Departments
Department of Primary Care
What is Primary Care?
Primary Care is a general phrase which is often used to describe those services which are a first port of call for patients. In its broadest sense, Primary Care includes GP services, pharmacy, optometry and dental services along with a range of community nursing, therapy services, health promotion and social services. This is also commonly known as Family Practitioner Services (FPS).
The Department of Primary Care has a specific responsibility to manage and develop the provision of GP services across the Board's area and also has a responsibility to work closely with others on the development of a network of closely linked primary care services including Out of Hours (OOH) operated by the Southern Area Urgent Care Services (SAUCS). The operational responsibility of Southern Area Urgent Care Services transferred to the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in April 2007.
Over 200 General Practitioners and their teams work from 77 practices of various sizes to provide GP services throughout the Board's area. GP services are in themselves both broad and complex. They include :
- The management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and coronary heart disease.
- The care and management of a wide spectrum of illness ranging from minor to more serious conditions suffered by patients of all ages, and including those who suffer from depression and more severe forms of mental illness. This care is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, most often with input from an 'Out of Hours' service.
- The provision of health promotion services to patients registered with the practice along with child, travel and flu immunisation services and screening programmes such as cervical screening.
Throughout all these areas, GPs and their teams are required to work in close partnership with many other providers of health and social care services.
Looking Ahead
Primary Care within the Southern Board and indeed nationally is currently facing a period of considerable strategic change. These changes will be driven by :
- The implementation of revised arrangements for improving and assuring the quality of services.
- The implementation of a new contract for General Practitioners.
- The on-going need to improve the provision and organisation of services to respond to the increasing demands and expectations of professionals and the public.
The Board's role in relation to this is to facilitate and enable General Practitioners and wider members of the primary care team to work together and respond positively to the inevitable opportunities and challenges associated with it.
Who's Who in Primary Care?
| Name | Title | Contact Telephone Number | Contact Email Address |
| Dr Robert Thompson | Acting Director of Primary Care | 028 3741 4572 | robertth@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Dr Mary Donnelly | Medical Adviser in Primary Care | 028 3741 4377 | marydo@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Dr June Wilson | Medical Adviser in Primary Care | 028 3741 4403 | junewi@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Dr Keith McCollum | Medical Adviser in Primary Care | 028 3741 4403 | keithmc@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Karen Braithwaite | Primary Care Business Manager | 028 3741 4571 | karenbr@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Geraldine Connolly | Primary Care Facilitator | 028 3741 4573 | geraldco@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Daphne Harra | Monitoring & Development Manager | 028 3741 4414 | daphneha@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Michele Bekmez | Effective Healthcare Facilitator | 028 3741 4637 | michelbe@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Lynne Cassells | SALT Manager/Service Improvement Facilitator | 028 3741 4372 | lynneca@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Lesley Hutchinson | GMS Administration Manager | 028 3741 4415 | lesleyhu@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Mark Lowry | Primary Care ICT Manager | 028 3741 4430 | marklo@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
| Andy Gregg | Primary Care Information Analyst | 028 3741 4354 | andrewgr@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
The above staff are based at the following address.
| SHSSB |
| Department of Primary Care |
| Tower Hill |
| Armagh |
| Co Armagh |
| Northern Ireland |
| BT61 9DR |
The Department of Primary Care has responsibility for the following:-
SALT - Southern Area Learning as Teams
Click here to access the SALT page.
SAUCS - Southern Area Urgent Care Services
Click here to access the SAUCS page.
Associated Downloads and Useful Documents within Primary Care
| Caring for People Beyond Tomorrow - A Strategic Framework for Primary Care |  |
Links to Useful Sites within Primary Care