A Consultant Paramedic will have at least 15 years plus of experience and training across many sectors of healthcare, but will have specialised in usually one area, for example, Critical Care, Cardiac Care, Emergency Care, Primary Care / General Practice. They will lead teams of different professions (nurses, Paramedics, physiotherapists, biomedical scientists, occupational therapists, etc.) and follow the five pillars if consultant level practice. They can see: any patient with any issue, can assess, diagnose and treat as needed, including prescribing medications where appropriate or referring for further tests and investigations such as blood tests and x-rays as well as referring to hospital specialists where necessary. They works very closely with the GPs and seeks their guidance and support when necessary and often leads on training sessions to help develop practice. For more info: on Consultant Paramedic role and about Alex Walter our Consultant Paramedic : https://www.petworthsurgery.co.uk/consultant-paramedic

Practice nurses are qualified and registered nurses. They can help with health issues such as family planning, healthy living advice, blood pressure checks and dressings. The practice nurses run clinics for long-term health conditions such as asthma or diabetes, minor ailment clinics and carry out cervical smears.

Healthcare assistants support practice nurses with their daily work and carry out tasks such as phlebotomy (drawing blood), blood pressure measurement and new patient checks. They may act as a chaperone when a patient or doctor requests one.

Clinical Pharmacists undertake patient medication reviews and can deal with most queries relating to patients’ use of drugs and all aspects of medicines management. They have extensive knowledge regarding complex medication regimes and can assist patients in optimising the number of drugs they are taking and can advise on a range of drug safety related issues. Our clinical pharmacist also assist care and nursing home patients and work with our local Clinical Commissioning Group on medicines management issues.

The dispensary is part of the surgery and dispenses acute and repeat medications / medical appliances to approx. 3000 patients registered with the practice.

The practice manager is involved in managing all of the business aspects of the practice such as making sure that the right systems are in place to provide a high quality of patient care, human resources, finance, patient safety, premises and equipment and information technology. The practice manager supports the GPs and other medical professionals with delivering patient services and also helps to develop extended services to enhance patient care.

Receptionists provide an important link for patients with the practice and are your initial contact point for general enquiries. They can provide basic information on services and results and direct you to the right person depending on your health issue or query. Receptionists make most of the patient appointments with the GPs and nurses. They also perform other important tasks such as issuing repeat prescriptions and dealing with prescription enquiries, dealing with financial claims, dealing with patient records and carrying out searches and practice audits.

A community midwife is attached to the surgery can be contacted via St Richard's Hospital, Chichester. Telephone 01243 788122.

Community nurses are attached to the practice to provide nursing care to people confined to their homes. They are available on 01730 811401.

A health visitor is a registered nurse who has received training particularly related to babies, children and pregnant women. Their role is to provide families with children under five years old with support and advice around the general aspects of mental, physical and social wellbeing. Our health visitors are based at Pulborough and can be contacted on 01798 874752 or 01798 874750. Health Visitors also run a well baby clinic at the Family Centre.