Bensham Family Practice

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Practice Team

Practice Manager

Darren Pritchard

The Practice Manager manages all of the business aspects of the Practice such as making sure that the right systems and the right people are in place, at the right time, in order to provide a high quality of patient care, human resources, finance, patient safety, premises, equipment and IT (information technology). The Practice Manager supports the Admin Team, GPs and other medical professionals to deliver patient services and also helps to develop extended services, enhancing patient experience and care.

Administrative Staff

Ashley – Patient Care Co-ordinator

Nicole – Senior Administrator

Nicky – Medical Receptionist

Pauline – Medical Receptionist

Holly – Medical Receptionist

Mia – Medical Receptionist

Our staff attend to patients on the phone and in person. They coordinate and organise appointments and documentation to facilitate the smooth running of the Practice, and support delivery of quality patient care. The Staff have a very demanding role. They are there to assist you and we would ask you to be patient during peak times, when the staff have to handle a large volume of calls and enquiries. They will ask you a small amount of personal information about your medical condition – this information is used to ensure your call is dealt with by the correct Clinician and assist fellow Healthcare Professionals who work within the Practice to manage your healthcare and well-being.

Practice Pharmacists

Andy & Stephen

The pharmacists work at the practice, between them, one day a week. They consult with patients face to face or over the telephone and complete comprehensive medication reviews. They also review patients who are on long term pain medication and develop a patient led and pharmacist supported reduction plan where necessary. If you feel you would benefit from speaking to the pharmacist please get in touch and we can book you an appointment – you do not need to wait for us to get in touch with you!

Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLW / CLW)

Eve, Andrea, Helen & Deb

The Community Link Workers team are available to all patients via referral from a practice staff member (including the reception staff). They offer patients support with any social problems they may have – from housing issues, benefit agency applications, isolation and loneliness and many other areas. They have a wealth of knowledge of local community services and are far better placed to support patients in this area than the GP. If you feel you would benefit from their support please contact the reception staff and ask for a referral. You will need to give some details to the receptionist who can then complete the referral to the SPLW team. Most patients have an initial contact within 14 days.

Counsellors

Lisa & Ruth

Lisa and Ruth are based at the practice Tuesday to Friday. They have face to face appointments and can provide support to any registered patient over the age of 11 years. They offer one to one sessions and have very many years of experience. This service is accessible by patient self-referral only via the North East Counselling website here

Additional Staff available for all registered patients

Mental Health Nurses – Fran and Leon provide Mental Health support to all patients aged 5 years and over. Fran focusses on the patient aged over 18 years, whilst Leon is a Child and Young person Mental Health Nurse. An appointment can be booked directly with them by contacting reception on 0191 477 6955

Physiotherapy – we have a physio working at the practice Wednesday , Thursday and Friday. Their appointments are face to face and simply giving some details to the reception staff and choosing a convenient appointment can have you sitting with the physio discussing your problems the same week.

All staff adhere to the Practice’s Confidentiality Policy and Data Protection Act 2018.