THE GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

Dr A L Ricketts	(Male)	BSc MB BCh (Wales) 1981 FRCAnaes FFARCSI DRCOG
Dr M B J Heneghan	(Male)	BSc(Hons) MB BCh (Wales) 1983 MRCGP MRCP DRCOG
Dr C D Davies	(Female) Job-share partner	MB BCh (Wales) 1985 MRCGP DCH DRCOG Fam Plan Cert
Dr B Williams	(Female) Job-share partner	MB BCh (Wales) 1985 MRCGP DRCOG DCH DGM Fam Plan Cert
(Our two job-sharing partners work for part of the week. They work as a team with each seeing the other’s patients when either partner is away thus maintaining continuity of patient care.)
Dr R W Bacon	(Male)	MB BCh (Wales) 1980 FFARCSI Fam Plan Cert
Dr P W Metcalfe	(Male)	MB ChB (Leeds) 1981 MRCGP FRCS Ed DRCOG
Dr G M J Keely	(Female)	MB BCh BAO (Ireland) 1987 MRCGP MMedEd
Dr J A J Davies	(Male)	BSc(Hons) MB BS (London) 1972 FRCP DRCOG
Dr R S Matharu	(Male)	MBBCh MRCGP

OUR PRACTICE TEAM

Our staff work with the GPs to provide patients with help and advice but their work can sometimes be difficult.

Please remember that if you are kept waiting or seem to be asked irritating questions, our staff are carrying out our instructions to ensure the practice is run smoothly.

The practice employs 44 staff members who can be identified by their name badges. Our staff may vary as the practice needs change. Presently, the complement is as follows:

Practice Manager

Mr Rich Wotten manages the day-to-day activities and has overall responsibility for the management of the practice.

Deputy Practice Manager

Mrs Denise McNamara assists the practice manager and is responsible for the operational management of the practice.

Finance Manager

Mrs Chris Johnson has financial responsibility for the practice accounts.

Office Supervisor

Ms Kath Jones supervises reception colleagues and co-ordinates doctor and staff availability to ensure efficient patient services.

Receptionists

We have a team of 14 medical receptionists, identifiable by their name badges. Their role is to assist patient services and administration. Their duties include making GP, nurse and specialist clinic appointments, filing and retrieving of notes.

Administration

Our administration team provides a full range of secretarial support to the practice.

Secretaries

Our secretaries provide a full range of secretarial support to the practice together with general administration work for clinics.

Practice Nurses

Our nurses are recognisable by their dark blue nurses’ uniforms and provide a range of valuable nursing services including running clinics, arranging vaccinations, offering health advice and blood-letting.

Clinician's Name	Discipline	Specialist Interest
Sister Shirley Clark SRN	Practice Nurse - Team Leader	Women's Health Travel Health
Sister Sian Sandford RGN	Practice Nurse	CHD Asthma Women's Health Diabetes
Sister Eleri Jones RGN	Practice Nurse	CHD Wound Care Diabetes Women's Health
Sister Susan Prosser	Practice Nurse	Asthma Womens Health
Sister Meryl Penn	Practice Nurse	Asthma Travel Health

Practice Pharmacist

Mrs Denise Lanyon supports the GPs in their prescribing and is responsible for dealing with medicine management issues within the practice and offers advice to patients on taking medication.

Dispensers

We have a team of eight dispensers, recognisable by their white uniforms. Their role is to process prescription requests, organise collection and provide dispensing support to the practice.

ATTACHED STAFF

Work at our surgeries continues into the community with the assistance of staff employed by Powys Local Health Board. These staff members work both in the surgeries and in the community eg at home, in schools, resources centres and act as link workers between hospitals in the area and ourselves.

Community Nurses

Community nurses work within our practice area and support patients in their homes. Some of these nurses are specially trained to care for patients with special needs.
They can be contacted on 01874 610421.

Clinician	Specialist Interest
Elizabeth Thomas	Wound Care Women's Health Palliative Care
Cynthia Jones	Wound Care
Judith Baxter	Wound Care Infection control
Mary Jackson	Child Health Wound Care Palliative Care
Cathy King	Continence
Ceri Rees	Wound Care Leg Ulcer Clinic
Cath King	Falls Prevention
Nerys Jones	Diabetes Wound Care
Beth Jenkins	Respiratory

Health Visitors

Health visitors offer a service to families with pre-school children, in the home and clinic. They are available to discuss, give information and guidance on a range of topics to promote family health and well being. This includes emotional health, postnatal depression, relationship difficulties, bereavement, child development, difficult behaviour, feeding, sleeping, minor illness, injury reduction.

Child health departmental reviews and childhood immunisations are carried out periodically.

