The General Practitioners

The Partners

(Date and place in brackets indicates date and place of first registration)
All of the doctors work in partnership together.

Staff Other Than Partners

Doctors

Dr Stuart J Anderson

To assist them in their training, we regularly have medical students from Bristol University working within the practice.

Ancillary Staff

Most of the above team work part-time hours.

Health Authority Staff Attached To The Practice

There are many people, in addition to the doctors, at Burnham Medical Centre who are available to help you. Below is a brief outline of who they are and how you can contact them.

Receptionists

Our receptionists are fully trained or are undergoing training and are responsible for the smooth running of the practice. They are there to help the patients, so please give them as much information as possible. Patients will always be treated in confidence, as receptionists are bound by the same codes of conduct as the doctors.

The reception staff help the doctors carry out their work and they do a very difficult job well. Please remember that patients may be unavoidably kept waiting at times, but please also remember that it is not the receptionist's fault. Information supplied by patients helps the doctors to judge the order and urgency of calls, so do expect to be asked.

Health Visitors

Health visitors are trained nurses who work solely within the community. They are concerned with all aspects of care for pre-school children and their families. They are interested in promoting good health. If you would like to talk to someone without necessarily involving the doctor, you can contact a health visitor.

The health visitors are based at Peter Holmes Annexe, Burnham Hospital and can be contacted on (01278) 773186. There is an answer machine available for any non-urgent messages and one of the health visitors will make contact (usually within 48 hours). If you are concerned regarding your child and need an immediate response please telephone the medical centre on (01278) 795445.

Community Matron

The Community Matron is a nurse who visits patients who have more than one long term health condition. They aim to help people manage their own health and reduce the risk of admission to hospital.

Community Nurses (District Nurses)

Following referral from the doctor, the community nurse will assess the patient's needs and provide nursing care within the home environment.

The district nurses can be contacted between the hours of 9.00am-5.00pm every weekday on (01278) 792194. There is usually a nurse present between 9.00-10.00am most mornings and there is an answer machine available at all other times. The message on the answer machine also gives out-of-hours contact numbers.

Community Midwives

The midwife is responsible with the doctor for the shared care of antenatal and postnatal patients

If you need to speak with a midwife urgently please contact the hospital where the patient is booked to have the baby. The appropriate telephone number is on the front of the hand-held maternity notes.

Any non-urgent messages for the Community Midwives can be left on the Bridgwater Community Midwives answerphone on 01278 436745. These messages will be picked up on a weekly basis.

There is no facility to leave messages for the Community Midwife at Burnham Medical Centre.

Treatment Room Nurses

The duties of the treatment room nurses are many and varied. Some of these duties are outlined below:

1. Dressing of wounds
2. Removal of stitches etc
3. Care and treatment of leg ulcers
4. Ear irrigation
5. Taking swabs - at the request of the doctor
6. Taking ECGs - at the request of the doctor
7. Assisting doctors in the supervision of chronic illnesses eg, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma etc
8. Routine and holiday vaccinations
9. General advice and instruction on the use of medical equipment etc - at the request of the doctor

To contact the practice nurse, please telephone the usual surgery number and the receptionist will inform you of the best time to telephone.

Health Care Assistants

Health care assistants support the doctors and practice nurses. They carry out various duties including:

1. Taking blood
2. New patient medicals
3. Blood pressure monitoring
4. Assisting with minor operations clinics
5. Assisting with dressings

Minor Ailment Prescriptions

If you think you may need a prescription medicine which is not currently being prescribed for you, please make a telephone appointment with the doctor as explained under our 'Intelligent Access' system. If you have previously been given a prescription for a straightforward condition, such as hay fever, we may be able to issue a prescription after a telephone consultation. Your local pharmacist should be able to give you advice for non-prescription medication.