Templehill Newsletter 28/03/18
We hope this short update finds you all well. As many of you will know, 101 Medical Practice is unfortunately closing. As a consequence, the patients currently registered at 101, are being distributed between the two remaining Troon practices. On the 30th April we anticipate an increase in our current patient numbers and have put several measures in place in order to manage this.
Medical Staff
We have been extremely fortunate to engage the services of Dr Tracey Wightman. Dr Wightman is from Ayrshire but has been working in England for a number of years. She comes highly recommended and her specialist interests include family planning, women's health and joint infections. Dr Wightman joins our established team of GPs and will be full-time.
Advanced Nurse Practitioner
We have employed Karen Withers who is an advanced nurse practitioner (ANP). Karen has vast experience working as an ANP in secondary care and her skills are easily transferable, enabling her to work in General Practice. Karen will run her own clinics and will be doing house calls. She is able to manage many acute conditions and is also able to prescribe. When you phone for an emergency appointment, you may be advised that a health care professional will phone you back to decide whether you need seen.
Health Care Assistant
We have employed Ashleigh Mitchell who is a Health Care Assistant (HCA) and formerly worked at 101. Ashleigh will work alongside our existing nursing team but you might also see her at reception as she will spend some of her time in that role.
Existing Nursing Team
We have increased our exiting nursing and phlebotomy hours.
Reception/Admin
Marie Hodges and Natalie Lane will be starting as new receptionists on 30th April. Marie comes highly recommend from 101 practice and we hope having a familiar face will help our new patients in their transition to Templehill. Natalie worked at the surgery a few years ago and we are delighted to welcome her back.
Self Check-in
We have invested in a self check-in system which patients will be encouraged to use - feel free to ask a member of staff to show you how it works. We hope it will ease the pressure at reception and prevent patients having to queue at the desk in order to check in. We intend to situate it just inside the waiting room.
Parking
We will have double the number of disabled access parking spaces immediately in front of the surgery. Patients with disabled badges will be entitled to park for up to one hour at a time.
Extension
We are currently in discussions about an extension to include up to three additional consulting rooms and disabled access toilets. This will be sited at the rear of the premises and will be accessed through a short link corridor. We intend to modernise the existing office space and increase the size of the reception area.
Finally, we hope the measures we have taken will ensure we are able to continue to provide first class primary care. Inevitably, there will be some disruption over the initial few weeks and we ask you to be understanding at this time. We are confident, patient care will not be compromised. It would be helpful if you could request repeat prescriptions well in advance of 30th April as we anticipate that week being particularly busy. We will have a significant number of pre-bookable and emergency (on the day) appointments available so if you need seen, you will be.
With Best Wishes,
Templehill Surgery.