The health visitors can be contacted on 01874 622186. The current team includes:

Elizabeth Went

Helen Protheroe

Carolyn Williams

Community Psychiatric Nurses

There are CPNs attached to our surgeries but who have their own mental health resource centre at Ty Illtyd, Bridge Street, where a drop-in service is provided for patients' needs.

Mental Health Counsellors

This service is managed by nurse practitioners and counsellors who deal with anxiety, stress and mild depression.

Smoking Cessation Clinic

This clinic is run by a nurse specialist. This service allows patients to gain direct access to support and advice, and can self-refer to this service. For further information please ask our receptionists.

The practice team is large and different members have a variety of roles:

THE GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

The GPs are responsible for managing a variety of acute and chronic medical problems. As a large group practice we are fortunate to have GPs with specific interests and expertise in many areas, including gynaecology, cardiology, gastroenterology, general surgery, child health, palliative care, anaesthetics, minor surgery and family planning. This means that hospital investigations may be carried out in Brecon War Memorial Hospital by a GP from the practice.

PRACTICE NURSES

As well as carrying out routine medical checks, undertaking procedures such as dressings and ear syringing, our nursing team have specialist expertise in family planning, travel and immunisation advice, management of heart disease, asthma and chronic lung disease and leg ulcers. Our nurses also offer healthy lifestyle advice including smoking cessation support.

HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS

Our healthcare assistants carry out routine health checks, take blood tests and undertake other procedures in conjunction with our practice nurses.

COMMUNITY NURSE TEAM

Our district nurses look after patients who are housebound or terminally ill. They undertake a wide variety of nursing tasks and offer advice on maintaining good health as well as managing chronic illnesses.
Contact telephone numbers:

Brecon 01874 610421
Sennybridge 01874 636807

HEALTH VISITORS

Our health visitors look after children under five years old and the mothers. They offer child health checks and immunisations in conjunction with the GPs and offer advice on common childhood conditions including sleep and feeding problems as well as health advice and accident prevention.
Contact telephone number: Brecon 01874 622186

MIDWIVES

Our midwives look after pregnant patients and are involved in delivering babies at home or in the community midwife unit. They look after mothers and children in the first few weeks in life.
Contact telephone number: Brecon 01874 622443

Antenatal Information

As a practice we operate a system of shared care with our midwifery colleagues at the Brecon Birth Centre, War Memorial Hospital, Brecon. It is important that you make contact with your midwife before the tenth week of pregnancy (Tel: 01874 622443).

Your initial appointment with the midwife will take about an hour; here the booking documentation and ultrasound appointment will be organised. The midwife will also provide you with information regarding antenatal care, including screening tests, healthy lifestyle advice, local antenatal and postnatal classes. Your midwife will ask you to see your GP occasionally in pregnancy and especially if you are having any problems.

In order to give your baby a good start, it is important to take folic acid tablets to prevent spina bifida. These tablets are available on prescription. Please speak to your GP if you require a script. If you are a smoker it is important to stop smoking now. Your GP and the practice nurses are happy to offer you information and support on quitting.

If you have any queries or require advice on any aspect of your care, please come and see us.

NURSES' SURGERIES

Our practice nurses are available for consultation by appointment at reception or will see patients in emergencies. Our nurses form an important part of our healthcare services and are available for dressings, injections, blood-letting, advice, health screening and clinic work. When attending the nurses’ room in Brecon we would ask that you book in at the reception desk. At our health centre in Sennybridge we have the availability of on-the-day appointments and pre-bookable appointments.

Nurses' Room: open access Monday to Friday 8.30 - 10.00am and 2.00 - 5.15pm; appointments between 11.00am - 12.30pm.

We hold a phlebotomy clinic at Brecon practice where blood tests are taken by our nurses or healthcare assistant. Appointments can be made in advance or on the day. These are held Monday to Friday. For further information please ask at reception.

At Sennybridge Surgery our practice nurse will be available during our usual consulting times for all nursing procedures. Patients should ring to confirm whether their test results require further action.

TRAINEE DOCTORS/STUDENTS

Our practice is a training/teaching practice. Our trainee doctors are fully qualified and have a great deal of hospital experience. Trainee doctors are attached to our practice for six to 12 months and patients find their fresh, enthusiastic approach adds to the health care we provide. The trainee doctors usually become general practitioner partners after completing their training and are at all times encouraged to seek advice when required from the practice partners. We are fortunate to also have medical students attached for short periods to our practice. With the patient’s consent they may consult with the partners and learn about general practice.

When booking an appointment you may be asked if you would consult with one of our trainee doctors. Our trainees are excellent doctors, appointed by the practice. We are confident that they will give our patients modern, effective and caring treatment.