Meet The Team

Practice Nurses are fully trained in a wide range of skills including immunisations, health promotion, contraception and management of long-term conditions e.g. advice on diet and lifestyle choices, coronary heart disease, hypertension, asthma, diabetes, smoking cessation and obesity. Practice Nurses can extend their skills at Diploma Level and see many patients who previously would have seen the Doctor.

The Nursing Team run various Nurse-led clinics for diabetes, asthma, coronary heart disease and COPD as well as providing general nursing services, dressings, removal of sutures and blood tests.

 Healthcare Assistant work under the guidance of a Lead Practice Nurse. They help with routine health checks, and provide patients with general health and wellbeing advice. They can help with, Health checks, such as blood pressure monitoring or taking blood samples, vitamin B12 injections, Vaccinations and injections, Health living advice, e.g. Stopping smoking and weight loss and Dressings and stitch removal.

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Admin Team

Our Referral Administrators deal with referral queries and help co-ordinate the Choose and Book system. They are the main contact should patients have queries relating to their referrals.

Our Prescription Administrators deal with all prescription queries on daily basis.

Prescriptions

Receptionists

Reception team attend to patients on the phone and in person. They coordinate and organise appointments and documentation to facilitate the smooth running of the Practice, and support delivery of quality patient care. The Reception Staff have a very demanding role. They are there to assist you and we would ask you to be patient during peak times, when the staff have to handle a large volume of calls and enquiries. They will ask you a small amount of personal information about your medical condition – this information is used to ensure your call is dealt with by the correct Clinician and assist fellow Healthcare Professionals who work within the Practice to manage your healthcare and well-being.

PCNs are groups of GP practices working closely together – along with other healthcare staff and organisations – providing integrated services to the local population. PCNs build on the core work of primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care for our communities. They are crucial to the development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and in meeting the ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan.

First Contact Physiotherapy

What is First Contact Physiotherapy?

First Contact Physiotherapists (FCP) are experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists, who have a number of years experience working in MSK. This means that a patient can see an experienced physiotherapist for an assessment directly at their GP practice, without needing to see a GP or be referred externally.

How to access an FCP appointment?

You do not need to see a GP to get an appointment with an FCP, simply call Pickhurst Surgery, explain that you are having a MSK problem (joint, bone, muscle, tendon), and they can book you directly with one of the FCP team. You can also ask your GP, or any other practitioner at the surgery, to do this if you have an appointment with them about something else. There is no referral form required.

What do expect during your FCP appointment?

Your FCP will take a detailed history of your condition, they may also question some of your past medical history to gain a better understanding of your symptoms and to rule out other pathology. They will then assess the joint at fault to aim to gain a detailed diagnosis, which will be explained to you.

The FCP and yourself will then come up with a plan moving forwards, generally this is some rehabilitation exercises and advice on management of your condition. The FCP service is not a physiotherapy treatment service, but your FCP will always make you aware to return if your condition is not getting better.

We may use the GetUBetter self management app, for exercise progression. If you wanted to trail this before seeing an FCP you can gain access here;

REGISTER FOR GETUBETTER: https://app.getubetter.com/request-access/1/4e732ced3463d06de0ca9a15b6153677

If your FCP feels you need ongoing physiotherapy treatment, they will refer to the local hospital.

If your FCP feels that you need further investigations or referral they are able to refer you for scanning, or to hospital based services, or to the local joint injection service.

The FCP’s work closely with the GP’s, and often liase about conditions and work together if this is required for the management of your condition (e.g prescriptions.)

Mental Health Practitioner

Mental Health professional in general practice may also be known as Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, hight intensity Therapists or Cognitive Behavioural Therapists and work as part of ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) services.

They specialise in mental health and use a range of talking therapies to help people with common mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Sessions are usually one-to-one but can also be in couple or group settings, by phone or online. Referral can be via your GP or directly via a local psychological therapies (IAPT) service.

They can help with: Talking therapies, tools and techniques to manage symptoms and support for those experiencing the psychological effects of managing long-term conditions, such as diabetes.

Social Prescribing Line Workers

Social prescribing involves helping people to improve their health and wellbeing by connecting them to activities in the community. Link Workers connect those feeling lonely, overwhelmed or in need of help to a range of local support, from community and activity groups to work, debt or housing advice. They can help with: Getting people to focus on their own priorities and the things that affect their wellbeing. Supporting people to take more control of their health. Introduction people to groups and activities in their community.

We have a range of additional staff working in the surgery helping to provide a full holistic approach to patient care. These include midwives, clinical pharmacists, social prescribers, community mental health nurses, advance paramedics and physiotherapists.  More staff will come on board as the Hayeswick Primary Care Network evolves.

All staff adhere to the Practice’s Confidentiality Policy and Data Protection Act 2018.