Meet the Team

Guide to Primary Care

Guide to Primary Care

Modern general practice is delivered by a mixed portfolio of healthcare professionals supporting the doctors. With the development of Primary Care Networks the team will further expand to clinicians such as Mental health Practitioners and Physiotherapists in the future.

Here's a guide to the type of clinician you might encounter at Kew Surgery

General Practitioners GPs

GPs are medical doctors who oversee all aspects of patient care. As well as caring for patients directly, they support other members of the practice team to plan and deliver safe and effective care for patients.

They can help by:

• diagnosing and treating health conditions, prescribing medication where appropriate
• ordering tests and interpreting results
• referring you to hospital and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP)

Advanced Practitioners come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy and paramedics. They are highly trained and have the knowledge and skills to manage all aspects of patient care.

They can help by:

• diagnosing and treating certain health conditions
• ordering tests and interpreting results
• prescribing medication.

Physicians Associate

Physician associates (PAs) are healthcare professionals with a generalist medical education who work alongside doctors providing medical care as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team. PAs are trained to work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence to perform the following duties:

  • taking medical histories from patients
  • carrying out physical examinations
  • seeing patients with undifferentiated diagnoses
  • seeing patients with long-term chronic conditions
  • formulating differential diagnoses and management plans
  • carrying out diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
  • developing and delivering appropriate treatment and management plans
  • requesting and interpreting diagnostic studies
  • providing health promotion and disease prevention advice for patients.

Practice Nurses

General Practice Nurses are a vital part of our primary healthcare team. Our practice nurses will be involved in almost every aspect of patient care and treatment, undertaking such tasks as:

  • Helping people manage long term conditions such as diabetes, asthma and COPD

  • Health screening
  • Family planning
  • Running vaccination programmes

  • Administering child immunisations

 

The role allows nurses to develop long term relationships with individuals and families, managing their conditions and improving physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Watch a short video produced by NHS called 'A Day in The Life of a Practice Nurse'

Health Care Assistants (HCA)

The role of HCA is evolving in the NHS workforce but they have long been a central part of the healthcare team at Kew Surgery. Supplementing and supporting the work of the practice nurses they carry out a wide range of tasks which includes.

  • Phlebotomy
  • Diagnostic tests such as ECG
  • Administering some vaccinations and immunisations
  • Conducting reviews with people with long term conditions such as diabetes
  • Health reviews and the provision of lifestyle advice

Watch a short video produced by the NHS called 'A Day in The Life of a Health Care Assistant'

 

Healthcare Team

Health Visitors

A health visitor is a registered nurse who has received training particularly related to babies, children and pregnant women. Their role is to provide families with children under five years old with support and advice around the general aspects of mental, physical and social wellbeing.

District Nurses

The district nursing team work with us to provide nursing care and support to our patients in their own home. The district nurses may be contacted by calling their own office on 01704 387212. Their out of hours number is 01704 531978. The district nurses work closely with the palliative care team where the need arises.

Midwives

The Practice has an ante-natal clinic every Thursday afternoon. Appointments for this can be booked at reception or over the Telephone. 

 


Our Team