Dr Michael Monk - Practice Information

Appointment Times

Practice hours:-

Monday 1100- 1900

Tuesday 0800 -1730

Wednesday. Administration and staff training day. No patients but phone is answered all day.

Thursday 0800 -1730

Friday 0800 - 1730

The phone is answered every weekday, including all day Monday and on Wednesday.

At busy times you may get the answering machine. Please leave your name and contact numbers (including mobile number) and you will be contacted as quickly as possible and certainly the same day.

Cancellations and Missed Appointments

We take a firm line over late cancellations and missed appointments. This benefits everybody; ensuring the waiting list is kept to a minimum because appointment slots are not wasted.

If you want to cancel an appointment there is no charge as long as you give us at least six working hours notice.As a gesture of goodwill, if we have less notice than 6 hours, we will ring round for you to try to fill the appointment from the waiting list. Frequently we can fill the appointment and then you won't be charged at all and we don't charge an 'administration' fee for doing this. However, if we can't fill the appointment you will be charged the full fee for the appointment you had booked.
If you miss an appointment you will be charged the full fee for the appointment you had booked.
We will let you know, by phone or letter, whether we have been able to fill the appointment or whether the fee is outstanding.
We don't make exceptions. Doing so would be unfair for the majority of patients who accept the need to take responsibility for their appointment.
If you fail to pay the appropriate fee when it is due, then no future appointments will be made.

Car Parking

There is ample parking outside Brewers Cottage along the London Road in the Marks Tey direction. There is no parking in our drive. Please do not obstruct our drive entrance or our neighbours’ drives. If you wish to park off the London Road then Hall Road, which is very quiet, is only 2 minutes walk away - see map.

If you are driving someone here who can walk only a few yards, it is usually possible to come into the drive to drop them off and to collect them, but the vehicle cannot stay in the drive for the duration of the appointment. Please ring and let us know in advance if you need to do this.

Fees

Fees are in line with the BMA guidelines for Medical Specialists. Please ring the Practice for my current fees.

Dr Monk's fees can usually be recovered from private health insurance (PHI). The different companies all have their own arrangements and group practitioners under different categories; BUPA for instance lists him under Musculo-Skeletal Medicine and Acupuncture and Osteopathy. Please read the separate section on PHI.

Fees, whether being claimed on PHI or not, are payable at the end of each treatment session by cheque or in cash. We will give you a receipt for your records or insurer. At the moment we do not take cards.

The patient remains responsible for the full fees when fees are being paid for by a third party, if the third party is subsequently unwilling, or unable, to pay.

Patients sometimes ask whether two or more conditions can be treated in the same session and also whether this costs more. Often several conditions can be treated at the same time, as long as there is no conflict in the treatment, and provided that there is time within the treatment session. In this case there is no extra charge for treating more than one condition.

Fees for returning patients: if you come back within 10 years of your last visit you don'tt pay the initial consultation and treatment fee again, just the treatment session fee which is current at the time of your return visit. This concession applies even if you are coming for a different problem from the original one.

Disabled Access

There are some difficulties because Brewers Cottage is a Grade II Listed building and wheelchair access in particular is not easy outside, and once inside the building the spaces are too limited to allow for ramps. This is the situation:

The drive slopes quite steeply.
There are three steps at the entrance to Brewers Cottage.
Once inside, wheelchairs wider than 23” (58 cm) will not go through the doorways into either of the consulting rooms without being folded
One of the two consulting rooms has steps; we need to ensure you are booked into the other room.
It is not possible to get a wheelchair into the WC.

Despite the limitations of the building we have seen many patients over the years who use wheelchairs but in order to ensure you have the access and facilities you need, we need to make special arrangements for your visit. Please ensure you let us know in advance that you will need this, so that we can discuss your needs and arrange things for you.

People using frames, sticks or crutches usually have less difficulty with the building. Again please let us know in advance if you have special needs with regard to mobility so that we can offer you maximum help.

How To Find Us

PLEASE DO NOT USE SATNAV to try to find us because it consistently puts people 2 miles away, even when they are using the correct postcode. All our efforts to get the situation rectified have failed.

Brewers Cottage is at 35 London Road (B1408), Copford, CO6 1LG. This is about half way between the Swan pub at Stanway and the Police Station at Copford on the same side as the Swan. The building is directly opposite Dorothy Curtice Court which is a sheltered housing complex. It is a cream coloured cottage, partly weather-boarded ,and the name is on the front of the house with the number on the gate post. There is a high hedge at the front with some trees.

Bus numbers 70 (Colchester to Braintree) and 71 (Colchester to Chelmsford) run past the door. The nearest stop is The Swan at Stanway (3 minutes walk).

Marks Tey Station is a good 25 minutes walk away. There are no taxis at Marks Tey.

Colchester North Station is 10 minutes away by taxi.

