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BANK HOLIDAY REMINDER

We will be closed from 6pm Thursday 28th March for the Easter bank holiday and reopening at 8am Tuesday 2nd April.
Happy Easter everyone
Get help from your GP with Klinik - contact us online for any medical query including an appointment request

Welcome to Cheriton Bishop & Teign Valley Practice

We are a busy rural GP Training Practice with four doctors and a GP Registrar. Our main surgery is at Cheriton Bishop and our Branch surgery at Christow. Our Practice Area covers approximately 80 square miles with 12 villages around the beautiful landscape in and around the Dartmoor National Park.

Our aim is to give a personal, caring, efficient and friendly service to all our patients. This not only includes the management of acute illness, but a proactive, holistic and sensitive treatment of all chronic diseases, and a fully structured preventative health program for all age groups.

Latest News

CANS 4 CITY

Posted: 6th March 2024

What if we told you that you could support your local football club by recycling your empty drink cans?

Cans4City is based in Exeter and is a joint initiative between Exeter City Football Club and Exeter City Council.

The scheme provides fans with a free way to support their local football club - by recycling their empty drink cans.

Over the years they have collected more than 19 tonnes of drink cans and raised over £15,000 as a result!

Read more about Cans4City and other incredible recycling groups turning their cans into cash in our latest blog post: https://everycancounts.co.uk/cash-for-cans/

Drop your aluminium drinks cans into the collection box in Cheriton Bishop Surgery Reception for our Receptionist and City Super fan Chris to collect and deliver to St James Park.

DR CLUNIE'S RETIREMENT

Posted: 26th February 2024

Dr Clunie’s Retirement

After a touch over 26 years at the practice and over 33 years working in the NHS, I have decided that the time is right to hang up my stethoscope. So, Friday 31st May of this year will be my last working day.

All those years ago, being asked by Simon Dudbridge to be his partner was one of the best (and lucky) things to have happened in my entire working life. Being allowed to serve the various communities that make up our practice has at different times been joyful, very hard, very fulfilling, occasionally frustrating and everything in between. Within all that though it has been a huge privilege.

I’m immensely proud of what the whole team over the years has managed to do for our population. That means everybody: reception staff, nurses, the admin team, the practice manager, community nurses the dispensary team along with the GP’s and all the new allied staff. I’m proud of us being able to continue an approach to family medicine that maintains standards of access, continuity of care and above all managing to put patients first despite continuous Government restrictions. I know from feedback, the yearly National Patient Survey and our own surveys that we have been consistently appreciated and valued and that has been very important to me.

I am very happy to say that Dr Sam Pouncey will be taking over my role in the practice. He has worked with us now for some time, and I couldn’t think of a better doctor to whom I hand over my baton.

I feel as partners we are purely custodians of the Cheriton Bishop and Teign Valley Practice. Before me came Simon (Dudbridge) and Robin (Miller) whom many of you will remember. From my reflections on being a custodian of this amazing practice, I look back with pride. I have certainly done my best.

To Dr Hayter and Dr Pouncy, I happily hand them my baton. They inspire me in their work and compassion, and I know that you, our patients, will be well cared for.

To mark the occasion of my retirement it would be remiss of me not to do something suitably silly to raise funds for Acorn Community Support, a charity that the practice are so grateful to have within our community, who do so much in offering social, practical and emotional support to our patients. So, to keep with the tradition, I am planning to cycle, a week after my retirement, from Exeter to Bari, Puglia in Southeast Italy. It is 2,350 miles – it should take me about 3-4 weeks. If you would like to support my endeavours (and support my retirement) there will be collecting buckets in the usual places across the practice. You can also donate via the Acorn website at www.acorncommunitysupport.co.uk

Thank you to all of you - staff, patients and Acorn volunteers. You have ensured it has been the privilege of my life.

Dr Jason Clunie

Addendum

The retirement of Dr Clunie from our practice will be felt by many of you who have been in receipt of his compassion and medical expertise.

