Dr DAVID HINDMARSH
MBBS, DCH, DRCOG, MRCGP
(Male GP)

The Crane Surgery, Rectory Fields, Cranbrook, Kent
TN17 3JB - 01580 712260

On this page:

Surgery Staff

 

Dr David Hindmarsh, Principal GP

 

  • Practice Nurses
    • Julia Haynes
    • Debra Humphries
  • Phlebotomists
    • Jill Holden
    • Kristina Avery
  • Practice Manager
    • Julian Le Saux
  • Admin Staff
    • Kristina Avery
    • Ann Macoun
    • Debby Clarke
    • Jill Holden
    • Maria Lacey

 

Staff Attached to the Surgery

  • District Nurses (tel 01580 713032)
    • Philippa Brown
    • Marian Michelle
    • Jackie Scotford-Smith
  • Health Visitor (tel 01580 714935)
    • Carla Garsed
  • Midwife (tel 01580 755559)
    • Audrey Watney

 

Our confidentiality policy

Every effort is made to preserve patient confidentiality, and all staff are given full training in this respect. It is our belief that in this practice we will endeavour to protect all information about each patient and only share it with those who have a need to know. We will only release information about patients to third parties outside the Surgery (such as medical insurance companies) if we have the patient's written consent, unless they are other health professionals (eg. midwives, district nurse, hospital consultants). Parents/Guardians are entitled to information about children under sixteen for whom they are responsible, except in special cases such as pregnancy/abortion . Carers are entitled to information about those for whom they care. Otherwise, family members are not automatically entitled to know each other's medical details. If you believe a breach of confidentiality to have taken place, please report it immediately, preferably in writing, to the Practice Manager or Dr Hindmarsh.

 

Our Information Governance Policy

We ask you for information so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again. We may use some of this information for other reasons: for example, to help us protect the health of the public generally and see that the NHS runs efficiently. Information may also be needed to educate tomorrow's clinical staff or to carry out research for the benefit of everyone. Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information: for example, to notify a birth. The NHS Central Register for England & Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a general practitioner - but no clinical information.

You have a right of access to your health records. EVERYONE WORKING FOR THE NHS HAS A LEGAL DUTY TO KEEP INFORMATION ABOUT YOU CONFIDENTIAL.

You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit, we may need to share some information about you. We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it in your and everyone's interests. Whenever we can we shall remove details which identify you. Law strictly controls the sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information. Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

 

Our Disabilities Policy

It is our aim to ensure that our services are just as freely available to people with disabilities as they are to anyone else. We welcome suggestions to improve our disability access.

There is a parking space just outside our front porch which is intended for disabled people. There is a wheelchair-friendly ramp to the front door. If you have difficulty with the front door, please ring the bell and we will come and help you. All parts of the Surgery ground floor are accessible to wheelchairs, and there are special aids in the downstairs toilet.

Our publication scheme

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the NHS Openness Code 1995, we now have a Publication Scheme which details what information we will release about ourselves and how it can be obtained. To view the Publication Scheme, click here.

Codes of conduct: our conduct towards you

  • We will ensure that emergencies can always be accommodated.
  • We will ensure that the patient receives any assistance necessary during the consultation, eg. the services of an interpreter.
  • We will advise patients if there are likely to be any unforseen delays (eg. if the Doctor has to go out on an emergency visit).
  • We will always treat the patient in a friendly and respectful way.
  • We will provide a clean, comfortable and safe environment in the surgery.
  • We will explain to the patient if a practice policy is preventing agreement to a request.
  • We will appreciate the patient's need for confidentiality, both face to face and over the telephone.
  • We will be prepared to explain, slowly and carefully, any instruction given by a member of staff.
  • As a very last resort we do have the right to remove patients from our list. We will not do so, however (other than for threatening behaviour), without explaining the reasons for removal and giving due consideration to the process.



