We are a two partner medical practice, Dr Arif Kazi and Dr Quratulain Chaudhry. We have 2 Salaried GPs – Dr Sophie Newton and Dr Ali Malik, we also have additional locum GP’s and GP Registrars.
Patients may register at the practice by completing a registration form, this can be done online or collecting an application form from the surgery.
The surgery building was opened in 1984 and is the result of extensive conversion works to the old Sowerby Bridge Police Station. Facilities are good, but we are always trying to improve them.
We have been a training practice since 1985 and so often have registrar doctors working at the practice. These are junior doctors whose previous experience has been largely confined to hospitals. They are attached to the practice for 6 months at a time.
The practice employs an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, a Sexual Health Specialist Nurse as well as 1 Practice Nurse, a trainee nurse associate and 1 Healthcare Assistant. On occasions you may feel your problem is more properly dealt with by the nursing staff. They run sessions for childhood vaccination, holiday/travel vaccination, wound dressing, cervical smears and HRT / contraceptive follow up.
The surgeries opening hours are 8.00 – 6.30pm. However, on a Monday we provide an extended clinic and open until 8pm. There are surgeries throughout the day as indicated in the Hours section.
The Surgery is closed on all Bank Holidays, if you require a Doctor at these times please contact our out of hours provider.
Whenever the surgery is closed, there will be a message on our telephone answering machines advising how a duty doctor may be contacted for emergency problems. At this point in time our out of hours provider can be contacted on 111.
We run an appointment system. You may request an appointment to see a doctor by completing an e-consult, or contacting the reception team. When seeking an appointment at short notice it may not be possible to offer you the doctor or the precise time of your choice.
If for any reason you are unable to keep an appointment please let the surgery know. It is possible then to give your slot to another patient.
We still lose approximately 300 appointments a month by patients failing to inform the surgery, when they are unable to keep a booked appointment.
Patients often find that surgeries run late. We apologise for this, but would point out the following causes:
- The doctor receives many ‘phone calls each day, some of which do encroach on surgery time.
- Patients arrive late, expect to be seen, and do not appreciate they are keeping other patients waiting.
- Some patients “save up” a long list of problems, and expect each to be dealt with at length in one consultation. We would expect an ideal consultation to consist of one patient with one problem.
- Some patients try to squeeze a friend or relative into their own appointment time. This is unfair on other patients, and offence may be taken if the doctor declines to cooperate.
If you change address, please inform the surgery as soon as possible. This is especially important if you may be moving out of the practice area.
It is our aim that the practice runs as smoothly as possible. Suggestions as to how services may be improved are always welcome.