
– Childhood Immunisations
– COPD
– Dementia and memory testing
– Diabetes
– ECG
– Travel Clinic

Types of appointment:

Face to Face appointment: Our nursing team offer face to face appointments that run in set clinics according to specialty.

We also operate a ‘Treatment Room’ clinic at each site for routine dressings and vaccinations.

When to book: These appointments can be booked in advance

How to book:
– In person at one of our reception desks
– By contacting us on the telephone
– By invitation to book into a specific clinic e.g. Asthma or Cervical Screening

First Contact Physiotherapy Team

Working with qualified Physiotherapists, Your Health Partnership offers an in-house Physiotherapy service during the evening and weekends.

These appointments are to assess new musculoskeletal symptoms to provide advice and guidance, and are not designed to offer long term physiotherapy treatment – if you need some more intensive/long-term treatment then you will be referred accordingly.

– Ankle pain
– Wrist pain
– Knee pain
– Sprains and strains
– Pulled muscles

Face to Face appointment: Our Physiotherapy team offers face to face appointments

When to book: These appointments can be booked in advance

How to book:
– In person at one of our reception desks
– By contacting us on the telephone

Clinical Operations Team

Clinical Operations Manager: Lisa Morgan

The Clinical Operations Team looks after the bulk of the administrative work needed to keep a modern General Practice running day to day.

In very broad terms it can be summarised as:
– Incoming and outgoing clinical correspondence
– Inviting patients to attend appointments for specialist clinics
– Scanning and data entry of appropriate information into medical records

Medical Secretaries

Our medical secretaries are based at Oakham Surgery and are available to contact Monday–Friday, between 11:00am–2:00pm.

They can help you if you have any questions about referrals that we have made to other services on your behalf.

If you are waiting for an appointment please contact the service that you have been referred to in the first instance.

Administrators

Our administrators are based at Regis Medical Centre and are available to contact Monday–Friday, between 09:00am–5:00pm.

They can help you to book, change or cancel an appointment with one of our long term condition clinics.

Enhanced NHS Services

In addition to our core services, Your Health Partnership offers a number of enhanced services that you might not find in a traditional General Practice setting.

Dermatology Outpatients

This service is located at Carters Green Medical Centre, Oakham Surgery, and Regis Medical Centre, and is open to all patients of YHP.

If your GP feels you would benefit from some specialist advice about your skin then he/she can refer you to our monthly in-house clinic run by doctors with additional qualifications in dermatology.

There is a waiting list for this service and you will be invited to the next available appointment.

The clinicians providing these clinics are:

DR AROOJ KHAN (female)
MB BS Peshwar 2008 PgDip Dermatology MRCGP

DR SERENA RAKHA (female)
MB BS Imperial College London 2010 PgDip Dermatology MRCGP

DR TRACEY O’SHEA (female)
MB BS Newcastle 1999 PgDip Dermatology PgDip Occ Health MRCGP

Dr O’Shea is a visiting GP with Special Interest (GPwSi) in Dermatology.

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Outpatients

This is a centralised service located at Regis Medical Centre and is open to all patients of YHP.

If your GP feels you would benefit from some specialist advice about an ENT condition, then he/she can refer you to our in-house clinic provided by doctors with additional qualifications in ENT.

There is a waiting list for this clinic and you will be invited to the next available appointment.

The visiting clinicians providing these clinics are:

MR MATTHEW WELLER (male)
MB ChB Birmingham 1997 MSc FRCS(ORL-HNS)

DR JO BERGIN (female)
MB ChB Birmingham 2003 PGDipENT DFFP DRCOG MRCGP

Minor Surgery

This is a centralised service located at Regis Medical Centre and is open to all patients of YHP.

If your GP feels you would benefit from a minor procedure, then he/she can refer you to the waiting list for this service; you will then be invited for the next available appointment.

Some examples of a minor procedure include joint injections, removal of skin tags and treatment of cysts.

Due to current guidelines we longer offer routine cryotherapy (freezing) of warts.

Rheumatology Outpatients

This service is located at Carters Green Medical Centre, Oakham Surgery and Rowley Village, and is open to all patients of YHP.

If your GP feels you would benefit from some specialist advice about Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoporosis and other general rheumatology symptoms, then he/she can refer you to our in-house clinic provided by doctors with additional qualifications in Rheumatology.

The clinicians providing these clinics are:

DR ABDUL TABASSUM (male)
MB BS Punjab1996 MRCGP

DR PRIYANKA CHANDRATRE (female)
MB BCh Wales 2005 PhD MRCP

Non-NHS Services

There are some administrative and clinical services provided by GP Practices that attract a fee. The information in this section explains generally how and why this is the case and provides information about the fees for non-NHS services at Your Health Partnership.

‘Isn’t the NHS supposed to be free?’
The NHS provides most health care services free of charge but there are some services that are chargeable – the most common example of this would be the fee for dispensing prescriptions.

