Bethnal Green
About The Practice
There has been training at Bethnal Green Health Centre since 1992, four years after we moved to our existing purpose built premises. In the health centre there are two partnerships of which one (ours) is a training practice. There are several other professional groups on site with whom we work in partnership. We have four partners (three women and one man) and one salaried doctor (a former GPR in our practice), who works for 4 clinical sessions per week. Three of the doctors have masters degrees and we combine interests in Epidemiology and Anthropology, with Biomedicine.
Bethnal Green is situated in the north western corner of the borough where there is rich cultural diversity that reflects successive waves of immigration over the last three hundred years. The predominant group is an indigenous white population living cheek by jowl with a rising Bangladeshi population that has its centre in nearby Spitalfields, an area now undergoing extensive redevelopment. Additional ethnic groups in the area include Somalis, members of other African nations, Turks and refugees from eastern Europe. Because of our proximity to the City there is an increasing body of professional people moving into the area, as well as an established arts and media community. The result is a challenging mix. Any second languages spoken will be an advantage, especially Sylheti, the Bangladeshi dialect.
It has always been our intention to provide an opportunity for one or preferably two GP registrars to train in relaxed circumstances. To this end, there are two designated rooms for registrars, one of which is situated next to the trainer. Both rooms have facilities for video work and have free standing computers for consulting and to provide access to the NHS net, e-mail etc.
As I write there is only one trainer (myself), but a second partner, Helen Burke is on the training programme and will hopefully be in a position to start training in 2006. There are established links with other local practices which will become apparent when attending post graduate education meetings and the Wednesday half day release programme. In addition all registrars are encouraged to spend a week or so in a different practice setting.
Registrar Posts
At the onset of training the registrar will be encouraged to spend time with as many different professionals as possible in the health centre. Later, contact will be made with other agencies e.g. chemists, psychiatric nurses, physiotherapists, complimentary therapists, drug and alcohol teams and others. There is designated time within the working week to accommodate these activities and to attend outpatient clinics at local hospitals. There is a good practice library.
There is considerable flexibility over the timing of consultations with the emphasis on whole person doctoring rather than ad hoc symptomatic treatment.
Reflection on work done is fundamental so I am available during and after surgeries to go through both challenging and apparently routine problems, as well as to view videos. Tutorials are held once or more weekly and generally reflect clinical work.
Study leave is negotiable and generally aimed to fit individual requirements. One half day a week is put aside for this purpose in addition to the half day vocational training scheme. The registrar also has a half day weekly and is thus expected to see patients for seven clinical sessions each week.