| Dr DAVID HINDMARSH |
| MBBS, DCH, DRCOG, MRCGP |
| (Male GP) |
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The Crane Surgery, Rectory Fields, Cranbrook, Kent |
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TN17 3JB - 01580 712260 |
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On this page:
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Dr David Hindmarsh
Principal GP
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Dr Sara Butler-Gallie
Salaried GP
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- Practice Nurses
- Julia Haynes
- Debra Humphries
- Phlebotomists
- Jill Holden
- Kristina Avery
- Practice Manager
- Admin Staff
- Kristina Avery
- Ann Macoun
- Debby Clarke
- Jo Thompson
- Jill Holden
- Maria Lacey
- Rebecca Chapman
- District Nurses (tel 01580 713032)
- Philippa Brown
- Marian Michelle
- Jackie Scotford-Smith
- Health Visitor (tel 01580 714935)
- Midwife (tel 01580 755559)
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.
The Crane Surgery has an Information Governance policy to ensure that the information
we hold about patients is appropriate, accurate, up to date, secure, and not
shared without proper consultation. Wherever possible we will inform you and
consult you before sharing information about you. Your medical details will
normally only be shared with other health professionals, and then only if they
are directly involved in your care. Also, you can access your own medical records
and obtain copies of them on application, although administrative fees may be
charged for copying from your records, and a health professional may need to
be with you if you read them, in order to explain any technical language. A
copy of the Information Governance policy is available on request.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.