Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Missed appointments & New Text Message Service The doctors and reception staff at Lincoln House Surgery understand that it can sometimes be frustrating getting an appointment within a timely manner. The surgery has tried to make it easier for patients by creating more appointments and making it easier to book appointments online. However, we would also like the pa-‐tients to play their part. !Every month we lose at least 100 Doctor and nurse appointments by patients not at-‐tending. This equates to over 16 hours of lost time. It also means that other patients who need appointments are unable to access them. !We therefore kindly request that patients cancel their appointments as soon as possi-‐ble if they know they are unable to attend. It is impossible to re-‐book appointment slots when a patient does not inform us in advance that they will not be attending. Even if you cancel a few hours in advance, we can usually Gill the appointment by of-‐fering it to somebody else. !To try and help the patients, we will be launching a text reminder service where pa-‐tients can receive a text message to remind them of advanced appointments. This will be an "OPT IN" system so texts will only be sent to patients who consent to this. We will initially trial the system for appointment reminders only but in future may be able to send reminders for other matters such as medication reviews etc. Please be assured that this service will not be used to convey any conGidential medical informa-‐tion. Further information and forms to register for this new service will be available at reception and via our website.
Welcome to the second edition of the Lincoln House Surgery Newsletter. Following the excel-‐lent feedback we have received from the Girst newsletter, we will be publishing further
newsletters on a twice yearly basis.
NEWSLETTER LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 1
!“PATIENT” VIEW !
I’m not a patient man but I am a patient. !I remember having to go to the original Lincoln House in Apsley where I sat in a dim, dismal waiting room and was eventually called through to see a Doctor. I was young(er) and got extremely frustrated by delays, I was busy and it seemed to me that Doctors and Dentist didn’t care that I was waiting beyond the appointed time. However, it did matter if I was late and the Doctor was on time; the focus was on the Doctor not Patients! On the plus side I was young(er) and I didn’t need to go to see the Doctor very often so did it really matter? !I’ve survived through the move of Lincoln House to Wolsey Road and back to London Road, Apsley and have seen a complete change of Doctors in the process. Now I am old-‐er, I see the Doctor more often and Gind that my impatience is lessening and I can toler-‐ate delays more readily. I understand that some appointments with the Doctor only take a few minutes and some take a lot longer so on balance maybe a few delays are ac-‐ceptable. !The surroundings I wait in are inGinitely better and more comfortable, I can avoid delays at reception by telling the Doctor I have arrived on a touch screen and I can see on a big long screen when and where I have to go to see my Doctor. I can avoid delays by book-‐ing and appointment or a repeat prescription online. !Talking of Doctors, do you think they’ve changed? I do. Who would of thought years ago that the Doctor (beyond question!) would have sought the views of his/her patients on the niceties of running a surgery to improve patient services? Well, Lincoln House Doctors have formed a Patient Participation Group (PPG) that is independent of the Doctors inasmuch that it puts forward its own views and opinions on the way Lincoln House operates and suggest areas where improvements could be made. And the Doc-‐tors listen. !I know it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time but I think our Doctors, and their support staff, have moved in the right direction and are providing a service that I appreciate and rate highly. I feel I am treated like an individual and my health is-‐sues are not just important to me but my Doctor cares as well. !What do you think about the service our surgery gives? Are you an impatient patient like I used to be? I’ve changed – now I’m just a grumpy OAP but I’m Ginding my visits to the Lincoln House Surgery are a much better experience than they have ever been. Just as well as now I’m old(er) I need to see my Doctor more frequently! !By Christopher Cook (Patient and PPG member at Lincoln House) !
Why not join the PPG? You can sign up by emailing the PPG at [email protected] or ask for a sign up form at the Surgery reception.
LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 2
Repeat Prescriptions
!We would like to remind patients about ordering repeat prescriptions in a timely manner. We have been having increasing urgent requests for repeat medication having to be dealt with by the emer-‐gency doctor which can put an incredible strain on our service. Ordering of repeat prescriptions can usually be planned for so please try to give at least 48 working hours notice when requesting a repeat prescription. Repeat prescriptions can be request-‐ed in writing at the surgery, through our website and also by your local chemist.
New Staff Members!!Kirsty Cosford has joined the surgery as part of the secretarial and adminis-‐tration team.
Deborah Backhouse and Caroline McPherson are new additions to the re-‐ception staff. We would like to extend a warm welcome to them all and hope they settle well into their new roles.
!Questionnaire !
We have been asked by Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group to seek the views of patients with long term health conditions and Gind out about the care they have been provided and their ability and con-‐Gidence to manage self care. !The long term conditions involved include: Hypertension, Coronory Heart Disease, Diabetes and COPD. We will shortly be handing out questionnaires to patients suffering from these long term conditions and would be very grateful if patients can take the time to complete these. The questionnaire is very short and should only take a few minutes to Gill out.
LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 3
Patient Survey 2014 In January this year the Surgery carried out another survey seeking patient’s opinions of key activities within the Practice and this year we received 317 responses. The re-‐sponses have been analysed, discussed with the Patients Participation Group (PPG) and a series of objectives are being considered or pursued. !This year’s survey was aimed at building on previous progress and taking a more fo-‐cused view on the remaining key areas for improvement. In broad terms, the aim was to prepare a plan that would enable us to concentrate our efforts on what our patients thought were important issues. !Of all the areas highlighted, those listed below were the most frequently raised. !
