What is DOCTORnow?
DOCTORnow is a private General Medical Practice. We are an independent organisation that has no official ties to the NHS. We are a team of highly experienced healthcare professionals dedicated to providing exceptional patient centred care. We are subject to the rigorous scrutiny and licensing process of The Care Quality Commission.
Where is DOCTORnow?
DOCTORnow is situated in The Old Barn, Mulberry Court, Windsor End, Beaconsfield, Bucks, HP9 2JJ. We also hold clinics at The Bridge Clinic, Oldfield Lodge, Bridge Road, Maidenhead, Berks, SL6 8DG.
What does DOCTORnow offer?
We promote accessibility to our Doctors and Nurses and ensure continuity of care by allowing 24 hour a day access. We offer second opinions and are willing to refer to specialists for expert opinions, using only those specialists who we hold in high regard. We are keen to work in concert with NHS GP’s and do our utmost to affirm good practice.
Services that we offer include –
General medicine
Review of history, initiation of investigations as appropriate in order to make a diagnosis and initiation of treatments or referrals for all acute medical presentations. We are pleased to be able to offer a review or second opinion regarding an established diagnosis or offer alternatives and suggest other routes of referral for illusive diagnosis. We are glad to offer routine care for minor though troublesome complaints. Health education is central to our modus operandi.
Long-term care and supervision of chronic diseases
Including; asthma, eczema and related atopic conditions, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, thyroid disease, epilepsy. It would be rare for this group of patients not to be under the supervision of a consultant as well.
Paediatrics
Diagnosis and management of childhood illnesses. Developmental checks and reviews from post-natal discharge to the standard 6 week, 8 month, 18 month and 3 year checks.
Musculo-skeletal medicine
Sports injuries, repetitive strain injury, rheumatological conditions including rheumatoid disease and psoriatic arthropathy. We may initiate treatment with DMARD’s but will always seek expert opinion from a specialist. Joint injections are offered as appropriate.
Minor surgery
Minor surgery can be undertaken at The Shelburne Hospital where the appropriate consulting privileges are in place. These procedures are restricted to those that require a local anaesthetic only.
Psychiatry
Diagnosis and management of mild to moderate depression (severe depressions are only managed in conjunction with specialist supervision); management of psychotic illness would only be undertaken on a shared care basis involving a Consultant Psychiatrist. Should initial onset of a psychotic illness present at DOCTORnow a specialist referral will always be recommended. We do not undertake administration or supervision of depot anti-psychotic medication.
Gynaecological services
Including contraception and HRT advice. Investigation of menstrual irregularities and preliminary tests for infertility including counselling.
Obstetric services
We offer on-site confirmation of pregnancy by urine test. We undertake prenatal advice and blood tests to check rubella status and in early pregnancy will perform the standard battery of antenatal blood tests. More complete antenatal screening tests, such as amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling and scanning will be arranged by referral to a specialist. On-going antenatal care will only be undertaken in support of a consultant-supervised package.
Termination of pregnancy
We do not undertake termination of pregnancy but will be involved in counselling and advice regarding the options. We will give information regarding specialist centres that provide termination services and make referrals as appropriate.
Vaccinations and immunisations
We provide a comprehensive range of vaccinations, including those appropriate to travel medicine; standard childhood immunisations and other vaccines that protect against disease, such as chickenpox; HPV; influenza, pneumococcus and TB.
Alcohol and drug addiction
We offer counselling and advice relating to alcohol abuse and dependence. Referral is to specialist services/clinics either for inpatient or community based withdrawal programmes. We will offer the base line medical assessment including blood work-up at initial presentation. All patients suffering addiction will be referred to specialist units. The Practice will not undertake methadone prescribing or be involved in methadone withdrawal packages. We will prescribe medications to assist drug withdrawal but only when recommended by a specialist.
Medicals and screening
We undertake well person checks as well as sports medicals (diving/ racing driver). We also perform driving medicals including HGV/PSV and forklift truck driver medicals. We also under take all insurance medicals. We do not perform aviation medicals. We do not perform exercise ECG’s (stress tests). We undertake routine cervical smears and are able to refer for mammography. We are able to arrange more comprehensive screenings such as abdominal aortic aneurysm screening; screening for carotid artery disease; osteoporosis screening; CT angiography, virtual colonoscopy and total body scanning, provided that we have the opportunity to discuss the pro’s and cons of such an approach with the patient before referral.
Details of service
Appointments
A standard appointment is 30 minutes although we can offer appointments in increments of 15 minutes as appropriate and on advance request. Appointments for members are included in their membership and for non-members are based on a pro-rata fee structure. All appointments are made by telephoning 01494 410888. At the time of a telephone enquiry for an appointment the receptionist will inform the patient or their agent of appointment availability, the venue and, if applicable, any fees that will apply.
