Shiregreen Medical Centre
492 Bellhouse Road
Sheffield
S5 0RG
Telephone: 08451 211232
Fax: 0114 257 0964
Please consider joining our team: we put in a lot of effort on your behalf. Contact Dr Gill North, Dr Martin Starbuck or our Practice Manager Paul Hardy, to arrange an informal visit and we will be pleased to welcome you.
www.shiregreenmedicalcentre.co.uk
Partners
Dr G North, Dr M Starbuck, Dr T Turner, Dr S Jackson
Dr S Farwer
Trainers
Dr Gill North, Dr Martin Starbuck
Practice
Gill North, Martin Starbuck, Ted Turner and Shelley Jackson.
The practice is a 5 Doctor Partnership made up of experienced Doctors with a variety of specialist interests - Gill North, Martin Starbuck, Ted Turner and Shelley Jackson, Susanne Farwer.
Our Practice Manager is Paul Hardy and his Assistant is Angie Baker.
There are 3 Practice Nurses (1 full time, 2 part time) and 2 part time Health Care Assistants.
We have a full complement of support staff - too many to list, but including Receptionists, Secretaries, Administrators, and Interpreters. We pride ourselves in having a close working relationship with a very wide variety of specialist/attached staff, many of who work within the practice:
Primary Care Mental Health Worker
Advocate
Occupational Health Advisor
Smoking Cessation
Counsellor
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
Physiotherapist
District Nurses
Podiatrist
Dietician
CPNs, Health Visitor, Midwife, etc.
The practice is made up of two premises - a main surgery in Shiregreen which tends to accommodate the majority of our 7500+ population, and a smaller branch surgery in Burngreave which has a predominantly Asian population. The mixture of the two populations at the different sites allows for a real insight into different aspects of General Practice, and many Registrars have found this an enjoyable experience to be able to work across two sites.
There are a variety of practice meetings held regularly to aid our communication with everyone. These include a daily coffee meeting, weekly business meeting, monthly clinical topic discussions, monthly case study interdisciplinary meetings (for attached staff) and significant event meetings and others as and when appropriate.
The Surgeries
We open from 8am to 6.00pm each week day, except Thursday (the Practice Half Day), when we close at 1.00pm, we are also closed on Saturday and Sundays. Surgeries run from 8.30am to 10.30am and 3.45pm to 5.45pm.
The practice no longer closes fully over lunchtime, but the majority of staff tend to be able to enjoy sharing their lunch-break together at 1pm in our spacious and sunny conservatory.
The practice appointments system allows patients to book up to 2 weeks ahead, and to call on the same day via the Triage system. Each Registrar always has a partner working alongside, and there is opportunity for a full debrief after each session.
Each of our consultation rooms are fully equipped for clinical practice with the latest necessity for any Doctor. Almost every desk in the building holds a computer with access to a printer, and we currently use the very user-friendly EMIS PCS software. The practice fully supports the use of computers, not to replace the consultation, but for data collection and prescribing purposes. We have access to a range of technical support within the practice to help us to both develop our IM&T skills, and quickly resolve any technical problems.
Partners' Special Interests
Gill:
Palliative Medicine (including the Diploma in Palliative Care)
Paediatrics
Acupuncture
Counselling/Mental Health (see strengths)
Diabetic & Asthma Care
Undergraduate Teaching - updated teaching methods from the Teaching the Teachers Course (AAF)
Examiner for MRCGP
Martin:
Obstetrics/Gynaecology (DRCOG)
Palliative Medicine
Paediatrics
Cardiovascular Medicine
Undergraduate Teaching
Postgraduate certificate in medical education
Shelley:
Substance Misuse
Family Planning
Ted:
Computers/IT
Cardiovascular Medicine
Acupuncture
GP with Specialist Interest in Dermatology - Minor Surgery
Susanne:
Family planning
Occupational Health
The Registrar
On day one we spend the whole day getting to know each other and carefully tailor-making a plan of your time with us.
You will initially join us in surgeries, sitting in for 2 weeks and then, on a mutual decision, commence short surgeries with 15-20 minute appointments, shortening the length only after discussion with Gill or Martin (as appropriate).
We share the daytime home visits fairly equally, and you decide which patients you want to follow up in your surgeries or by specifying them in the visits book.
We keep to the guidelines on appointments being no less than 10 minutes per patient and have easily accessible protocols for disease management and audit.
Initial joint assessments, mid-term and formative assessments are mandatory, carried out in a non-threatening way. All the Partners are involved in teaching, the majority by Gill and Martin, but other professionals are also involved in supporting the Registrars. E.g. CPN, District Nurses and the practice holds regular clinical training updates for all clinicians, which the registrars find worthwhile.
Day to day we have immediate debriefing after surgery and discuss the visits. We feel this every day contact is vital for you and us. We have at least 2 tutorials per week, usually three, of approximately 1 hour including time for audit, and the whole of Monday or Tuesday afternoon for teaching. We have our own video cameras and appropriate recording equipment to prepare inhouse videos. Partners have recorded their own surgeries, so do not be frightened. We have also done good and bad role play videos - quite entertaining as well as useful. Many of our Registrars have been successful in the MRCGP examination.
We have a fully resourced training room for tutorials, audit, and have lots of experience of consultation training with videos and joint surgeries.
The whole Practice Team are keen to facilitate Registrars in being able to obtain a high standard of education and help them to become independent GP principals.
Strengths
Training: A practice that prides ourselves in dedicating significant time and energy to enable the development of the GPs of the future.
Atmosphere: A friendly, warm, welcoming practice. Our team is small, experienced in receiving visitors and subsequently are quickly welcoming. Because of our many attached staff and steady flow of students and Registrars, the atmosphere is kept fresh and enjoyable, and we are always happy to meet new people and welcome new faces into the team. There are many different personalities within our team, all of which are able to find their own way of offering support and feeling supported.
Palliative Care: Three of the Doctors have been part of the St Luke's Team with a special interest in the care of the terminally ill. Gill, Martin and Ted's expertise and a close team approach give us a high satisfaction in this, and our personal handwritten bereavement letters have been a very positive step.
Mental Health: We were runners up in the 1993 Doctor of the Year Awards - a great Team effort and whole staff protocol.
Paediatrics: A greater than average list of under 5's and a monthly consultant clinic mean a large number of problems are seen.
Well Woman Clinics: 2 per week, one supported by a Doctor, to include a full range of contraception/HRT issues.
We do have a sense of humour and communicate with each other and are open enough to admit our difficulties too.
Caring: General Practice is hard work and we must not forget that Patients are also people and families.
Thank you for reading this!