We will have a comments/thankyou book at each surgery from the 1st April 2024 which will provide you all with the opportunity to write a personal message to him and we will also be holding a ‘retirement do’ on May 31st 2024 at Cheriton Bishop Village Hall, 1 – 3pm. You are all welcome to come and wish Dr Clunie the very best in his retirement and thank him for all he has done for our community.

IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION

Posted: 13th February 2024

Disruption to normal service between 20th April - 30th April

DR SAM POUNCEY

I am very happy to be joining the team in Cheriton as I have always wanted to settle down in a rural practice. I have worked in Exeter over the past 9 years having trained at Keele University.
I completed my GP training locally and feel I have an in depth knowledge of local service.
I live in Exeter with my wife and two children. I enjoy outdoor sports, travelling, woodwork and have recently started learning the violin. This keeps me very busy outside of work.

Family Hub questionnaire

Posted: 18th December 2023

Family hub questionnaire
If you have time please fill out the Family hub questionnaire which asks what services families use in our area and what they would like to have available locally. It's very quick and easy. It will help us look at what other services are needed for parents, families and children in our locality. Please follow the link below.

https://forms.office.com/e/nKy1unrkua

HOPE PROGRAMME

Posted: 2nd January 2024

HOPE PROGRAMME FOR PARENTS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

DR FIONA STUART

I am very excited to be joining Cheriton Bishop and Teign valley practice having lived and raised my children in the Teign valley for the last 20 years. I trained at Birmingham medical school and moved to Devon (via New Zealand) to do my GP training in 1998. Since then I have worked mainly in Exeter so it will be lovely to have a rural view from my window at work as well as at home.

DR KATE ROLLS

Hi, I'm Kate, the new GP Registrar for the Surgery. This means I'm in my final year of training as a GP and I feel very lucky to have Cheriton as my workplace for the next year.

I spent most of my childhood growing up in West Cornwall so after I graduated from Norwich Medical School in 2008, I was keen to get myself back down to the South West to work as a junior doctor in the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. I've worked in a number of different departments including A&E, general surgery, gastroenterology, community paediatrics and acute care of the elderly. However, General Practice is what I enjoy the most, so I'm very pleased to be part of the team here in Cheriton.

IMPORTANT PATIENT NOTIFICATION

Please be advised that the d-icb.cheritonbishop@nhs.net mailbox is not constantly monitored, for clinical issues and queries please use the Patient Triage accessible through our website and the NHS App.

PATIENT ADVICE AND MESSAGES FOR ELECTIVE CARE WAITING LISTS

Patient Advice and Messages for Elective Care Waiting Lists
myhealth-devon.nhs.uk/my-referral/waiting-times
Information for patients about waiting times is available on the waiting times page on MyHealth and practices may wish to share this on their own websites. It states:
If you would like to be seen elsewhere or have been waiting a long time to be seen or for treatment please contact DRSS on 01626 883888 or email: drss.helpdesk@nhs.net to discuss your options.
The NHS Constitution gives most people living in England the right to choose where to receive treatment. You have the right to choose the organisation that provides your NHS care when you're referred for your first appointment with a consultant. So if your GP recommends that you see a specialist, you can choose where and when to see them.
Please note DRSS are unable to give exact guidance on how long you will wait to be seen for an appointment.
Please do not contact the hospital or your GP to check where you are on the list as they will not to be able to provide you with this information. The only exception to this is if you feel your condition is worsening prior to their hospital clinic appointment or procedure. In this instance, contact your GP.

myhealth-devon.nhs.uk/my-referral/waiting-times

SAFE SURGERIES

We are proud to be a safe surgery for everyone in our community, and
pledge to ensure that everyone in our community receives the quality
healthcare they are entitled to.
In partnership with Doctors of the World UK, we will ensure that our practice
offers a welcoming space for everyone who seeks to use our services. We will
ensure that a lack of identification, proof of address, or immigration
status do not prevent patient registration.
As a member of the Safe Surgeries community, we will endeavour to support
other Safe Surgeries and the development of the network.
Don’t have documents? Don’t worry, view the Safe Surgeries Documents
poster for more information.
For more information on what it means to be a Safe Surgery, please view
the Safe Surgeries Welcome poster.
If you wish to register, please speak to a member of staff who can help and
support you with the process of registration.
You can learn more at Doctors of the World UK

https://www.goodingegrouppractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Patient-Poster_-documents.pdf

PARAMEDIC AND ADVANCED CLINICAL PRACTITIONER JOINS THE SURGERY

Sam Caunter - Paramedic and Advanced Clinical Practitioner

We are extremely pleased to be Introducing Sam Caunter who has just joined us at the Surgery - He is a very experienced Paramedic and an Advanced Clinical Practitioner and a very welcome new member of our team.

Sam outlines below his background and role:

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Firstly, thank you to those patients I have had the privilege of helping so far you have all been so kind and welcoming.

So a little about me....I am a Devon boy born and bred. My background is as a Paramedic working for the South Western Ambulance service for nearly 14 years.

During my times with SWAST I enjoyed many roles including as a trainer, and more recently a Clinical Supervisor, where I would have a clinical overview of all incoming 999 calls.

After an opportunity came up to move over into Primary Care (GP practices) I jumped at the chance of a new challenge. I was part of the initial cohort of Paramedics moving over to primary care as part of the wider NHS plan to support GPs. Our skill set of a "jack of all trades" fit well within the Primary care environment as GPs never know what is coming through the door.

Over the past few years Paramedics have become much more commonplace in GP practices, in some cases being the only clinicians available in surgeries, helping alleviate the burden from GPs and importantly ensuring patients get prompt and effective care where GPs may be difficult to recruit.

I have recently worked at some very large town centre practices, which have allowed me to hone my skills as well as complete further training including my masters degree in Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP). The aim of this role is to allow me to undertake any of the testing you may need, prescribe medication, as well as refer on to other services as needed - all of this whilst referring back to your own GP who will still have an overall view of your care.

I hope you don't have need of my services, but if you do and you have any questions please do feel to ask.

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Sam works with us specialising predominantly in Urgent/same day care but also supporting our patients managing long term conditions. He will clinically examine and assess patient needs and plan clinical care accordingly, diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug and non-drug based treatment methods and prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness. He can initiate and interpret tests and investigations as appropriate and make appropriate referrals for our patients. He will also undertake home visits.

Sam is fully integrated to our Clinical team working closely with our GPs, referring back to them as they retain an overall view of your health care. He will always introduce himself to you so you will be aware that you are being supported by our Paramedic so that there is no confusion

WE ARE A DEMENTIA FRIENDLY SURGERY

We are proud to support Dementia Friends, an Alzheimer’s Society initiative. Each member of our staff has become a Dementia Friend. A Dementia Friend is somebody that learns about dementia so they can help their community.

Too many people affected by dementia feel that society fails to understand the condition they live with. Dementia Friends help by raising awareness and understanding, so that people living with dementia can continue to live in the way they want.

You can sign up to become a Dementia Friend at dementiafriends.org.uk

https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/

Important Patient Information Update

From January 2023 we will be modifying the way we provide GP appointments at the surgery.

We will be providing an Acute on the day service for urgent and acute clinical problems. This will run from 8am - 11am each weekday. We request that you send in requests via the link on the website or reception can send you a link, if you are unable to do this the reception team can take down the details for you. A duty GP will triage the call and either arrange a time to see you or manage the problem remotely.
PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS NOT A WALK IN SURGERY.

For routine non urgent appointments you can now book directly via Reception or via the NHS App. This can be for a face to face or telephone appointment.

For those with musculoskeletal issues, you can be booked in directly via Reception, with our first contact physio team for acute assessment, treatment, and investigation.

Chart showing prescription collection details

When will my prescription be ready?

Please ensure you leave THREE FULL WORKING DAYS before coming to collect your prescription. (Allow one extra day if your order is collected from Dunsford Post Office.)

The dispensary is closed between 1pm and 3pm daily.

Please DO NOT ring the Surgery to enquire if your prescription is ready - assume your prescription will be available as above.

If there are any issues with your request, the Dispensary team will contact you by phone or text.