• Whilst there was a marked improvement in telephone response and the making of appointments these areas were still a concern
• Parking remained a problem for some
• Communicating extended waiting times and awareness of health issues was sometimes felt to be unsatisfactory
• Communicating items of general interest, newsletters and PPG activities was viewed by some to be lacking
• Some respondents thought that obtaining repeat prescriptions via email be of help
• Not all respondents were aware of the online facilities to make appoint-‐ments and order repeat prescriptions
!Regarding parking the surgery has tried various potential solutions but there is no additional space to increase patient parking. However, patients who need to park as near as possible because of mobility needs, children etc can now pull up to the surgery car park barrier and request access to park. !!Of the remaining items raised the Surgery has agreed the following with the PPG:
• The feasibility of using TV screens to provide information in the waiting ar-‐eas has previously been considered and will now be further evaluated for suit-‐ability and possible installation
• Consideration will be given to the use of text messaging to advice patients of imminent reviews, appointments etc.
• Investigate if email can be used for requesting prescriptions in a manner similar to the existing online facility
LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 4
Patient Survey 2014 (continued)
• The Surgery has a large database of patient’s email addresses but only communicates with the PPG via email. We intend to extend this form of com-‐munication to all patients who have registered their email address. This will signiGicantly improve contact with our patients and we will be able to offer an “opt out” option if patients feel it is unsuitable for them.
!In addition to the agreed actions we will continue in our efforts to improve our per-‐formance regarding telephone response and appointment making. As a result of pre-‐vious surveys we have already increased the number of appointments available at our Surgery and offered more appointments online. These initiatives are constantly be-‐ing reviewed and where appropriate improved. If you would like more detail of the survey, the PPG or our services please visit our website or contact reception for a copy of the survey. !(Article written by PPG member)
Hay fever !
Hay fever is a common allergic condition that affects up to one in Give people at some point in their life.
Who is affected?
Hay fever is one of the most common allergic conditions. It is estimated that there are more than 10 million people with hay fever in England. Hay fever usually begins in childhood or during the teenage years, but you can get it at any age. The condition is more common in boys than in girls. In adults, men and women are equally affected. Hay fever is more likely if there is a family history of aller-‐gies, particularly asthma or eczema. !Symptoms: !Symptoms of hay fever include:
• sneezing
• a runny nose
• itchy eyes
The symptoms of hay fever are caused when a person has an allergic reaction to pollen. Pollen is a Gine powder released by plants as part of their reproductive cycle. Pollen contains proteins that can cause the nose, eyes, throat and sinuses (small air-‐Gilled cavi-‐ties behind your cheekbones and forehead) to become swollen, irritated and inGlamed.
LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 5
You can have an allergy to: • tree pollen, released during spring
• grass pollen, released during the end of spring and beginning of summer
• weed pollen, released any time from early spring to late autumn !Many people Gind that their symptoms improve as they get older. Around half of people report some improvement in symptoms after several years. In around 10%-‐20% of peo-‐ple symptoms go away completely. !Treatment
There is currently no cure for hay fever but most people are able to relieve symptoms with treatment, at least to a certain extent. !In an ideal world, the most effective way to control hay fever would be to avoid exposure to pollen. However, it's very difGicult to avoid pollen, particularly during the summer months when you want to spend more time outdoors. !Treatment options for hay fever include antihistamines, which can help prevent an aller-‐gic reaction from happening and corticosteroids (steroids), which help reduce levels of inGlammation and swelling. !Many cases of hay fever can be controlled using over-‐the-‐counter medication available from your pharmacist. If your symptoms are more troublesome it’s worth speaking to your GP as you may require prescription medication. !For persistent and severe hay fever there is also a type of treatment called immunother-‐apy where you are exposed to small amounts of pollen over time to build up a resistance to its allergic effects. However, this can take many months or even years to be effective. !Self-‐help tips
It is sometimes possible to prevent the symptoms of hay fever by taking some basic pre-‐cautions, such as:
• wearing wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting in your eyes when you are outdoors
• change your clothes and take a shower after being outdoors to remove the pollen on your body
• try to stay indoors when the pollen count is high (over 50).
LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 6
…a Pharmacist is available everyday of the year until 10pm including all bank holidays.
We offer:-• FREE Emergency
contraception*• FREE Stop smoking service *• FREE Chlamydia Screening• FREE Chlamydia Treatment• FREE Blood Pressure Testing* subject to certain criteria
OPENING HOURSMon - Fri: 7.30am to 10pmSaturday: 8.00am to 10pmSunday: 8.30am to 10pm
FREE
MedicX Pharmacy 161 London Road Apsley HP3 9SQT: 01442 818181E: [email protected]: www.medicxpharmacy.com
Registered Office Paddock Business Park 2 Paddock Road West Pimbo Skelmersdale WN8 9PL Registered in England and Wales 6431213
Weight Management Consultation
Consultations are available every day from 7.30am until 8.30pm. Speak to a member of your pharmacy team to arrange a suitable time for you...
LINCOLN HOUSE SURGERY! SPRING 2014
! PAGE � 7
