Eden Villa Practice, Health Centre, Bank Street, Cupar, Fife, KY15 4JN

Appointments: 01334 651223, Emergencies & Home Visits: 01334 651226

Results: 01334 651224. This telephone line will be open between 11.00am and 12.00pm and 4.00pm and 5.00pm.

Should you require medical care outwith our surgery opening times please call call NHS 24 directly on 08454 24 24 24.

Annual Review

Have you missed or do you need your annual review for the following conditions?

• - Asthma
• - COPD
• - Diabetes
• - Epilepsy
• - CHD/CVD
• - Mental Health

Do you need to have your blood pressure checked?

Please contact the surgery to book an appointment.

We are looking to recruit a Practice Nurse and a Medical Receptionist.

• Download Application Form (PDF)
• Download Application Instructions (PDF)

Practice Nurse

• Download Job Description - Practice Nurse (PDF)
• Download Person Specification - Practice Nurse (PDF)

The Applicant: Previous experience is not necessary. We welcome highly motivated individuals with the ability to work on own initiative. Applicant must be flexible, pro-active, innovative and willing to grow through exceptional training opportunities. This is an excellent opportunity for a move into Practice Nursing.

The successful candidate will commence on band 5 or equivalent with experience and further development opportunities. Part-time, 20 hours per week ideally over four mornings and alternative afternoons, by mutual agreement.

Closing Date: Friday 1st February 2013. Interviews will be held on Tuesday 12th February 2013.

Medical Receptionist

• Download Job Description - Medical Receptionist (PDF)
• Download Person Specification - Medical Receptionist (PDF)

This post involves contact with health professionals, public and patients, therefore excellent communication skills and a pleasant telephone manner are essential. This post also involves computer work, so PC skills will be advantageous although full training will be given.

The role is part-time, 20 hours per week, 2pm-6pm over five afternoons

Mrs Linda Sanders, RGN

Mrs Jacqui Herrington, RGN

Mrs Bernadette Hennen, RGN

Mrs Ruth Bowring (Health Care Assistant)

Our Practice Nursing team provides a wide range of nursing duties including immunisation, blood pressure monitoring, diabetes clinics, asthma clinics, coronary heart disease clinics, cervical smears, family planning and travel advice and immunisation. Full information is given on the services page.

Mrs Natalie Balsillie

The Practice Manager oversees the day-to-day running of the practice. She is responsible of all personnel, administrative and organisational aspects of the practice. She is available to help with any non-medical problems relevant to the practice and to discuss suggestions and complaints.

We have a good team of trained staff. They are the first point of contact for most patients and help each patient make best use of the practice resources. They answer the telephones, make appointments, update the computers and take requests for home visits, consultations and repeat prescriptions. They are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the doctors and nurses in the practice.

Practice Administration

The practice employs other administrative staff to ensure the smooth running of all aspects within the practice.

Health Visitors (01334 651282)

Mrs Rona Haig, RGN, RM, BA Nursing Studies, SPQ Public Health Nursing

Mrs Elaine Willmitt, RGN, RMN, BSc Community Health, SPQ Public Health Nursing

Our Health Visitors offer information and support on a wide range of health related issues to clients of all ages and are particularly involved in the healthcare and development of pre-school children. Specialist clinics offered include: sleep clinic (children), nurse led eczema clinic, smoking cessation, enuresis clinic and ante natal/parent craft classes

District Nurses (01334 651282)

District Charge Nurse
Polly Blakey, RGN, BA Nursing, Specialist Practitioner – District Nursing, Nurse Prescriber, Diploma in Palliative Care.

Community Staff Nurses
Lorna Scotland, RGN BN
Jacqueline Murray, RGN BA
Lorraine Hands, RGN BA

The District Nurses look after patients confined in their homes requiring nursing care.   The doctor will arrange for a District Nurse to visit when appropriate or you may request a visit by telephoning

All consultations are by appointment and are in 10 minute slots.   These can be made during normal surgery opening times either in person or by telephoning (01334) 651223. Should you have more than one complaint please arrange a double appointment. Emergency appointments will be with the doctor on duty for that particular day.   If you usually see a particular doctor, please tell the receptionist when you book your appointment.   Please also book your appointment as far in advance as possible, we will try to accommodate your wishes but may not be able to do so at short notice.   If you wish to speak with a doctor or a nurse the receptionist will ask for some details plus your contact details. This will be passed to a doctor or nurse and they will call you back.

