The practice covers an interesting demographical area- although is primarily inner city. There are owner-occupiers on the edges with mainly social housing in Woolwich. There is the new mix build along the Thames gateway. There is thus a lot of physical ill-health and social problems- Woolwich is an area of huge cultural mix and any additional languages that registrars have are usually put to good use.
The practice is adjacent to a large psychiatric outpatient unit, which is in the same building. There are a lot of patients with psychiatric problems and close links are being developed.
Valentine is a PMS- plus- one of the few in the country that directly employs its own community nurses (district and health visitors) as part of an Integrated Nursing Team. This is a dynamic team with over 25 nurses who work with the practice population both within the surgery and in their homes.
There are 13 other doctors within the practice all who are happy to be involved in training and have a wide range of skills. There are all the usual clinics- Antenatal, child health and the minor surgery is also provided on site. The practice has introduced an innovative visiting and outreach session- this daily session is allocated to the doctors on a rota who undertake the acute visits (2/4 daily) but also patients with chronic conditions who are housebound. This ensures registrars get a good feel for chronic care and also continuity.
Meetings are lively- there is a weekly doctors meeting (Tuesday lunchtime)- this is a mainly educational (critical incidents, complaints, palliative care, topic based discussions). Clinical supervision is provided to the salaried GPs and any learners on Thursday lunchtime. There are plenty of other initiatives and meetings going on if you wish to join in.
Further information can be found on our Web site at www.valentinehealth.org.uk