New GP practices open doors on Monday

Posted on October 30, 2009. Filed under: News stories, Providers | Tags: Go To Doc Ltd |

Rochdale Online | NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale | 30 October 2009

Two new GP practices are set to open on Monday (2 November). 

The Kirkholt Medical Centre, located on Queens Drive, and The Kingsway Practice located at Morrisons, Kingsway will have four new doctors and be open from 8:30am to 6pm, plus a further four hours per week, of which 90 minutes will be on a Saturday. 

Both practices will offer core GP services as well as focussing on cardiovascular disease, diagnosis and treatment of hypertension and diabetes, stop smoking service, weight management service and Choose and Book. 

John Pierce, Chairman of NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, said: “I have managed to get a sneak preview of the practices and meet staff before they open and think they are a fantastic addition to general practice in Rochdale. 

“These new practices will provide the additional resource needed to start tackling key health issues in Rochdale, as well as providing routine treatment and care. 

“They will also help to make getting a GP appointment easier and relieve some pressure from GPs in the surrounding areas. Both services are proactive in their nature and will seek to build relationships with the local community to ensure that the care they provide meets local needs.” 

Oldham-based Go to Doc Primary Care will be providing services at The Kirkholt Medical Centre and Rochdale-based GP Care Services will be running The Kingsway Practice. 

Another practice will open in Heywood on 1 December, as well as a GP-led health centre in Middleton, where patients can either register or walk in and see a GP.

Big openings, new beginnings. Increased GP access in Tameside

Posted on September 8, 2009. Filed under: News stories, Providers | Tags: Go To Doc Ltd |

NHS Tameside & Glossop | Press Release | 8 September 2009

Three grand openings have heralded the advent of increased GP access in Tameside. The Mayor of Tameside John Sullivan opened new GP facilities surgeries in Guide Bridge and Droylsden on the morning of Saturday 5th September, while David Heyes MP for Ashton-under-Lyne opened the new Ashton GP service on the morning of Monday 7 September.

The new GP services are provided by GTD Primary Care. This is a subsidiary of Go to Doc the local Tameside and Glossop out of hours provider, who provide GP practice services in Oldham.

Two new GP surgeries opening in Droylsden and Guide Bridge are already giving more medical access to local people. These new surgeries will offer both weekend and evening openings for people in the local area.

The Ashton facility is a new type of GP service for the area. GPs at the centre are accessible every day in the year, from 8am till 8pm. It provides services for both registered and unregistered patients. Patients can ring to book an appointment, or can visit the centre to arrange for treatment. The aim of this facility is to help anyone whose busy lifestyle, practical circumstances or particular needs make flexible and accessible services vital.

With weekend and evening appointments, having to take time off work will be a thing of the past, while the service’s accessible nature will also encourage people who traditionally have had difficulty accessing primary medical services, such as homeless people or refugees.

On arrival, patients can be booked into the service by the reception staff who will record their details. Unregistered patients can be offered advice or treatment for various conditions and ailments including:

• Advice on how to stay healthy
• Emergency prescriptions
• Emergency contraception
• Blood tests (Monday – Friday 8am – 11am)
• Strains and sprains
• Superficial cuts and bruises
• Stomach upsets
• Minor rashes and infections
• Bites and stings
• Coughs, colds and flu like symptoms
• Other health advice

People with more serious emergency complaints or injuries should still attend A&E departments, the nearest of which is at Tameside General Hospital.

These new GP practices will complement existing services in and around the Ashton, Droylsden and Guide Bridge areas. For more information on current services and initiatives available in the area, please contact your local surgery.

In addition to these, another new GP facility is planned to open in Mossley at a later date.

David Heyes MP said at the Ashton opening: “This is really welcome. These new GP services are just what the people of Ashton have been telling me they wanted. We’ve got a brand new, very well equipped building, right in the heart of the community and the extended hours mean that it will be open at the most convenient time for patients”.