Urgent Cases will always be seen the same day. Patients requesting urgent appointments may be asked to come to the surgery as an “extra” to be fitted in between booked appointments or at the end of surgery. This is by arrangement with the receptionist or doctor on call. There may be a wait involved so as not to inconvenience other patients with pre booked appointments.

Home visits are for patients too ill or frail too attend surgeries. Difficulty with transport is not in itself a valid reason to request a home visit. If you genuinely cannot come to the surgery and need a doctor to visit please try to telephone your request by 10.30a.m and give the receptionist your details. Please be prepared to explain your symptoms to the receptionist.  This is to enable the doctor to prioritise calls. A doctor may call you back as it may be that your problem may be dealt with by telephone advice.   All information you give is completely confidential.

All requests received after 12 noon are assessed by a doctor.

Home visits take the doctors considerably more time than surgery consultations.  Full examinations and tests cannot be done at home.  Please help us by coming into the surgery whenever possible.

Children with common childhood illnesses such as cold, rash or temperature can be brought safely to the surgery and will not endanger others.   Please tell the receptionist of this on your arrival.  If necessary you can wait isolated from other patients.

Questions and queries for the practice nurse can be given to the receptionist. If appropriate the nurse will call you at a convenient time.

The Following Appointments Can Be Pre Booked For The Practice Nursing Team

The Treatment Room in the Health Centre is open from 9.00am – 5.30pm Monday to Friday.  The nurses are available for a variety of services including dressings, blood tests, removal of stitches and other items arranged by the doctor.  Appointments for Treatment Room procedures can be obtained by telephoning 01334 651200.  There is also a Minor Injuries Unit based in the Treatment Room.  You may attend without an appointment if you have suffered an accident within the previous 48 hours.  Minor Injuries is open from 8.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

The physiotherapy department is a small friendly, busy department offering a variety of modalities (electrical, mobilising, exercise etc) to help patients.   Access to the service is by GP or Consultant referral.   Treatment is by appointment and unfortunately due to demand there is a waiting list.

The department is open on weekday mornings and on Thursday afternoon.  A request card signed by a doctor must be completed before any x-ray can be taken.  The department offers “Open Access” during its working hours, but you may prefer to book an appointment.  Outside the departments opening hours, our Receptionists have access to the appointment book.

Community midwives attend women before and after babies are born at home, in clinics and classes.  They act as a link between the hospital midwifery service and our practice.

Results of investigations undertaken in the practice, e.g. blood tests and x-rays are available from the receptionists. Please allow 7-10 days for the results to come through and telephone between 11.00am and 12.00pm, or 4.00pm and 5.00pm.

The practice has a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. We will only release test results to the person to whom they relate unless that person has given prior permission for the release of results, or they are not capable of understanding the results.

The Practice, in partnership with yourself, is committed to providing you with the best possible medical care.

You will be treated with respect and courtesy as an individual irrespective of ethnic origin, religious belief, personal attributes or the nature of your health problems. In return we ask that you extend respect and courtesy to other patients and to members of the practice staff at all times.

You will receive, in the practice’s opinion, the most appropriate care by suitably qualified professionals.  No procedure or treatment will be given without your informed consent. We ask you to comply with advice and treatment given or to advise us if you feel unable to do so.

It is our responsibility to give you treatment and advice. In the interest of your health, it is important that you understand all the information we have given you. We ask you not to withhold from us any information which may be relevant to your health. We ask you to answer any questions frankly and honestly.  We ask you to tell us if you do not understand any of the information given.

Any information which you give to any member of the practice staff will be treated with the strictest confidence. This information will not be discussed with a third party unless it is essential for your treatment, at your request or in the interest of public safety.

We endeavour to provide you with full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the appropriate information that directly affects your health at all times.

We ask you to contact the surgery personally if you require information on procedures or treatment. If for any reason, you are unable to do this, you must advise the receptionist that a friend or relative has your permission to do this on your behalf.

