Introduction
The Wapping Group practice moved to Wapping into purpose-built premises in 1985 from a converted council flat in Stepney. For many years it had been a single-handed practice but continued to expand steadily. To date we have 11,300 patients. We have 2 partners, 6 salaried GP and a GP registrar (ST3 doctor). For an introduction to the practice team please go the the ‘Who we are’ page.
Our Vision
Caring for patients. Caring for staff. Caring for people.
Wapping
Wapping is an interesting place with a lot of historic buildings. The name ‘Wapping’ is Old English for the mud flats which extend south from Shadwell to the north bank of the Thames immediately downstream from the Tower of London. It is bounded on three sides by water and on the fourth by a major road from the City of London (The Highway). Before the closure of the docks, Wapping was like an island since it could only be reached via bridges which went up to let boats in and out. It retains to this day something of the atmosphere of an enclave. However, enormous social and physical changes have taken place since the demise of the docking industry and the redevelopment of the area in the 1980s such that the docking community has largely been replaced with a very cosmopolitan mix of nationalities and social classes.
Our Practice area now only goes as far as the South end of the Highway so that most of the practice population lives within walking distance of the Health Centre but some patients who have been registered for a long time with the practice live in Stepney and Shadwell.
Patient population
The oldest and longest standing residents are mostly indigenous white East Enders. After the closure of the docks these people often the sought employment as messengers in the City or as cab drivers. Now, as elderly people, they often live alone in council housing, their children having moved away, typically to Essex or Kent because of the shortage of council housing.
The proportion of elderly people on our list is small relative to the number of children and young people. Young professional couples also settle in Wapping for a year or two, have their first baby and then often move further afield.
The Bangladeshi patients all come originally from the province of Syhlet in North East Bangladesh.
In addition to the young professionals who come from all over the world to work in the City of London for a year or two, we are registering increasing numbers of older people who are retiring to luxury converted warehouses with a river view. The variety in social class, culture and expectations of our patients is tremendous, presenting us with continuous challenges and stimulation in our work. The practice population is extremely mobile ( a turnover of up to 40% of the population per year) which creates a high work-load for all and presents challenges in attaining targets in line with the GP contract.
Appointment system
We hold routine booked appointment surgeries everyday and operate a doctor-run telephone consultation system to triage patients who request same-day appointments.
We achieve 48 hour access.
The surgery is open from 9-6.30 pm Monday Tuesday and Friday and from 9am-7.30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday.