TRAINER : Dr Hilary Simonton
Tel: Tel 0161 905 4707
E mail: info@wrmc.org.uk
Web
Site: www.wrmc.org.uk
THE PRACTICE: Washway Road Medical Centre is a large and very busy practice situated in a pleasant South Manchester suburb. We have been a training practice since 1999.
THE PARTNERS: Our partnership of ten consists of nine GPs (six female and three male) and one full time practice manager. The GPs work a range of hours from half to full time to provide approximately seven whole time equivalents. The partnership is strong, stable and supportive and although a mixture of very different personalities, is very like-minded in terms of patient care, the running of the practice and the importance of a healthy work/life balance.
THE PREMISES: In October 2000 we moved into a new, purpose built medical centre, constructed under a Private Finance Initiative. The premises are well thought out and provide a very pleasant working environment. There are 9 consulting rooms, 2 treatment rooms and a separate healthy living suite for use by other professionals – health visitors, counsellors, psychologists, drug and alcohol counsellors, children’s community nurses etc. We also have a meeting room, staff room, library and plenty of admin areas. We are fully computerised and ‘paper frugal’ using EMIS LV 5.2.
PATIENT POPULATION: The practice population currently numbers around 13000 and is growing steadily, primarily due to the number of new housing developments within the locality. We have a fairly large population of elderly residents – around 17% are over 65. At the other end of the scale, about 5% of our list are aged under 5. Very little of the practice area qualifies as “deprived”.
STAFF: The office is run very effectively by a team of receptionists, medical records clerks and secretaries, along with the practice manager and her deputy. Most of the staff work part time. We are very fortunate in having an excellent, conscientious bunch of staff, with a great team spirit, enthusiasm and commitment to the practice. We also have a superb practice nursing team consisting of 1 nurse practitioner, 2 nursing sisters, 1 staff nurse and a health care assistant.
TRAINING, TEACHING & ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: The practice was first accredited for training in 1999 and since then we have had seven registrars, all of whom have successfully completed summative assessment with six having gained the MRCGP. All have been very positive about their training with us and indeed two are now partners in the practice! Hilary Simonton is the only trainer in the practice but all of the partners enjoy participating in the registrar’s education and development and give whatever support is necessary both to the trainer and the registrar to ensure the smooth running of the year’s placement. Protected time is made available for a tutorial session each week and additional support is readily available for ‘hot’ teaching as required. Regular educational meetings and training sessions are organised within the practice, both for the doctors and the staff; we also provide clinical attachments for medical students from Manchester University and we are currently hosting the monthly meetings of the Trafford South GP forum. We aim to make the registrar year an enjoyable and high quality experience.