On April 1st, 2025, we were delighted to announce our partnership with Buxton Medical Practice to provide its primary care services.
We wanted to find out a bit more about the people who work there and spoke to Medical Secretary Joanne Atkinson who has been working there since 2006. Here’s what she told us…
“I worked for the practice back when it was the Bath Road Surgery and so pleased to still be here. It’s such a lovely place to work and the team here are fantastic.
“My role is about making sure the patient gets the right referral after they’ve had an appointment with one of our GPs. It used to be my job to type up the conversation notes from the GPs audio recordings, but it’s largely done digitally now and we have templates for all of our patients.
“It’s all about what the patients need so making sure they get the right secondary care is vital and I’ll work with the doctor to make sure that happens. I have developed a good knowledge of the regional clinics, where they are and what they do so usually have a good idea of the best place for them to get that secondary care.
“Sometimes the patient themselves will mention it in their consultation so that’s also something to consider, it could be because they’ve been there before or live nearby. We are on the Derbyshire border so have a number of different places where our patients can receive that secondary care.
“I also write the letters to patients informing them of the next steps and speak to them on the phone. Offering that reassurance and personal touch is important; some patients aren’t sure what that next step is and have questions, some of which I can answer and some I can find out. For me it’s more than referring them, it’s about making sure they’re okay and helping them get the right help to get better.
“I love Buxton and our people, our team, we get on very well. My job is quite separate to others but Rachel Parker who works in the admin office covers for me when I’m not there and I know my job is in good hands, she’s so efficient. She’s part of a really good admin team who work well together and it’s just such a lovely place to work. After all these years working here, I really can’t see myself anywhere else.”