Welcome to The Park Medical Group

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 or cancel an appointment.

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 first, from checking surgery times to letting us know what you think of us. You can also follow the surgery on Facebook via the link above, for latest news and updates direct to your Facebook feed. 

We have no flu vaccinations for patients aged 65 years and over.  Please enquire at your local pharmacies as most of them still have the vaccine in stock.

Flu vaccination for patients aged 50-64 years are now available to book online. Please note we only have a limited vaccine supply as no healthcare provider including pharmacies were informed of this until patients started contacting us about what they heard via the media.  Ordering of these vaccinations is only now being made available to us.  

NHS England have also sent letters to patients asking them to contact their GP to make an appointment for flu vaccination. Again we were not aware of this and as we do not share your data you may have already received vaccination and some patients may not be eligible.  The practice have not sent out these letters.

PLEASE ENSURE YOU ATTEND ON YOUR APPOINTMENT TIME, DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY, WEAR A MASK AND SHORT SLEEVE TOP UNDER YOUR COAT.  DO NOT ATTEND IF YOU HAVE ANY COVID SYMPTOMS.

PATIENT UPDATE

NHS England have set guidelines for all patients accessing hospitals and other Primary Care settings to wear a face covering.

Please adhere to this when attending our Practice.

NHS App

The NHS App is the new, simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

Use the NHS App to:

• check your symptoms
• find out what to do when you need help urgently
• book and manage appointments at your GP surgery
• order repeat prescriptions
• view your GP medical record securely
• register to be an organ donor
• choose how the NHS uses your data

Download the App on Apple Store here or Google Play here

Exercise at Home

Being home for a long time means we’ve not been getting the exercise we used to. Even before the Covid-19 virus hit the UK, not enough of us were getting the exercise we needed to stay as fit and well as possible. Click the link below and view some helpful exercises that can be done at home.

NHS How Fit

Care Navigation at PMG

Over the coming months you will notice your receptionist asking you for a brief outline of your problem when you call to make an appointment.

Through this specialist care navigation training, the practice teams will be able to offer you more choice on who the best health care clinician may be in their   practice and also help direct you to get to the right health clinician fast. Receptionists will never offer clinical advice or triage; this new way of working is about offering the choice to see other specialists in the practice team. If they have the expertise to deal with the problem; it will often be quicker and you may not need to see the GP each time.

For example, medication reviews or queries could be managed by a community pharmacist and you may not be aware of if you haven’t visited the practice in a while.

By working this way, it helps to free up time for GPs to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions that can only be managed by the GP.  More importantly though, it means people are seen by the clinician that is best placed to manage your clinical problem.  The choice is always yours though and you will never be refused a GP appointment but we hope that next time you contact your GP and speak with the receptionist you will see the value of seeing another health clinician if they are able to help.

Do you really need to see a GP? Can the Pharmacist help?

Minor ailment scheme

Most pharmacies also run a minor ailment scheme for common health problems like aches and pains, skin conditions and stomach upsets. For more information click on link Pharmacy information

Check with your pharmacy to see if they run a minor ailment scheme, the pharmacist will be able to assess your needs, give you advice, suggest medicines if appropriate, and refer you to a GP if necessary.

When pharmacies provide medicines as part of a minor ailment scheme, you get the medicines on the NHS.

If you normally pay a prescription charge, the charge will apply. If you're exempt from prescription charges - if you're under 16 or over 60, for example, if you have a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) - you won't pay for the medicine.

Same day appointment for poorly children

Triage team are available each morning to discuss any concern you may have regarding your child and we offer urgent appointments each day during our working hours. This saves you attending A&E or a walk in centre. It is more appropriate for you to attend your GP surgery. You can also access free advice from 111 service 24 hours a day. This is a Freephone number from landlines and mobiles. NHS Choices website also has helpful information available (click on our link Children & Young People).

You may also find information in the Little Orange Book useful which is available from Reception or you can ask your HV for a copy. The book covers common minor illness, treatment and also times to seek medical assistance. You can also download a copy http://www.newcastlegatesheadccg.nhs.uk/little-orange-book/

GP extended access

Triage Nurses are now able to book our registered patients into extended access GP appointments. The GP Hub's are situated at:

Molineux Street

Ponteland Road Walk in Centre

Westgate Road

The appointments are with local GPs and are pre-booked for you (so no need to sit and wait). For more information click GP extended hours access hub

Accountable / Named GP for all patients

The practice is required by the government under terms of the latest GP contract to allocate all patients to a named accountable GP. If you wish to be told the name of your accountable GP, please ask the receptionist when you are next in the surgery.

Having a named GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice and will not have an effect on your care. Your named GP will not be available at all times.

What is Social Prescribing?

Many things affect your health and well-being. GPs say that a lot of people visit them feeling isolated or lonely. Maybe you are feeling stressed out by work or family concerns, money or housing problems. Or maybe it’s the stress of managing different long-term conditions.

Our Social Prescribers can offer you practical support to access the help you need to make the changes you want to make. Together we can make a plan to find the help, support and advice you need. If you would like to contact our Social Prescriber, just tell staff at Reception or anyone else you see in the practice.  You can also call our Fawdon surgery on (0191) 285 1763 or Kingston Park surgery on (0191) 2860022 and ask for our prescriber to give you a call.

Details on Social Prescribing can be found in the information booklet below.

What is Social Prescribing?