Devonshire House Surgery
Meet Your Health Care Team
Dr. Peter Hedges
Qualifications
MB.ChB.DRCOG.DFFP
Dr. Hedges was born in Liverpool. He graduated from Liverpool University in 1990 and worked in many of the departments at Clatterbridge and Arrowe Park Hospitals whilst training to be a GP. He joined the practice in July 1995. In addition to his work at the practice, he also works as a Clinical Assistant at St. Catherine's Hospital in the departments of Medicine for the Elderly and Elderly Mental Illness. He is a member of the Prescribing committee for the Birkenhead PCG and also the Primary Care IT steering group.
Dr. Mark Richards
Qualifications
MB. ChB. DRCOG. DFFP.
Dr. Richards was born in Bury, Lancashire. He studied at Liverpool University graduating with Honours in 1992. Like Dr. Hedges he completed many of his hospital posts locally at Arrowe Park Hospital with 6 months at Alder Hey Children's Hospital (where he briefly made his TV debut). He joined the practice in December 1996
Practice Nurse - Nuala
Nuala has just joined the practice and is an invaluable member of the team. Her workload includes:
Health promotion activities (smoking, dietary and lifestyle advice)
Blood Pressure and well man/woman checks
Blood Tests
Immunisations for children and travellers
Cervical Smear Tests
Wound and dressing care
Removal of sutures
Ear Syringing
Pregnancy testing
Respiratory nurse - Karen Hughes
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Karen has just started a respiratory clinic at the surgery. Patients with asthma, chronic broncitis or emphysema can come to her for advice and monitoring of their illness and symptoms. (Many thanks to Allen & Hanburys for helping sponsor this post)
Health Visitor - Diana
The Health Visitor is there to help with community based problems in a home setting but also in the surgery. She organises the childhood immunisations programme, helps with parenting problems including post-natal depression and also helps look after our over 75's. We hope soon to introduce seperate health visitor surgeries. Details will be posted when finalised.
Practice Manager - Rosemary
Rosemary joined the practice last year from a large surgery in Moreton. We have appointed her as a joint practice manager between ourselves and the St. Catherine's (Drs Dow & Harrand) practice. She deals with much of the administrative and financial sides of running a practice as well as patient complaints (if any) and suggestions. She will be co-ordinating the merger of the practices and the development of new facilities.
Counsellor - Kath
Kath is fully trained and accredited in counselling skills. She undertakes the supervision of other counsellors in training. She will discuss problems of anxiety, depression, marital and personal problems in a confidential and sympathetic manner.
Receptionists
The receptionists will make appointments for patients to see the doctors / nurse / counsellor. They may give out results of some tests and can arrange for transport to the hospital when required. Doctors' receptionists do a difficult job in the face of much flak. They are not deliberately obstructive but often need to help prioritise the doctors' busy schedule. Please co-operate with them. They are under instructions to let us know if patients are being rude or abusive.
District Nurses
The district nurse team ir currently being re-organised but we hope to have a stable team soon. Our team is shared between ourselves and the St. Catherine's GP practice (Dr.s Dow & Harrand)
D.N.s look after the the home nursing needs of our patients including:
Dressings, injections and wound care
Advice and care of the chronically sick and housebound
Care of the terminally ill
Advice on continence and mobility problems
Provision of appliances
Office and IT manager - Andrea
Andrea has recently been appointed and joins us from Parkfield Medical Centre. Her role is to ensure the smooth running of the office side of the practice including the increasingly complex IT packages.
Midwife - Toni
Toni and the other midwives work with the doctors to provide care for mothers throughout their pregnancy, delivery and the 2 week postnatal period. Toni holds an ante-natal clinic every Friday in the surgery which we encourage expectant mums to attend.
Phlebotomist - Jane
The phlebotomist attends the surgery twice a week. Please come and see her for your routine blood tests.
Macmillan Nurse - Anne
The Macmillan Nurses visit and care for cancer patients in their homes. They can offer advice an support at all stages of the illness.
Community Psychiatric Nurse - Mike
CPN for the Elderly - Gary
The CPNs help with mental health problems at home. In particular they help with those people who have been discharged from hospital and with confused elderly relatives. They are contactable via the community psychiatry department at Clatterbridge Hospital. We think they do a great job and this is reflected in our low rate of emergency psychiatric admissions to hospital.
Benefits Advisor - Sue
Many people who attend our surgery have problems that are predominantly concerned with their social welfare. Our benefits advisor can help check you are getting the right level of benefits for your situation. She is a fully trained C.A.B. person and is also able to help with any consumer or legal problems you may have.
"Domestic Supervisor" - John
You may well catch site of John in and around the surgery. He plays an important role in keeping the surgery clean - so that you dont catch anything nasty from us.
Other members of the team
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