Codes of conduct: your conduct towards us

  • It is your responsibility as a patient not to turn up without an appointment except in an emergency.
  • Whenever you attend the surgery, please check in with the Reception staff
  • The out of hours service (On Call Care) is for emergencies only.
  • If you are feeling increasingly unwell, tell the Reception staff. They can only help if they know.
  • If you cannot attend a booked appointment, or no longer need it, please notify the surgery in order to avoid wasting valuable appointment time.
  • A GP can see four patients at the surgery in the time it takes to make one home visit. Please try and attend the surgery if at all possible.
  • Patients are reminded that the following behaviour is unacceptable and will generally result in immediate removal from the GP's list and a report being made to the Police:
    • Violent behaviour
    • Physical threat/abuse
    • Verbal abuse
    • Racial abuse
    • Wilful damage to surgery premises or property
  • Patients who persistently break Surgery rules or fail to attend for booked appointments may also be removed.
  • The Waiting Room:
    • We expect patients to behave themselves quietly in the Waiting Room, and to show consideration for their fellow-patients who may be feeling poorly and sensitive to noise.
    • Please switch off mobile phones.
    • Toys are provided, but the Waiting Room is not a playground, and we do not expect any running around or throwing.
    • Eating is not allowed in the Waiting Room, except for sweets. Pets, alcohol and smoking are not allowed on the Surgery premises.



Comments, Suggestions and Complaints

Your comments of any kind are always welcome, but because we are a small surgery, generally with only one members of staff in Reception at a time, and therefore with not much time for discussion, we would prefer to receive them in writing. Complaints should also be submitted in writing to ensure that they are dealt with officially. Please address comments and complaints to Julian Le Saux, the Practice Manager. Alternatively, you can send them to Dr Hindmarsh; or if you do not feel able to put what you have to say in writing, you can ask for an appointment for an interview.

All formal complaints will be acknowledged within three working days, and you will receive a reply in writing within two weeks. If you are not happy with our response and wish to take the matter further, you can contact the Maidstone Weald PCT (Primary Care Trust) at Preston Hall.



Frequently asked questions

 

  • When am I entitled to a home visit? Patients are entitled to home visits only if they are unable to get to the surgery for medical reasons, and their condition is medically urgent.


  • When can I be seen out of hours? Patients can sometimes be seen out of hours by special arrangement, eg. as an alternative to a home visit. The same rules about medical urgency apply, and patients who "just turn up" must expect to be sent away if there is nothing seriously wrong with them.


  • What does "medically urgent" mean? Medical urgency means something which must be dealt with quickly or the health of the patient will be seriously harmed. Examples: asthma attacks, heart attacks, acute appendicitis, alarming symptoms during pregnancy.


  • Am I entitled to hospital transport? Surgery staff can no longer make transport arrangements on behalf of the patients. To ask for transport, please contact the Referrals Management Centre at Maidstone Weald PCT on 01580 791472. You are eligible for transport if you cannot make your own way by public transport due to
    • Physical disability
    • Visual impairment
    • Mental illness/confusion
    • Difficulties in communicating
    • Registered disabled
    • Or if you have children under the age of 16
    Alternatively, if you are fit to travel in a car, you may be able to arrange a lift via the Voluntary Service on 01580 713185 (a small charge for petrol will be made).
  • Under what circumstances will the Doctor issue an NHS sick note? Only if the period of incapacity for work has lasted for more than 7 days.
    • If employers demand a sick note for shorter periods, a private fee will be charged, which the employer should pay.
    • We only stock self-certification forms for the self-employed. If you have an employer, and he/she wants you to fill out a self-certification form, he/she should be able to supply it to you.
    • If the patient is in hospital, the hospital should issue the sick note.
    • The Doctor cannot issue sick notes if he has not seen the patient about the illness in question, or had some correspondence about it.

  • Do I have to have an appointment to see the Doctor? Yes - we've had an all-appointments system since November 2006.

  • Why does the Doctor charge private fees for some things? Any work for which no fee is payable under the NHS must be charged privately. Examples are:
    • Some holiday vaccinations
    • Taking copies from patients' notes
    • Routine consultations with visitors from abroad (emergencies are treated free)
    • Private sick notes
    • Medical examinations
    • Completion of private insurance claim forms
    We get a tremendous amount of this kind of work every year, and we simply cannot afford to do it without being paid. Our fees are based on recommendations from the British Medical Association.