Brewers Cottage

Staff

To ensure the high standards of professionalism and care you would expect of a private practice our Practice Nurse/Receptionist is a highly experienced nurse, Mrs Joan Thorpe SRCN.

In addition, Mrs Sarah Monk has overall responsibility for the day to day running as well as working as a practitioner herself.

There is always a female member of staff here to act as a chaperone if you would like one. You are of course welcome to bring your own (adult) companion to come in with you as a chaperone if you prefer.

Private Health Insurance

Dr Monk is recognised as a Specialist by most of the Private Health Insurance Companies (such as BUPA, PPP, WPA, HSA etc.). Because of this, fees can usually be reclaimed if you have insurance, but it depends on your what your policy pays for.

Dr Monk is not a physiotherapist or a chiropractor. With BUPA for instance he is on the Provider Lists for acupuncture and musculoskeletal medicine and osteopathy but different companies may use different categories.

As with all such claims, it is usually necessary to be referred by your GP or another Consultant. We don't need a letter but the doctor referring you may prefer to write one. We suggest you ring your general practice to see what their policy is; some GP's are happy to sort out the referral with you on the phone.

Patients are responsible for their full fees even if they are claiming them back from a third party.

There are many different companies and policies, and details continually change; you will need to check your policy with your own insurance company. Do let us know if you have problems as we can usually advise based on past experience.

Fees are payable at the end of each treatment session even if you are claiming on PHI. We don't bill the insurer directly any longer.

Some patients claim from their insurer after each session, others claim at the end of treatment or after several treatments.

Treatment Sessions

Please allow 30 - 40 minutes for the first appointment. This appointment is a consultation and treatment session because usually treatment commences straightaway.

Further sessions are about 30 minutes.

Some patients will need to undress down to their underwear to be examined, particularly at the first consultation and if they are coming for the treatment of pain. Please wear loose fitting underwear that you feel comfortable in. All in one bodies, corsets and girdles are not suitable because they make examination very difficult. There is always a female member of staff here to act as a chaperone if you would like one. You are of course welcome to bring along another adult to come in with you.

Normally Dr Monk writes to the GP to let him or her know about your treatment here. This is considered best medical practice but if you would rather he did not contact your GP please tell him at the first visit.

Your Questions

If acupuncture and osteopathy can treat so many conditions successfully why are they not more widely available?
The problem with the acceptance of these two approaches lies in the fact that medicine claims to be scientific and doctors want to see published evidence that a treatment works before they will accept it. This is ironic since perhaps only 15% of medical treatments have been subjected to proper trials (Editorial in British Medical Journal Vol.303 5 October 1991).
In fact there is now a very large body of published research demonstrating how acupuncture and osteopathy work. Much of it has been published in reputable scientific journals, but even so, these may not be read by most doctors because of pressure of time. The message is getting across to them but it is very slow.

Is acupuncture safe?
Acupuncture is generally very safe. Serious side effects are very rare - fewer than 1 per 10,000 treatments. Put in context, this makes it much safer than most conventional medical treatment. (For instance it is thought that NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory drugs ) may cause 2500 deaths each year in the UK).

Does acupuncture have side effects?
You need to be aware that;

drowsiness occurs after treatment in a small number of patients. If affected you are advised not to drive;
minor bleeding or bruising occurs in about 3% of patients;
pain during treatment occurs in about 1% of treatments;
symptoms can get worse after treatment (less than 3%). It is not an unfavourable sign, and is usually short lived;
fainting can very rarely occur.

Does acupuncture hurt?
Using fine needles some patients feel a very slight scratch, although many feel nothing at all. Electroacupuncture and auriculotherapy are needle free and painless and are ideal for patients who are afraid of needles.

Is there any risk of AIDS?
Not in this practice. All the needles we use are pre-sterilised and disposable. They are used only once and are then incinerated. Obviously there is no risk with nNEAP which does not use needles.

How many treatments will you need?
Each patient is different. A few patients will need only a single treatment. Most will need several but will feel some improvement after the first visit. Complex problems normally require more treatment although sometimes even very longstanding painful conditions will disappear in one or two treatments. The effects of acupuncture tend to build up over a few sessions of treatment but once established are usually long lasting, often permanent.

Are these treatments suitable for anyone?
Yes. Any age group can be treated – even young children and the elderly.
If you are pregnant please be sure to mention this because there are some acupuncture points that should not be used and some types of osteopathy may not be appropriate.
We also need to know if you

have ever had a fit
have a pacemaker fitted
have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia
are taking anti-coagulants like Warfarin
have damaged heart valves, perhaps a result of Rheumatic Fever

These do not mean that you cannot have treatment at all, but you may need a special approach.

Will I be able to drive after osteopathy or acupuncture?
Normally there is no problem after manipulation or acupuncture or electroacupuncture. Sometimes patients feel sleepy a few hours later and you are advised not to drive or operate machinery if this occurs.