Updated 19 August 2016
The River Surgery is situated in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. It provides GP services to approximately 4250 patients living in Buckhurst Hill, Loughton, Chigwell and Woodford. The River Surgery is one of 38 practices commissioned by the West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group. The practice holds a General Medical Services contract (GMS) with the NHS. This contract outlines the core responsibilities of the practice in meeting the needs of its patients through the services it provides.
The practice population has a higher number of children aged 5 to 19 years than the England average, as well as a slightly higher number of patients aged 40 to 49 years. Economic deprivation levels affecting children and older people are lower than England average, as are unemployment levels. The life expectancies of men and women are slightly higher than national averages. There are fewer patients on the practice’s list that have long standing health conditions and significantly fewer patients in receipt of disability allowance than the national average.
The practice is governed by a partnership of three partners, two of which are female GPs and one a female nurse practitioner. The partners are supported by a salaried GP, a practice nurse and a health care assistant. Administrative support consists of two part-time practice managers who each work four days a week, a secretary, an administrator, two scanning and data input clerks and five part-time receptionists.
The River Surgery is a training practice. They are an accredited training practice for GP specialist trainees as part of their vocational training scheme. There is one registrar at the practice. A registrar is a qualified doctor who is training to become a GP through a period of working
and training in a practice. The practice is also affiliated with The Royal London Medical School and provides teaching to undergraduate medical students.
The practice is open between 8am and 7pm every weekday except Wednesday, when the surgery closed at 1pm. Morning appointments are from 9:00am to 12:30pm on a Monday, 9:00 to 12.40pm on a Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:30am until 1pm on a Wednesday and 9am until 1:15pm on a Friday. Afternoon surgery times are 3pm until 7pm on a Monday and Thursday, 2:30pm until 7pm on a Tuesday, closed on a Wednesday afternoon and 3pm until 7:15pm on a Friday. When the practice is closed on a Wednesday afternoon, patients are advised to contact the out of hours provider.
The GPs hold morning surgeries daily and afternoon surgeries on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The practice is taking part in the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund. This is an initiative to improve and extend patient access. The practice is working with other surgeries across West Essex to provide appointments GP and nurse over the weekends.
The practice has opted out of providing 'out of hours’ services which is now provided by Partnership of East London Co-operatives (PELC), another healthcare provider. Patients can also contact the NHS 111 service to obtain medical advice if necessary.