We accept cancellation at no charge provided that we are notified at least four hours before the appointment time. Non-attendance in the absence of notification will incur a charge at the rate of £115 per half hour or pro-rata for non-members and £57.50 per half hour or pro-rata for members.
Home visits can be requested on the day or booked in advance. There is a separate fee scale for visits. We only guarantee to visit out VIP24 and VIP24+ members. Visits to VIP12 members and non-members are at the discretion of the medical team.
Appointment venues
We currently offer appointments at our Practice (The Old Barn, Mulberry Court, Windsor End, Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 1JJ), at The Bridge Clinic (Oldfield Lodge, Bridge Road, Maidenhead, Berks, SL6 8DG) and at the patients home or place of work.
Consulting privileges are in place at the following local Private Hospitals:
The Chiltern Hospital, London Road, Great Missenden
The Shelburne Hospital, Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe
The Spire Thames Valley Hospital, Wexham Street, Wexham
Patient Records
All patients’ demographic details and clinical records are held on a secure database powered by bespoke clinical software.
All referral letters generated within DOCTORnow will automatically be copied to you as well as to the Consultant and all post received regarding the your case will be scanned to the computer record and the original sent to you, as appropriate, with a copy to any other medic involved with your care as appropriate and with permission.
A copy of your computer record can be requested at any stage. There will be no charge to our members for this service. For non-members we charge a fixed fee of £50 plus VAT.
We are registered for purposes of Data Protection and the practice computer system complies with the 1998 Data Protection Act.
Correspondence with the NHS
DOCTORnow will always seek permission to keep your NHS GP informed. In rare circumstances this may not be appropriate but exceptions will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Should a patient decide that they do not wish their NHS GP to be appraised of a clinical situation DOCTORnow reserves the right to withdraw service on ethical and safety grounds.
Investigations and tests
We are able to offer or arrange most tests. All tests requested by DOCTORnow will be done privately and so will incur a charge. Some of these costs may be borne by private health cover but this cannot be assumed and should be checked by the patient in advance.
While NHS patients are entitled to have their tests on the NHS there is no mechanism to facilitate requests that arise in the private sector.
Results of tests will always be communicated to the patient by a clinician either via letter or by telephone. Copies of all test results are available to the patient on request.
Specialist referrals
Should a specialist referral be required this can be done via the private sector. DOCTORnow reserves the right to decline referrals that are felt to be medically inappropriate and likely to be to the detriment of the patient.
The GP’s at DOCTORnow are not able to make direct referrals to NHS clinics/NHS specialists. All NHS referrals are managed through a clearing system to which all NHS practitioners must defer. There are specific situations which bypass this process including cancer referrals and suspected heart disease referrals. In a medical emergency, we can refer a patient directly to the NHS.
We endeavour to co-operate openly with the NHS at all levels and the level of co-operation is usually excellent.
A referral privately does not preclude the specialist from transferring an individual’s care to the NHS if that was felt to be in the best interests of the patient. However they generally expect those referrals that are clearly best dealt with within the NHS service to be referred appropriately from the start.
Prescriptions
All prescriptions issued by DOCTORnow will be outside the NHS prescription system. For nonmembers, a prescription fee of £22 applies. All chemists will fill private prescriptions but will make a charge based on the true cost of the medication (NB. this is in addition to the DOCTORnow non-member prescription fee). In general chemists tend to stick to a formula to set the private price but this can vary significantly from pharmacy to pharmacy.
If a patient wishes to get an NHS script for their medication then DOCTORnow is happy to write to an individual’s NHS GP giving the clinical details and the suggested prescription. However the NHS GP has no obligation to fill the request. They may insist on seeing the patient to make their own assessment and judgement or they may be unable to prescribe certain items because the items are not on the approved lists as set by the practice’s formulary or by the Primary Care Trust. We remind patients that whichever doctor signs the prescription for a medication is taking the medico-legal responsibility for that medication and all the potential outcomes, both beneficial and adverse.
We will only issue prescriptions and repeat prescriptions to those patients whom we have seen or consulted. Requests can be made by telephone, fax, letter or e-mail. We are able to send prescriptions to your registered address or to the chemist of your choice. We are also able to telephone/fax prescriptions through to most local chemists. All repeat prescribing ultimately requires regular clinical reviews even if this is simply on an annual basis.
Emergency service and out of hours availability
DOCTORnow’s service is guaranteed 24 hours a day, seven days a week for VIP24 and VIP24+ members. Our VIP24 number automatically diverts the calls to the emergency doctor’s phone for VIP24 and VIP24+ members; rarely a patient may be asked to leave a name and contact number on an answer phone: this would only occur if the emergency doctor was in an area of poor signal or actually seeing a patient. Our response to such a message would be prompt.
