Eglwysbach Medical Practice

EGLWYSBACH MEDICAL PRACTICE

NEWSLETTER – SPRING/SUMMER 2013

DR DAVID WILLIAMS

Dr David Williams retired at the end of March 2013, after 33 years of service to the patients of Eglwysbach and Tonteg surgeries. He was senior partner in the practice from 1994 until 2011 and attracted a very large following of patients who very much valued the time and care he provided them.

In addition to his work in the practice, he has been heavily involved in the training of new GPs and was the organizer of the Glamorgan Valleys Vocational Training Scheme for many years.

We thank him for his contribution to the practice over the last 33 years and will miss him very much in the practice. We are sure many patients will feel he same. We wish David and Moira many years of healthy retirement together.

DR SIÂN THOMAS

Dr Siân Thomas, who has worked with us as a salaried GP for the last 2 ½ years has now joined the partnership. The partnership now consists of Dr Peter Brooks (senior partner), Dr Mark Brown, Dr Marian Lewis, Dr Nigel Brown and Dr Siân Thomas. The partners are supported by Drs Susie Lundqvist, Dr Zoe Morris –Williams, Dr Rosie Rees and Dr Oliver Williams as well as trainee GPs who spend up to one year with the practice.

DR OLIVER WILLIAMS

Welcome to Dr Oliver Williams (no relation to Dr David Williams!) who joined us at the end of April 2013. Patients may remember Oliver as a trainee with us some years ago. We hope that he enjoys working with us.

PTO GP APPOINTMENTS

Patients frequently ask doctors to help with several problems during one appointment. GPs have 10 minutes per patient allocated as per guidance from the Welsh Government. In order to help the smooth running of the surgery and reduce waiting times can we remind patients that the GP can only deal with one problem per appointment? If your doctor does not feel able to safely deal with more than one issue in an appointment, you may be asked to book another appointment for any non- urgent matters.

Please remember 1 appointment = 1 problem

www. eglwysbachsurgery.com

Patients may wish to view the Practice Website on the Internet. This gives up-to-date information regarding the Practice as well as some background information. The Website can be viewed at www.eglwysbachsurgery.com. You can also order prescriptions on-line through the website. We hope that you will agree that the Website looks attractive, and is a useful method of advising patients of information relating to the Practice.

We are all aware of the long waiting times in the local A&E departments. This is in part due to inappropriate attendance by patients who use the department as an alternative to visiting their GP. It should be kept in mind that the purpose of the A&E department is to deal with accidents and emergencies. It is not appropriate for patients with other problems to use their services.

As access at our practice for problems that arise on the day is significantly better than for most comparable practices in the area there should be no excuse for inappropriate attendance by patients of Eglwysbach and Tonteg surgeries.

If patients are in doubt as to where they should consult for any particular problem, we suggest that they take a look at advice on www.choosewell.org.uk