All Practice and NHS staff have a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and follow a staff code of Practice.

To give you the care you need we keep information about your visits to the surgery. We keep information about your health, lifestyle, illnesses, tests, prescriptions and other treatments you may have. Information containing data that can identify you, such as your name, address, postcode and date of birth, is called your personal health information and is stored on computer or paper; sometimes both.

At times we share relevant personal health information about you with other organisations involved in your healthcare. For example, when your GP refers you to a Specialist at the hospital we send relevant details in the referral letter and receive information back from them about you. We sometimes share information with other organisations within the NHS in order that you can be invited for health screening.

Relevant personal health information can also be used for administrative tasks such as Practice Audit.

In order that we can be paid for the services we provide, we share your information with relevant NHS organisations in Scotland who can then help to determine that public money is being appropriately spent.  We are obliged to allow these checks to be done and we need to share this information to be able to provide you with healthcare services. However, where possible this data is anonymous.

Sometimes we might use information about you, and other patients, to check that we meet required standards or to help improve our services. Whenever we do this we will make sure that, as far as possible, we do not share any information that could identify you.

Where you need a service that we provide jointly with the local authority no information will be given to them unless you have granted them your permission. On occasion we are required by law to pass on information to other organisations e.g. reporting some deaths and certain diseases.

The law sets out how we can use your personal health information. Under the Data Protection Act (1998) you are entitled to access your clinical records or any other personal information we hold about you. Applications to access your information should be made in writing to the Practice Manager. 

If patients display physically or verbally violent or threatening behaviour within the Practice premises the Police will be notified. This also applies should threatening behaviour be shown to Doctors or other members of the Primary Health Care Team while visiting a patients home. Under such circumstances patients will subsequently be removed from the Practice List.

If you have any complaints or concerns about the service you have received from the doctors, nurses or staff working for the practice, please let us know.

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:

• • Within 6 months of the event you want to complain about; or
• • Within 6 months of realising you have a reason to complain (but no longer than 12 months after the event)

If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please speak to the person dealing with this. Sometimes a complaint can be accepted after the time limits. Complaints may be made in person – please ask to speak to our Practice Manager – or in writing – some complaints may be easier to explain in writing. Please give as much information as you can, then send your complaint for the attention of the Practice Manager.

We would like to make sure that we settle any complaints as quickly as possible.
We shall acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within 10 working days of the date you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved.
When we look into your complaint we shall aim to:

• • Find out what happened and what went wrong
• • Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
• • Ensure that you receive an apology, where appropriate
• • Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

Complaining on behalf of someone else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality.
You can complain for someone else if you:

• • Have their agreement to complain. A letter signed by the person will be needed unless they are incapable, because of illness, of providing this. Alternatively a pre-printed form (Authorisation to Make a Complaint) is available from the practice
• • Are a parent, guardian, or main carer and your child is not mature enough to understand how to make a complaint
• • Have a welfare power of attorney or a welfare guardianship for someone who cannot make decisions for themselves, and the order gives you the power to make a complaint about health care
• • Are a relative of, or someone with a relationship with, a patient who has died and you were concerned for their welfare
• • Are acting as an advocate for the patient

We hope that if you have a problem that you will use the procedure described. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and the opportunity to improve our practice.

This does not however affect your right to approach NHS Fife if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, or you are dissatisfied with the way we are dealing with your complaint or the outcome. Please contact the following:

Mrs Cathy Philip
Patient Relation Department
Fife NHS Board
Hayfield House
Hayfield Road
Kirkaldy
KY2 5AH
Direct dial: 01592-647991

All patients are encouraged to attend a new patient medical as soon as possible after registration. It is a chance to get to know each other and to establish any special health needs you may have.

Certain services to our patients are not available on the National Health Service and you may be asked to pay a fee. These services include: private certificates, insurance claims, holiday cancellation certificates, and some medical examinations. We are happy to perform most services of this sort, and the receptionists will advise you when a fee is payable in line with current British Medical Association guidelines. Please ask at reception for details of these arrangements.

Patient Health Questionnaire

Patient Registration Form