North of Tyne Primary Care Trust

KILLINGWORTH HEALTH CENTRE

 
 Dr Mark R Preston MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFFP

*Dr Angela H Austin MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFFP

*Dr Jane E Chalmers MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, DFFP

* Female

How to Join Our Practice

Our list is open to anyone who lives within our boundary area, if unsure please refer to the map on our home page. You can register at our practice by calling in in person to collect the necessary forms. At the same time you will be asked a couple of questions about where you live and or are relocating from. You will also be asked to provide proof of identity e.g. drivers licence or passport and also proof of your new address e.g. bank, credit card or mortgage statement, or a recent utility bill or rent book. If you have just moved into rented property or have just bought a house and therefore don't have recent utility bills or statements we will accept a copy of the written agreement between you and your landlord or building society.  Registration usually takes a day or so to get you on our computer system.

You will also be asked to make an appointment with our Health Care Assistant who will give you a basic health assessment until we receive your medical records from your previous practice. We do this as it can take up to 6 weeks to receive your records, so it is important we have as much information from you as possible at this assessment.  At the same time you will be asked to provide a urine sample to check for diabetes, urine infections etc.  We will provide you with container for this when you collect your registration forms.

For Overseas Visitors

There are reciprocal arrangements for visitors from certain countries. For further information please see our leaflet, Information For Overseas Visitors

or use the link below

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseasVisitors/DH_836

Making An Appointment

Our telephone lines are open from 9.00 am each day. If you want to make an appointment with a doctor or nurse, please phone the main surgery number Tel: 216 0061 and speak to a receptionist.  

Please note that if you request an appointment with one of our Practice Nurses or Health Care Assistant, the receptionist may ask you what this is for. Please don't be offended, this is not because our staff are nosey, it is simply to allocate your appointment to the correct person with the correct time slot; either the Health Care Assistant or a Practice Nurse, who each do different things. For example you may need your blood pressure checked, this is a 10 minute appointment with the Health Care Assistant. If you need a diabetic check or a smear, you will be allocated a 20 minute slot with a Practice Nurse.

We aim to offer an appointment with a GP within 48 hours (unless it is more urgent) or a nurse within 24 hours.  For an urgent appointment on the same day, please ring as early as possible.  You can make an appointment with a nurse without seeing the doctor first.

You can see any doctor at the practice, not just the one with whom you are registered. However, we would encourage you to stick with your usual doctor whenever possible and follow through an illness with the same doctor.

Urgent Appointments

If you have an urgent problem, please make this clear  to the receptionist. To accommodate urgent requests it may be necessary to see a doctor other than the one usually seen. We aim to offer urgent appointments within 24 hours and the doctor may call you back to clarify details and give advice. If your problem seems very urgent we may arrange to see you during or after the current consultation session at the discretion of the doctor.

Booking Appointments in Advance

Did you know you can book an appointment to see a Doctor, the Nurse or the Health Care Assistant in advance?

You can book an appointment to see a GP up to three weeks in advance. These are called pre-bookable appointments, though remember we may not be able to guarantee the GP of your choice in advance, simply because he/she may be on holiday, training students or not working that particular day. However, we will offer an alternative GP. If you would prefer to see the GP of your choice, it is better to telephone the surgery either on the day or the day before you require your appointment. Our reception staff will be happy to advise when making your appointment.

We can also offer appointments with one of our Practice Nurses or our Health Care Assistant up to three months in advance. Making this ideal for those patients with long term conditions, and who need to be monitored on a regular basis.

Don’t forget although the main surgery and our telephone lines aren’t open until 9.00 am, we can offer appointments with one of our  Nurses and our Health Care Assistant from 8.30 am Monday - Friday Mornings, making this more convenient for those who work.

Cancellations - The cost to NHS of wasted appointments

Missed appointments cost the NHS thousands of pounds every year.  Please phone the surgery as soon as possible if you cannot attend.  This will help us to make appointments available to as many patients as possible. Please bear in mind that when appointments are made but not kept, or cancelled too late to refill, other patients have to wait longer than necessary to see a doctor.

Emergencies / Out of hours

All out of hours services from 1st September 1st 2004 have become the responsibility for Newcastle and North Tyneside Primary Care Trust and care is provided by qualified doctors and nurses.  All patients can access this service between the hours of 6.30 pm and 8.00 am, Monday to Friday and all day and night on Saturday, Sunday, and Bank Holidays.  If you need to see a doctor urgently outside our normal surgery opening hours, please ring 0300 123 4343

If you want general healthcare advice at any time, 24 hours a day, contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 (local rate) to speak to a trained nurse adviser or follow the link below. It may be useful to have a pen and notepad handy to take down any information or advice

There are several out of hours centres in Newcastle to which patients have access. The Walk-in Centre on the Newcastle General Hospital Site on the West Road, Newcastle, The Central Walk-in Centre opposite the Centre for Life,- in the Jury's Inn complex, Newcastle and the Molineux Centre, Molineux Street Byker. That means that a patient can usually attend without prior notice. Unfortunately this also means that there can be a considerable wait for non-urgent cases. They are not open 24 hours a day and a phone call might be advisable before attending although not strictly necessary.  In addition to these centres, the Minor Injury Unit at the RVI (the old Casualty department is open from 9.am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday. You should only dial 999 for an ambulance in a life threatening emergency or serious accident. Further information is available on our Service Page.

