Dr Michael Monk - Practice Information

Appointment Times

Practice hours:-

Monday 1100- 1900

Tuesday 0800 -1730

Wednesday. Admin day. No patients but phone answered all day.

Thursday 0800 -1730

Friday 0800 -1500

The phone is answered every week day, including all day Monday and 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

If you want to cancel an appointment there is no charge as long as you give us at least 6 hours notice - there is an answering machine during the week if we cannot take your call. If we have less notice than 6 hours we will still try very hard to fill the appointment from the waiting list. Normally we can do so and then you will not be charged at all - we do not charge an 'administration' fee for example. However, if we cannot fill the appointment you will be charged the full fee for the appointment you had booked.
If you miss an appointment then you will be charged the full fee for the appointment you had booked.

Car Parking

There is ample parking for Brewers Cottage along the London Road in the Marks Tey direction, but 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 have to drop someone off who can walk only a few yards, then usually it is possible to come into the drive to drop them off, and 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 current fees.

Dr Monk is a registered medical specialist and so fees can be recovered from the private health insurance companies. Please read the separate section on PHI.

Fees are payable at the end of each treatment session by cheque or in cash. At the moment we do not take debit or credit cards.

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. There is no extra charge for treating more than one condition.

Disabled Access

We have successfully treated many disabled people but there are some difficulties in accessibility because Brewers Cottage is a Grade II Listed building and wheelchair access is not easy both outside and once inside the building.

The drive slopes and there are steps at the entrance to Brewers Cottage.
Once inside, wheelchairs wider than 23” (58 cm) will not go through the doorways into the consulting rooms.
It is not possible to get a wheelchair into the WC.

If you are coming in a wheelchair please let us know in advance. You will also need to bring somebody to help you.

People using sticks or crutches can manage without too much difficulty, but one of the consulting rooms has 2 steps up to it which is best avoided. If you have special needs like this we will book you into the other room but we do need to know how to help you in advance.

How To Find Us

Brewers Cottage is at 35 London Road (B1408), Copford, CO6 1LG, 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.

Bus numbers 70 (Colchester to Braintree) and 71 (Colchester to Chelmsford) run past the door and stop nearby. 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 medical practice our Practice Nurse/Receptionist is a highly experienced nurse, Mrs Joan Thorpe SRCN who has worked in the practice for 20 years.

In addition, Mrs Sarah Monk BSc (Hons), who also works in the practice, has overall responsibility for the day to day running.

There is always a female member of staff here to act as a chaperone.

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, his fees can usually be reclaimed, but it does depend on your individual policy.

As with all such claims, it is usually necessary to be referred by your GP or another Consultant.

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 do not bill the insurer directly.

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

You will need to keep your receipts so that you can recover the fees from your insurer. We will supply replacement receipts if you lose the originals.

Treatment Sessions

Please allow 35-45 minutes for the first appointment. This is a consultation and treatment session because usually treatment commences straightaway.

Further treatment sessions are 20-30 minutes.

Some patients will need to undress down to their underwear to be examined at the first consultation, particularly 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 or nurse here.

Normally Dr Monk writes to the GP to let him or her know about your treatment. If you would rather he did not contact your GP please tell him at the first visit. If you do not tell him then we will assume that you have no objections.

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.