As a practice, we try to use locum doctors only where absolutely necessary – for instance to allow our GP’s to be involved with major development work outside of the practice for the wider community. We also try to use the same locums wherever possible to assist with continuity of care. They are a much needed and welcome part of our team.

We are proud that Spa Medical Centre is an approved training practice for Registrars moving towards qualification as General Practitioners. Dr Adrian Curtis is a GP Trainer and GP Training Programme Director, working for the Regional Deanery and he mentors our Registrars whilst they are here at the practice. Registrars are qualified doctors who wish to specialise in General practice. They generally spend a year with us at the surgery, holding their own clinics, under the guidance of Dr Curtis.

We are very fortunate to have a highly skilled and experienced nursing team headed up by Jo Dalby, our Nurse Clinical Lead. The nurses are trained to see patients with a wide range of acute and chronic problems offering advice and treatment where appropriate. Our practice nurses have expertise in managing chronic diseases, such as heart disease, asthma, diabetes and COPD. The team also offer contraceptive advice, travel advice and vaccinations, as well as childhood immunisations for the under 5’s. We also have a specialist mental health practitioner.

Our Healthcare Assistants (HCA’s) are specifically trained in phlebotomy (taking blood samples), as well as blood pressure checks, ECGs, Stop Smoking, NHS Health checks and simple dressings.

Locum nurses are sometimes employed at Spa and are a welcome addition to the team, allowing us to carry on offering appointments when our practice nurses are away. We try to use the same nurses for continuity of care.

Our receptionists go through extensive training when they join the practice. Not only can they assist you in making urgent and routine appointments to see a GP or nurse, they also answer numerous and varied questions and are happy to help and assist at all times. They are responsible for registering patients within the practice and for updating patient details, liaising with the GP’s over queries, organising home visits and liaising with our community nurses. Please remember that if they ask you questions they are doing this under instruction from our GPs and they are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as our doctors and nurses. Their main objective is to ensure that our patients feel supported, well cared for and listened to.

There is a strong administrative team supporting the doctors at Spa. Each person has specific areas of responsibility, covering NHS and non NHS work, as well as assisting with our document processing system, where all correspondence from Consultants and outside agencies is scanned into patient medical records and made available to our GP’s electronically.

Our medical secretaries process the correspondence between the GPs and consultants, hospitals and other agencies. They may undertake the arrangement of urgent appointments and also organise all our electronic referrals, which offers our patients a more efficient, flexible service at a hospital of their choice.

The team is made up of surgical co-ordinators who interact with patients to ensure they have the most appropriate date for their appointment, and to deal with any post operative queries. We also have medical secretaries who communicate clinic details to patients own GP’s as we deal with all Wiltshire, Banes & Swindon GP surgeries.

We have theatre practitioners who support our surgeons and also theatre assistants that in turn support all the clinicians and patients.

We are here to support the health and wellbeing of patients throughout Melksham to help individuals make positive and lasting changes to their health with a personalised approach. We aim to encourage patients every step of the way, giving them the tools and techniques to last a lifetime. Each individual person will be different with , different needs. We assess each person , by taking time to get to know them and personalise the plan for each person. Time is given to each patient , it is not one size fits all. What is important to that person through Guided conversations, motivational interviewing, and together create personalised care plan.

(Melksham Older Persons Team) To support our doctors with the care of those patients who are over 75 and particularly those at risk of admission to hospital, we have collaborated with Giffords Surgery to create a team who are able to visit patients at home on behalf of the GP. The nurses are able to assess and agree treatment plans with the GP’s, enabling the patient to be cared for at home where possible.

The Health Visitors are qualified nurses, with special training and experience in child health, health promotion and education. They offer practical support and health advice in many situations, including child development, nutrition, sleep issues and behaviour management in the under 5’s. They can be contacted directly at Melksham Hospital on 01225 618819. Normally the Health Visitors will see your child at the following intervals: • Following birth, at home, between 10-14 days with follow up support if needed • At 9-11 months • At 2 years They are a great source of information and the following drop-in clinics are run by the Health Visitors at Canberra Childrens Centre - no appointment is needed: Canberra Childrens Centre, Spa Road, Melksham Tuesdays 09:15 – 11:30 Fridays 12:00 – 13:00

The local Midwives will co-ordinate your care during your pregnancy, right from the moment you discover you are expecting. Please contact the Trowbridge Birth Centre (appointments) within one month of discovering you are pregnant on: 01225 711314, Monday to Thursday between 09:00 and 12:00. If you need to contact your Midwife, please telephone: 01225 765840 or 01225 711319. You do not need to see a GP to confirm you are pregnant unless you have concerns you wish to discuss.

The community nursing team provide specialised nursing care to patients who need to be cared for in their own homes. This includes care such as wound management, taking bloods, continence management and palliative care. The GP’s work closely with the community team to ensure that our housebound patients are well cared for.