About Us & Our Services
This website has been designed to tell you about the practice and the services that we offer. We hope that you will find it helpful and informative.
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Ashtrees Surgery is a well established NHS dispensing General Practice in the North Lancashire market town of Carnforth. We have nearly 14,000 registered patients. We have three full-time and five part-time GP partners and three part-time salaried GP doctors. We employ a practice manager, two nurse practitioners, three practice nurses, two primary care support workers, two phlebotomists, a clinical pharmacist and three trained dispensary assistants in our dispensary and fifteen other administrative staff. We are a training practice and often have GP registrars, 4th year and final year medical students from both Liverpool and Lancaster University medical schools. The practice is forward thinking and highly computerised; we aim to use information technology innovatively to enhance the care of our patients. We are part of North Lancashire Primary Care Trust. Our main surgery is Ashtrees surgery in Carnforth, from where we provide services for Carnforth, Warton, Over Kellet, Nether Kellet, Burton-in-Kendal, Yealand Conyers, Yealand Redmayne, Priest Hutton, Borwick, Gressingham, Aughton, Arkholme, Docker, Slyne and Hest Bank. We also have 3 branch surgeries in the surrounding villages of Bolton-le-Sands, Silverdale & Halton. If you change your name, address or telephone number, please let our receptionists know. We regret that if you move outside the practice area you will need to find a doctor in your new area. There are instructions on what to do when you move to a new area on the back of your NHS medical card.
New Patients
Often it takes a little time for your medical records to be transferred from your previous GP surgery. On registering with us you will be asked to make a new patient appointment with the nurse so we can record some basic health details. Medical treatment is available to you from the day of registration. To register with the practice, simply fill in a form which can be obtained at reception, or bring in your medical card. It is important to provide us with details of regular medications as soon as possible.
Advice
If you wish to discuss a health matter with the Doctor, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse or Pharmacist, please phone the surgery, at which point your contact details will be taken, and the health professional will phone you back between surgery sessions. Please tell the patient advisor the nature of your call, as she may be able to help and she is trained to prioritise such calls. Please be reassured that all our staff are bound by a strict code of confidentiality.
Home Visits
If a disability prevents surgery attendance and a home visit is necessary, please contact the surgery before 10.30 am. The patient advisor will ask for brief details in order for the Doctors to be able to plan their calls. Please remember that home visits are very unusual and are only recommended for the terminally ill, truly housebound or for those patients for whom travel to the surgery by car would cause a deterioration in their medical condition. It is not harmful to take a child with a fever outside. Home visits are performed at the doctor’s discretion. Sometimes the doctor may feel it is more appropriate to telephone you and offer advice rather than to visit. Equally the doctor may arrange for another member of the Primary care team, such as the District Nurse, to visit rather than the doctor.
Results
If you need to phone the surgery for test results (e.g. blood tests, X Rays etc), please telephone 01524 720000 preferably in the afternoon, when the telephones may be a little quieter
Repeat Prescriptions & Dispensing
Patients receiving regular medication may be given a computerised repeat prescription. Please give 48 hours notice to allow time to process and check your prescription. You may hand in your computer counterfoil at whichever surgery you use. Alternatively, you may send in your request along with a SAE, and your completed prescription will be returned to you. You can also order your repeat prescription by phone on 01524 735111 or on-line. As we are a rural practice, we can dispense medication to all patients who live more than 1 mile from a pharmacy. Please tell us if you think you are eligible to be a dispensing patient
Family Planning
Our Practice Nurses are fully qualified to give family planning advice and can prescribe the contraceptive pill. We also have a specialist trained Family Planning Nurse, or you can make a routine appointment to see your Doctor to discuss family planning. Dr Abraham is trained to fit coils for the practice and Dr Sewell and Dr Abraham are trained to fit contraceptive implants (Implanon)
Maternity Care
Throughout pregnancy it is important to be seen regularly to ensure both mother and baby are progressing well. Arrange to see the midwife as soon as you suspect you are pregnant and bring a first morning sample of urine with you for a urine pregnancy test. The community midwife provides full antenatal services. We encourage you to speak to your Doctor or midwife for pre-pregnancy counselling before you get pregnant if you are ready to start a family.
