Brookside Close, Gipsy Lane, Earley Reading RG6 7HG

Tel: 0118 966 9222

www.brooksidegrouppractice.co.uk

A forward-looking thirteen-partner practice in a largely suburban area on the east side of Reading, with a list size of around 26,500 patients. We operate from three surgery buildings: one at Winnersh and two larger ones in Lower Earley - Brookside and Chalfont surgeries.

Since starting as a single-handed practice in 1977, we have grown rapidly to keep pace with the expansion of new, largely privately-owned housing on the Lower Earley estate. We serve a young population, which means we have a high birth rate, plenty of paediatrics and little geriatrics. The practice has a Christian ethos and we try to work this out in our care for our patients and staff. We have the usual attached staff working with us in the practice.

We were a fund holding practice until 1999 and have been very involved in primary care development initiatives such as outreach clinics and IT. Derek Munday, the senior partner, is now the Clinical Director of the Wokingham PCT and we are committed to developing local services. The practice is fully computerised, operating on IPS ViSion.

We have been a training practice since 1988 and the whole practice team is committed to and takes part in GP Registrar training. Rod Sharpe took up training in 1990 and continues to take GP Registrars from Reading VTS and, in addition, medical students from Oxford and Imperial College on a regular basis. Other partners also supervise medical students on their GP attachments from Oxford and Royal Free.

Our aim is to give registrars a complete introduction to general practice and encourage them gradually to take on a full partner’s role in all practice activities and meetings. We value their input and contribution to the running of the practice and aim to provide appropriate support to balance the considerable challenge of the transition from hospital SHO to independent general practitioner. Training plans and curricula are worked out individually between registrar and trainer, and teaching tutorials are undertaken in protected time by many different members of the primary care team. The registrar is based at Chalfont surgery (around 11,500 patients) for most clinical activities and attends the Reading VTS day release course, based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

"(BGP)... is a group with a wide range of interests and skills which will
 offer excellent learning opportunities to doctors in training"

 "Most of all he (Rod) is an excellent role model as a GP and any learner
 would do well to model themselves on Rod's approach to his clinical work."



 Oxford Deanery Training Practice Reassessment, 12th August 2003