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Dr Burch and Partners, Thame
The Health Centre, East Street, Thame, Oxon. OX9 3JZ
Tel: 01844 261066
Fax: 01844 260347
THUMBNAIL SKETCH
We are a friendly and supportive practice, committed to high-quality clinical care, training and teaching. We have three accredited trainers and two undergraduate tutors. Our Out-of-Hours cover is provided by Harmoni in Aylesbury.
THAME AND THE PRACTICE AREA
Thame is an attractive market town 15 miles east of Oxford and 10 miles from Aylesbury. There are excellent links to the M40 and major cities. There is a direct rail link from nearby Haddenham to London Marylebone with a journey time of 55 minutes. The population served by the practice is in the town and the surrounding rural community. Currently the practice population is 11,000. Unemployment levels are low, most working locally - though with a good rail link to London a significant number commute. There is likely to be significant housing development in the next 10 years which will increase the practice population.
THE PRACTICE
We are a six-partner practice (5.4 WTE) which takes great pride in the quality of our training and of the clinical care provided to patients. There is good liaison and regular meetings involving all team members. Doctors have a daily shared coffee break and twice a week this is at the same time as the rest of the staff so that everyone gets a chance to catch up, share achievements, concerns and gossip!
Additionally we hold regular meetings, usually at lunchtime, with the psychiatry team who work from a base in Thame, as well as PHCT meetings, a journal club, book club, monthly educational meetings with invited speakers. We also have a monthly partners only meeting with our retired counsellor - "marriage guidance for partners" - which has been going for years and maybe one of the reasons why we all get on so well.
The practice has a long tradition of involvement in undergraduate teaching and postgraduate training. We are involved with teaching of medical students through the Department of Primary Care at the University of Oxford. We take students in year 1 from the Graduate Entry course and from Year 5 of the standard course for a six-week primary care attachment. Current training attachments include and ST3 GP Registrar, ST2 placements and supervising a GP Registrar at the Community Hospital located next door to the health centre. Nursing and health visitor students and trainee counsellors are also attached to members of the primary care team.
Most of this teaching takes place within the practice so that clinicians' energies remain practice focused. The principles of continuity and the better values of old-fashioned practice are cherished. We are strongly committed to the founding principles of the National Health Service.
iSOFT Premiere is our clinical system and ‘FrontDesk’ is our appointment system. All clinicians and staff make full use of the computer. In mid-2002 we moved to "noteless" consulting with all incoming correspondence, referrals and pathology results available on the computer. Unusually, we have put effort into ensuring that patient’s family and social histories are easily available on the computer records.
We belong to the Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust.
THE PREMISES
The practice is in a purpose built health centre, which is owned and shared by the two practices in Thame. Our portion of the building affords us 10 consulting rooms, 4 nurse treatment rooms, administrative offices, a large health education area, and excellent common room and staff facilities. There is a Pharmacy attached to the Health Centre currently leased to Boots.
Adjacent to the Health Centre there is a Community Hospital to which the GP's have admitting rights. Monday-Friday medical cover is provided by a GP registrar from the Aylesbury scheme, who is mentored by a trainer in the practice. A purpose built day hospital, physiotherapy unit and outpatient facilities for the elderly mentally infirm are attached. Clinics are offered at the hospital by a variety of visiting consultants in surgery, rheumatology, orthopaedics, dermatology ENT and musculoskeletal medicine. There are exciting plans to develop the hospital by the PCT and, recent news suggests that money has been allocated for this to take place.
THE STAFF
Keleigh Atkin is our Practice Manager and has been with us since 2005. Using her excellent organisational skills she is steering us through the joys of QOF, helping us develop stronger links with our patients and generally encouraging our development. Our non-clinical staff are divided into three teams. The first is responsible for IT support and development, the second for secretarial and administrative support and the third for the smooth running of reception. In each of these teams we have an impressive mix of experience and skills.
The medical staff consists of 6 Partners, 1 Salaried GP a ST3 GP Registrar and a ST2 doctor.
The nursing team works closely with the doctors currently triaging requests for urgent appointments, and seeing and prescribing for many of those presenting with minor illness. Mary-Anne Osborne our nurse practitioner heads this enthusiastic team, members of which have a capacity to meet almost any request with willingness and expertise. They are involved in medical and nursing student teaching and very active in the clinical development of the practice. Mary-Anne has particular responsibility for diabetes and asthma.
Kathy Gould and Jackie Trinder have special dermatology expertise allowing them to do much of the minor surgery. Their work is complemented by Ruth Cox our A and E and diabetic trained practice nurse. Paula King and Louise Hope are our two very experienced health care assistants who have an extended role doing many of the dressings, ear syringing, screening audiology, immunisations as well as carrying out phlebotomy in addition to our phlebotomist, Tania Livesey. Louise is also embarking on her own nurse training within the practice overseen by the Open University and Kathy.
Jill Fletcher is our CBT psychology trained counsellor who works in the practice sometimes supervising an attached student counsellor, and sees patients individually and also offers group classes in CBT for anxiety and depression management.
The practice has a full range of attached staff of District Nurses, Health Visitors, Midwives and CPN's.
THE PARTNERS
We are 6 partners and have a non-hierarchical and democratic approach to running the practice – but can’t remember the last time we needed to vote on any issue. We organise the management responsibilities of the partnership into a number of portfolios which change from time to time. Current portfolios include Co-ordinating Partner, IT, Clinical Governance, Finance and Human Resources.
Dr Ken Burch qualified in 1974, was a registrar in the practice from 1976 and stayed on. Ken is a trainer, currently responsible for an innovative attachment of a GP registrar to the Community Hospital. He was an examiner for the MRCGP for 10 years. He has recently organised a mentoring scheme for younger doctors and continues to take an active pleasure in medical education. Leisure interests include carpentry, plumbing, and making flutes.
Dr Charles Chubb qualified in 1978 and joined in 2000 after moving from another practice. He is a trainer with special interests in medical anthropology, literature and the arts. He did an MSt in social and cultural anthropology at Oxford in 1996.
Dr Dan Faller recently qualified and new to the practice in August 2008, he will be establishing his partnership and training roles within the practice over the coming months.
Dr Richard Harrington qualified in 1985 and joined in 1990 after doing a degree in English and Drama, and medicine from first MB. He is Deputy Director of the Graduate Entry medical course at Oxford and organises the community course for first year Graduate Entry medical students.
Dr Duncan Keeley qualified in 1979 and joined in 2002. He is a trainer and a Teaching Assistant to Green College, Oxford. From 1990 - 2000 he was an Editorial Advisor for the BMJ, and is currently an associate editor for the Postgraduate Medical Journal. He has particular interests in paediatrics and respiratory problems. Leisure interests include literature and classical guitar.
Dr Dot Lister qualified in 1981 and joined in 2004. She is a part time tutor at the Department of primary care and runs the medical student teaching for first year graduate students within the practice and shares the teaching of the 5th year with Richard. At present she holds the human resources portfolio. Leisure time is spent with family and dogs, trying to stay fit, attempting golf, and finding ways to avoid going to sea.
Salaried GP
Dr Merrell Vaughan joined us first as a partner about 12 years ago. Three children later she took a career break and we are delighted she is back with us again.
So that's us. If you would be interested in coming to join our team please get in touch.
Contact: Duncan Keeley (duncan.keeley@nhs.net) .
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