The Surgery is an approved training practice for the training of General Practice Registrars (GPRs). Being an approved training practice means that:

• patients can directly contribute to the training of future GPs
• patients who consult with the GPR will have longer consultations
• it keeps all doctors and nurses keep in touch with new medical developments and skills
• It improves all doctors and nurse’s consultation and training skills
• It ensures that clinical standards and standards of medical record keeping are maintained
• It helps with recruitment of high quality doctors to the practice for job vacancies

GPRs are doctors in training who are qualified doctors and have already worked in hospitals as junior doctors for at least 3 years and have now decided that they would like to specialise in General Practice.

In order to qualify as a GP all doctors have to complete Postgraduate Specialist Training which includes at least 18 months training in General Practice.

The practice will be regularly assessed for its suitability for postgraduate training in general practice. This process includes an inspection of medical records for quality, NOT content. If you object to your record being seen for this process then you must let us know in writing so these notes can be withdrawn.

An essential component of training in all medical practice is the use of video and consultations with the both the GPR and the trainer present. We hope that all our patients will be willing to take part in these educational consultations to help us all in improving and maintaining our medical and consultation skills. All video recordings are strictly confidential and are used for teaching only. We will not video your consultation without your consent. Please inform Reception if you would prefer not to participate.

We have plans to become a training practice and are committed to the training of our doctors and nurses all of whom are closely supervised. We believe in “life-long learning” and all the health professionals here and administrative staff undergo an annual appraisal where the goals of the individual, teams and practice are discussed and agreement reached on the way forward. Regular reviews act as a way of reinforcing effective performance, highlights areas for improvement and recognise developing strengths.

We also recognise the benefit of supported learning for our patients and families in enhancing your ability to manage and deal with both ‘self-limiting’ and long-term illnesses.