Practice Team

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Practice Management

• Mr Ravi Iyer MSc, BSc (Hons) - Practice Manager

I recently joined the practice taking over from the recently retired and long serving Wendy Bardell. Prior to joining Amherst, I worked as a Senior Manager in GP practices and Community Services across London and the South East for 14 years. Together with the Partners, I am responsible for the overall management of the practice and ensuring the practice continues to provide high quality primary care services amongst an increasingly challenging environment.

I aim to bring what I've learnt from my previous roles to the Amherst and help lead the practice through the implementation of the new GP contract and the NHS’s Long Term Plan. I have inherited a practice with very strong foundations and an excellent reputation and I am committed with ensuring that the proposed changes within the NHS do not have a detrimental effect on Amherst’s patient services or staff.

I am always very willing to talk to any patient about the services provided and happy to receive suggestions, comments and to listen to any concerns/complaints. All constructive comments and suggestions are always welcomed by the Practice.

• Mrs Cathy Todman - Assistant Practice Manager

Practice Staff

• Helen - Practice Financial Administrator

You may refer to her if you have any invoice queries relating to practice accounts that have been sent to you.

• Andrea -  Office Manager

Oversees registrations and transfers of your medical records and all matters associated with the Primary Care Agency. If you are planning to move out of or into the Practice area you can liaise with Andrea.

Andrea also maintains the patient re call system for Cervical Cytology and supports the Clinical Team in ensuring patients are monitored for disease reviews such as Asthma and Diabetes and organises the annual flu clinics. If you have general practice queries speak to Andrea.

• Practice Telephonists

Practice telephonists who are job sharers and will answer your telephone calls as quickly as possible. We have 10 lines coming into the practice. Your call will be answered by a telephonist if you choose option 1. The most efficient way to receive a speedy answer is to choose the correct option when listening to our message. We ask you to know who your Doctor is so they can direct you to or you can choose the most appropriate person as quickly as possible.

Do remember if you engage the telephonist in conversation for too long they cannot get to the next person on the line. Their main job is to answer each call as quickly as possible and direct you to the most appropriate person.

• Practice Receptionists

Practice Receptionists facilitate the smooth running of the daily clinics. Each receptionist is part of the Doctor/Nurse team. They receive enquiries by telephone and in person. They book appointments for doctors and nurses and deal with general enquiries. Receptionists will explain procedures and provide you with helpful information.

Appointments can be booked up to 4 weeks in advance; it is helpful for you to clarify when you would like an appointment. If you need to cancel an appointment please let the receptionist know as soon as possible.

You may speak to your Doctor’s receptionist at any time for urgent requests but for routine matters please try to telephone late morning or during the afternoons when it will be easier for them to help you. The first two hours of the day are always very busy.

• Practice Secretaries

Practice Secretaries work in teams with their Doctor, Nurses and Receptionists and are able to help you with enquiries by phone.

The secretaries who are based at the Amherst accept your telephone calls between 2:30pm – 4:00pm.

If you need to enquire about a test result or any other administration matter related to your healthcare the secretaries are there to help you. If you are not sure if you should speak to your Doctor about a matter please speak to the secretary first and they will be able to advise you who is the best healthcare professional for you to direct your enquiry.

• Prescription Clerks

Prescription Clerks work during the mornings processing your repeat prescription requests. This is in the region of 300 per day of prescriptions equating to 1500 items of medications.

They carry out checking processes to make sure that your medication is being used appropriately and they liaise with the Partners with regard to any queries that might arise. You may phone the Sevenoaks Prescription clerk between 10.00 and 12.00 daily if you have a query. Please do not call to order/request your repeat medication. 

We are only able to process telephone requests for the elderly or the housebound.

There are 3 other loyal team members who offer backup and support to the entire team and are multi tasking.