Welcome to Third Avenue Doctors Surgery

Update 14th October 2024

We are a GP Training Practice

Third Avenue Doctors Surgery is now an Approved Training Practice.

Doctors undertaking further training to become GPs are referred to as GP Registrars. They are fully qualified Doctors who have undertaken their medical training and they have worked in hospital settings and are now undertaking specialist training in General Practice.

We believe that achieving and maintaining training practice status, enhances the quality of the medical care that we provide at the Practice.

You may be seen solely by a GP Registrar, you may be seen with a GP Registrar sitting in on your consultation with your GP or the GP sitting in on your consultation with the GP Registrar. You may also have a telephone consultation with a GP Registrar. However, all consultations are supervised by the Trainers so that you can expect to receive the same level of care you will receive from your GP.

In order for the GP Registrars to successfully complete their training they are assessed on their consultation skills. This is done in part by the appointed Trainer viewing a video of the Registrar’s consultations and you may be asked for your permission to have your consultation recorded in this way. If you agree, you will need to give your written permission and you will be offered a consent form to sign. You will always be asked in advance and are given the option not to take part. This will not affect your care in any way. These videos are used only for educational purposes with the Doctor doing the consultation and are destroyed after use.

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IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT A REVIEW HAS BEEN POSTED ON A GOOGLE SEARCH, THREATENING AND NAMING A MEMBER OF MY TEAM!  THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE AND UPSETTING. I UNDERSTAND REVIEWS SHOULD BE GIVEN GOOD OR BAD, BUT TO ACTUALLY THREATEN AND NAME A STAFF MEMBER OF ANY ORGANISATION SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.    FAYE GRAHAM, PRACTICE MANAGER.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL appointments at our Surgery are booked from 8.30am for pre-booked appointments and on the day emergencies. We can however book appointments at the Primary Care Centre from 8am each day for on the day emergencies or pre-booked appointments for various clinics i.e. GP, Nurse, Dermatology. 

Pharmacy First Consultations

Local pharmacies are now offering consultations for some minor ailments. There has been local advertising as well as TV commercials. You can also copy the link and paste to your search bar to watch a short video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1nbm04z_Qc

There is more information in the Clinics and Services tab above under Pharmacy First.

Primary Care Network

As well our appointments at our own Surgery, we have access to appointments at the Primary Care Centre as part of the PCN. Unlike our appointments (which are booked from 8.30am) these can be booked by our reception team from 8am weekdays for emergency on the day appointments or for pre-bookable clinics. These include, Nurse appointments for minor ailments, Smears, Dermatology, Physio and early morning blood tests. Some may be telephone appointments and there are also some weekend and evening slots. Please call the Surgery for more information.

For more information about the Primary Care Network you can click on Clinics and Services above and go to the Primary Care Network section..

Repeat Prescriptions

We are not taking any requests for medication over the phone. Please see our Prescription section for the various options for requesting medication.

Patient Participation Group

We are aiming to have a Patient Participation Group meeting on Tuesday 14th May 2024 at 1.30pm at the Surgery. We welcome any patients that would like to attend to share views and suggest recommendations. Light refreshments will be available.

Our Primary Care Network also hold PPG meetings, please see their website for more details www.canveypcn.nhs.uk

Home Visits

If an urgent home visit is required, we must ask that you call the Surgery before 11.00am. Please see the protocol on our Appointment section above.

Telephone System

We have had an upgrade to our telephones. A call queuing system has now been installed and you will be given the option to hold or call back later. At very busy periods, you may hear the initial message followed by an engaged tone. At that point, unfortunately, you will need to call back. We will be monitoring the system, but please do let us know if you have any problems. 

Doctaly Assist & Healthy.i.o

We have received a large number of calls regarding Doctaly Assist. We can confirm this is a genuine service via WhatsApp for patients meeting certain criteria. It is not compulsory and you can opt out if you wish.

Patients may also be contacted by Healthy.io. They are also working in conjunction with ourselves, again it is not a compulsory service. 

Telephone Consultations & Sending of Photographs

Patients have a choice of a face to face or telephone consultation.

Sending in of photographs for some ailments has also been very successful. Photographs can still be sent in (please do not send more than necessary) and then a telephone consultation will follow or face to face appointment as advised by the Doctor.

These can be sent via thirdavenuesurgery@nhs.net

Statement of Fitness for Work

ALL patients requiring a Fitness for Work Certificate, will have to have a consultation with a Doctor before one can be given. 

Children's Health Matters Link for Parents

There is a link with information for parents offering guides with self help information and much more. There is also a newsletter which you can sign up to. https://bit.ly/3yOeafq

Care Navigation

During recent months, our Reception team have been asking why you need to see our clinicians, even for pre-booked appointments. This is to ensure we use the best clinician for your needs. As well as our own Doctors and Nurses, we now have GP Pharmacist's who can help with medication reviews and minor ailments, a First Contact Physio who can help with back pain, muscle pain etc and also Wellbeing Co-ordinators who can give a range of general support.

COVID19 Vaccines

The vaccine appointments are not dealt with by ourselves, it is carried out by a dedicated team. They will be calling patients by phone and may also send an SMS text message advising of a link to go to to book your vaccine.

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We are confident that our website will provide clear and concise help and give our patients the information they require in an easy and convenient format. It has been designed with the patient's needs at the forefront of everything, from checking surgery times to letting us know what you think of us.

Serving You

Our dedicated team are here to treat those minor ailments that occur as well as providing specialist management of long-term conditions and clinics covering a wide range of healthcare issues. The technology also means you can now do a lot of things from the comfort of your home such as order a repeat prescription.

Partners in Care

Once registered, patients and healthcare professionals work together to ensure the most appropriate care is provided. This partnership philosophy extends even further and our active patient group exists to make sure that patient needs and the practice offering are always heading in the same direction.