‘Surely the doctor is being paid anyway?’
It is important to understand that GPs are not directly employed by the NHS. They are self-employed and therefore have to cover their costs just like any other small business; employing staff, heating and lighting their practices etc.
The NHS covers these costs for NHS work but not for non-NHS work.

‘What is covered by the NHS and what is not?’
The Government contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients. In recent years more and more organisations have been involving GPs in a wide range of non-medical work; sometimes the only reason the GP is asked to be involved is because they are in a position of trust within the community or because an employer, solicitor or insurance company, wants to be sure that the information that you have provided them is accurate and true.

‘So, what sort of thing will I be charged for?’
You can view the full list of charges here but as an example:

– Some travel vaccinations can only be provided privately as they are not available on the NHS.
– If you have had to cancel a holiday for a medical reason and need to provide information to your insurance provider.
– Medical assessments and their accompanying paperwork to support your job e.g. HGV driver, taxi driver or bus/coach driver.

‘Is it true that the British Medical Association (BMA) sets the fees for non-NHS work?’
The BMA has in the past provided guidance to GPs in setting their fees. This is less common now and GPs are able to set their own fees to ensure that their costs are covered. Private reports and private medical examinations aregenerally completed outside of normal working hours as an extra commitment to a GPs workload.

‘But I only need a doctor’s signature’
When a doctor signs a certificate or report they can only sign for what they know to be true and accurate. Even the simplest of forms requires a careful review of the patient’s medical record – carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor as well as the patient.

‘How long will I wait for a report?’
A doctor’s priority will always be the care provided for patients under the NHS; non-NHS work is often carried out outside of normal working hours and therefore waiting time is affected.

We suggest 1 week for completion of a report providing the GP who knows you is available. Appointments for private medical assessments take place monthly in a dedicated clinic. Appointments for private travel vaccinations with our General
Practice Nurses need 6-8 weeks’ notice and a travel health questionnaire will need to be completed in the first instance.

Other Services

Alcohol and Substance Misuse

Organisation: Cranstoun
About: Cranstoun Sandwell provides free and confidential advice and support to adults in Sandwell who would like to talk about alcohol or drugs.
Contact: 0121 553 1333
Website: www.cranstoun.org/services/substance-misuse/cranstoun-sandwell

Carers

A carer is anyone, including children and adults who look after a family member, partner or friend, who needs help because of their frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support.

Across the UK today over 6.5 million people are carers supporting a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill.

Being a carer can often be a demanding role so it’s important that you take the time to look after yourself too; YHP can help.

– Annual Health Check – once a year all carers will be invited to a check-up with a member of our nursing team.

– Annual flu vaccination – as a carer you are able to receive a flu vaccination free of charge

Chaperones

If you feel that you would like somebody with you during your consultation then please let us know at reception or tell the person you are seeing at the start of your appointment – we will be happy to arrange this for you.

Children under 5 years old

In line with the local Primary Care Commissioning Framework we offer a same-day assessment for all children under 5.

Healthy Lifestyle Services

Organisation: Healthy Sandwell; part of Sandwell Metropolitan Council.

About: Healthy Sandwell is a one-stop-shop for a range of health and wellbeing services to support local people to make positive lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking or losing weight.

Contact: 0800 011 4656 or 0121 569 5100
Website: www.healthysandwell.co.uk

Interpreters

If English is not your preferred language or you use sign-language we can arrange for an interpreter to be present for your consultation. Please let us know when making your appointment.

Mental Wellbeing Services

Organisation: Sandwell Healthy Minds; part of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

About: Sandwell Health Minds offers psychological therapy services for people experiencing common mental health problems such as low mood, depression, anxiety and stress. If you are aged 16 or over, live in Sandwell or have a Sandwell GP, they can help.

Contact: 0303 033 9903
Website: www.sandwellhealthyminds.nhs.uk

Military Veterans

Your Health Partnership is accredited as a ‘Veteran Friendly GP Practice’ which means that we have a dedicated clinical lead, with specialist training and experience, who can provide advice and guidance for military veterans.

A veteran is someone who has served in the armed forces for at least one day – there around 2.4 million veterans in Great Britain and if you are one of them then please let us know so that we can make a note on your record.

Our clinical lead is Dr Simon Mitchell.

Smoking Cessation

Organisation: Everyone Health

About: Working with Everyone Health, YHP offers appointments during the evenings with a specially trained advisor to help you to quit smoking.

The appointments are currently available at Regis Medical Centre and Oakham Surgery and are open to all patients of YHP. Please ask a member of our Patient Services Team for more information.

You can also access stop smoking services via the Healthy Sandwell Hub.

Contact: 0800 011 4656 or 0121 569 5100
Website: www.healthysandwell.co.uk

Statement of Fitness for Work (Fit Notes)

If you’re off work sick for 7 days or less, your employer should not ask for medical evidence that you’ve been ill. Instead they can ask you to confirm that you’ve been ill. This is called self-certification.

If you’re off work sick for more than 7 days, your employer will usually ask for a fit note (or Statement of Fitness for Work) from a GP or a hospital doctor. Fit notes are sometimes referred to as a sick note or a doctor’s note.