Telephone advice/consultations

Sometimes you may want to speak to a doctor or nurse about something, but do not need to come into the surgery for a face-to-face appointment.  If you would like to talk to someone over the phone, you can book this in with reception, who will take your number and arrange a suitable time. 

Home visits

The doctor or nurse can visit patients who are seriously ill or who cannot leave the house.  If you need a home visit, it is best to phone the surgery before 10.00 am.  Where possible, the doctor will speak to the patient over the phone before visiting or arrange for a district nurse to see the patient.

Do please try to come to the surgery if at all possible. (A doctor can see 3-5 patients at the surgery in the time it takes him/her to visit one patient at home).

Interpreting service

If you would like an interpreter to attend your consultation, please tell reception when you book your appointment, giving as much notice as possible.

Repeat prescriptions

You should phone the surgery (week days only) to order any repeat prescriptions 24 - 48 hours before you need to collect.  It is important to only say the names of the medication you need and not just ask for a repeat of all your prescriptions. 

Prescriptions are usually ready for collection after 3.00 pm the following day.  Someone else can collect for you if they are over 16 and show your repeat prescription slip.  Prescriptions can also be posted out if you provide us with a stamped addressed envelope.

The repeat prescription telephone line is open from 09.00 am - 5.30 pm Tel: 0191 2160061 then press Option 2

You can also order your prescriptions online however, you must come to the practice in person first to be able to register for this facility.

Some chemists/pharmacists provide a free collection and delivery service for people who cannot get out of their house.  Speak to your local pharmacist for more details.

Test results

Patients are responsible for contacting the surgery to find out the results of investigations such as blood tests, urine tests, x-rays and ECGs.  Receptionists will advise if you need to speak to a doctor or nurse if necessary. Please allow 1 week before making enquiries regarding your results and then phone after 3.00 pm.

Patient Confidentiality - Your Records

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of health care and central to the work of everyone working in general practice. All information about patients is confidential; from the most sensitive diagnosis, to the fact of having visited the surgery.

The duty of confidentiality owed to a person under 16 is as great as the duty owed to any other person. No identifiable information about a patient will be passed to anyone or any agency (outside the NHS) without the expressed permission of that patient, except when this is essential for providing care or necessary to protect someone's health, safety or wellbeing.

Individual patients have a right to be supplied with a copy of all of the personal information data we hold about that individual (that would not harm a third party). Requests for access should be made in writing to the Practice Manager. Please note that the individual must provide proof of identity containing a recent photograph, such as a passport before they are given access to records and a small fee will be chargeable.

Teaching

Doctors and nurses at this surgery help to teach medical students from the University of Newcastle.  You may occasionally be asked if a student can sit in at your consultation.  If you are not happy with this, for whatever reason, please say so - it is your choice if you wish to be seen alone.

Private charges

The National Health Service does not pay for some services provided by GPs and a separate fee will be charged for items such as:  private sick notes, medical reports and examinations, insurance forms, holiday cancellation certificates. Unfortunately, we no longer provide passport verification. 

Change of Address or Telephone Number

If you change address or your telephone number please let reception know so that we can update our records in case of a home visit. If you are waiting for a hospital appointment, please remember to let the hospital know.

Please note that if you move outside our boundary area, you may be asked to leave the list and register with another doctor. If you are unsure of our boundary area please refer to the map on our home page or ask one of our reception staff.

Feedback and Complaints

Suggestions on how our services might be improved or expanded will be welcomed and will be considered by an appropriate member of the Primary Care Team. if the services offered have not matched expectations and you wish to complain, you can either write to the Practice Manager so that we can investigate the complaint or you can simply download our complaints procedure and forms. Complaints Procedure

Violent or Abusive Behavior

The practice has a zero tolerance approach to any patient who is violent, abusive or aggressive.  If ever a patient (or member of their immediate family) is violent towards a doctor, member of the practice team or any other person present on the practice premises, then the individual and all members of their immediate family will be removed from the practice list. This includes the use of threatening or abusive language.

Useful Telephone Numbers:

Send mail to Killingworth Health Centre with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: July, 2010