Immunisations
We strongly advise that all children should have Diptheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (triple), Polio, HIB, Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) and Meningitis C vaccinations. You should be notified when these are due and then you can make an appointment at the surgery to see the Health Visitor. The Health Visitor can also advise on general child health issues and will do regular developmental checks on your child.
Foreign Travel Vaccinations
Special vaccinations may be required for certain occupations or foreign travel e.g. Typhoid, Hepatitis, Meningitis and Yellow Fever. Our Practice Nurses are fully trained in foreign travel health and are fully trained to give these vaccines. Ashtrees Surgery is a designated Yellow Fever immunisation centre. Our clinical pharmacist will be able to advise you on Malaria prophylaxis for foreign travel, and he can provide you with the appropriate medication. Please note there will be charges for foreign travel vaccines and anti-malarials.
Cervical Smears
These are advised every three years for women aged 25-35 years, and every five years thereafter up to the age of 65. You will be notified when you are next due and then you should make an appointment to see the nurse. Please tell the patient advisor that it is for a smear, as you will be given a double appointment to allow plenty of time to have your smear.
Mammography
Women over 50 years of age will be notified by the local hospital to attend for a breast screening scan (mammogram) every three years. If you have recently joined us at Ashtrees Surgery, you will be automatically enrolled onto their system and fitted in appropriately. Women over 70 years may self-refer for mammography. Telephone the breast screening unit at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on 01524 583050/583051
Disabled Access
All surgeries have access for the disabled and wheelchair access. If assistance is required please do not hesitate to ask. We have a portable loop system installed for the hard of hearing.
Confidentiality
Information regarding your health will be kept on computer under the terms of the Data Protection Act (1998). Our policy is to maintain complete confidentiality and all our staff are contracted to adhere to this. Information held is annonymised and used in audit to benefit future health care. In addition your demographic data is head on the National Spine as part of the Summary Care Record. If patient-specific information is required by anybody other than attached medical personnel, your explicit permission will be sought, as no information will be given to a third party without your written consent. You do have the right to access to your medical records in accordance with the Access to Records Act 1990. Please contact the Practice Manager for further information.
Zero Tolerance
Please be aware that we have a zero tolerance policy towards violent or abusive patients. Any patient behaving in this manner will be removed from our patient list. Police assistance will always be requested if a violent incident occurs. We ask for your co-operation in making sure that this surgery remains a safe and pleasant environment for both staff and patients.
No smoking policy
We have a strict no smoking policy on our premises. This applies to
staff, patients and visitors alike. If you are a smoker and are
interested in giving up, please make an appointment to come in and see
the nurse or click
here to find help and support on the web.
Use of mobile phones
We ask you to refrain from using your mobile telephone while in the
premises. In particular, please switch your phone off whilst in
the consultation.
Complaints Procedure
Although we endeavour to meet the needs of all our patients, occasionally there may be an error or misunderstanding which leads to dissatisfaction. We take complaints very seriously. If you feel the need to make a complaint regarding the surgery or the services we offer, please contact the Practice Manager by telephone or in writing. If you prefer, you may speak to one of the doctors. Every effort will be made to answer your concerns as soon as possible. The practice manager will investigate the problem and arrange a meeting with you to discuss the findings and hopefully resolve the situation to your satisfaction. Our practice complaints procedure meets National Health Service criteria - written copies of this are available from reception.
Suggestions
The practice manager or any member of staff will be delighted to listen to any suggestions or comments that you may have in order to help us give you a better service. The practice manager is available to answer any non-medical queries which you may have regarding the surgery or the services we offer. Please ask at reception to see her. If you wish to leave any comments or suggestions electronically about our service, the Surgery, or this web-site, click here. However please note we DO NOT reply to your e-mails.
Freedom of Information - Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information Act (2000) obliges the practice
to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the
"classes" of information the practice intends to make routinely
available. A copy of this scheme is available from reception. Funding
for the NHS services offered by this practice is provided under the
Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract we hold with North Lancashire
Primary Care Trust (PCT). Further information about how the practice is
funded may be available from the practice manager, as required under the
Freedom of Information Act (2000).
Fees
Medical care for registered and temporarily registered patients is provided free under the NHS. However for certificates, reports, medical examinations for driving, sports and insurance purposes, and services to overseas visitors (for countries not covered by reciprocal arrangements), a reasonable fee may be chargeable in line with current BMA recommendations. Details are available if you care to enquire. If travelling abroad, you are strongly advised to take out medical insurance.