We respectfully remind patients that the appropriate advice may be an instruction to call 999.
Confidentiality
We guarantee complete confidentiality. Test results can be requested by phone but only by the patient themselves unless a previous arrangement has been agreed by the doctor and recorded in the file.
Policy on seeing minors
All children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult throughout the consultation and examination. Young people between the age of 12 and 14 can consult alone but must attend the clinic accompanied by a responsible adult whose permission and co-operation will be sought. 14-16 year olds may attend un-accompanied and consult alone provided that the doctor assesses them to be competent as adjudged by The Gillick criteria or where there is express permission from the legal guardian. 16 year olds and over may make their own appointments and attend unaccompanied and consult with full confidentiality provided that the doctor is content that that person is responsibly competent.
Chaperone Policy
A chaperone is available for any consultation at any stage. This can be requested via the reception staff or any clinical staff member.
Medical Insurance
Most UK medical insurance policies do not cover general practice. Some policies allow GP’s to request tests privately and will cover the costs. We always advise that you should check with your insurance company in advance, as some tests can be very expensive.
DOCTORnow is able refer privately in the same way as NHS GPs and to activate, as well as complete, the relevant paper work as needed.
Personnel
Dr Brian McGirr - Managing Director/Chief Medical Officer, Medical Practitioner
Dr Richard Angwin - Medical Services Director, Medical Practitioner
Dr Sarah Marshall - Medical Practitioner
Dr Karie Kennedy - Medical Practitioner
Liz D’Arcy-Evans - Senior Practice Nurse
Lorna Evans - Practice Nurse
Paula Chamberlain - BCG Nurse
Barbara Angwin - Nurse and Laser Therapist (Titan)/ Director
Jane McGirr - Company Secretary/Accounts Director
Lynne Smith - Practice Manager
Kate Dukes - Business Development Manager
Lynda Hunter - Patient Services Manager
Rachael Toovey - Membership Services Manager
Emily Findlow - Senior Receptionist
Angela Bush - Receptionist
Ann Russell - Receptionist/Business Support Administrator
Danae Bartropp - Domestic Services Supervisor
All members of staff have appropriate professional insurance and current CRB checks
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
DOCTORnow is committed to providing the best quality of service. We recognise however, that we may sometimes get things wrong or make mistakes. To deal with this we have a complaints procedure.
We do not look on complaints as unwanted. In fact, they may help us to see where our services or procedures might be improved. So do let us know where you feel we have made a mistake or done something which you found unsatisfactory or unacceptable. Even if you do not think your particular concern amounts to a 'complaint' we would still like to know about it. You may help us to address with something we might otherwise overlook.
How to complain
Step 1: Contacting us
The first step is to talk to a member of staff. This can be done quite informally, either directly or by telephone. Usually, the best staff member to talk to will be the person who dealt with the matter you are concerned about, as they will be in the best position to help you quickly and to put things right. If they are not available, or you would prefer to approach someone else, then ask for the Practice Manager or one of the Doctors.
We will try to resolve the problem on the spot if we can. If we can't do this, for example, because information we need is not to hand, then we will take a record of your concern and arrange the best way and time for getting back to you. This will normally be within two working days or we will make some other arrangement acceptable to you.
Step 2: Taking your complaint further
We hope you will only feel the need to make a formal complaint as a last resort and that you will complain to the person dealing with the matter first to give them a chance to put things right. However, if you are still unhappy, the next step is to put your complaint in an e-mail or a letter addressed to Dr Brian McGirr, the Chief Medical Officer of DOCTORnow, setting out the details, explaining what you think went wrong and what you feel would put things right. If you are not happy about writing a letter, you can always ask a member of staff to take notes of your complaint. You should make sure you agree with what they have recorded and that they provide you with your own copy for reference. This record will be passed promptly to the Chief Medical Officer to deal with.
Once the Chief Medical Officer receives a written complaint, he will arrange for it to be fully investigated. Your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within two working days of receiving it and the letter will say when you can expect a full response. This should normally be within a week unless the matter is very complicated, such as where other organizations need to be contacted. Where this is the case, we will still let you know what action is being taken and tell you when we expect to provide you with a full response.
Step 3: The next stage
If you are not satisfied with the Chief Medical Officer’s investigation you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman either by telephone on 0845 015 4033 or via their website at www.ombudsman.org.uk or in by writing to them at Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP
Contact Details
Our address is The Old Barn, Mulberry Court, Windsor End, Beaconsfield, Bucks, HP9 2JJ.
Dr McGirr’s e-mail address is brian.mcgirr@doctonow.org.
Our telephone number is 01494 410888.
Our fax number is 01494 730729
Last reviewed in November 2010 : next Review due in November 2011
