ARDBLAIR MEDICAL PRACTICE
NEWSLETTER
As I write the sun is beating in the windows, let’s hope this is the start of our summer and long may it continue. At Ardblair there will be some more changes in the next few months. Dr Martindale who joined Ardblair in 1994 will be retiring from the Practice at the end of September, but, will be replaced with Dr Nicola Henderson, who some of you will already know, as Dr Henderson has been our registrar (a doctor completing their final year in specialist training in general practice) for the past 12 months. Previously to Dr Henderson studying to be a GP, she worked as a doctor in urology in Glasgow.
Dr Kristen Haga will be leaving at the end of July (she will return to Ardblair in 2018). So we will also have a new registrar starting on 3rd August, Dr Alex Dean. Some of our patients will already know Dr Dean as he was our ST1 (a doctor in their first year of their specialist training in general practice), when he was here at the beginning of 2016. He will be here for a year.
Acute Problem – Same Day Assessment
We have been working to improve our ability to help with acute medical problems that can’t wait and may need assessed the same day. Our system is that one of our Nurse Practitioners (Fiona Shaw or Sheonagh Reynolds) will phone back patients who request to be assessed the same day, so it is important that you give the receptionist the correct contact number and a brief description of the problem, to enable them to prioritise the calls. Depending on the clinical problem the Nurse Practitioner will either deal with the problem by telephone or arrange for you to be seen.
Our Practice telephone number is withheld, so please inform the receptionist if your telephone does not take calls from withheld numbers. Also, please be aware that at our busier times, usually Monday and Friday mornings, we may also use the Practice mobile phone, to prevent blocking phone lines for patients.
Phone System
As you know, we have a new phone system in place. When calling the surgery, you will hear 4 options, you must press an option, if you don’t, the phone rings in an office which is not always manned by Practice staff, and your call will go unanswered.
Missed appointments
The past few months we have seen the rise in missed doctors’ appointments. These are appointments that patients have booked in advance and then not turned up, appointments that other patients could have used.
The appointments missed were the following, April 51 appts, May 86 appts and in June 85 appts. That is equivalent to a full time GP for a week!
So can we ask, if you make an appointment in advance and then you discover you no longer require it can you please phone the Practice and cancel it, giving us as much notice as possible so we can make the appointment available for someone else.
Travel Advice
For patients travelling abroad who might need vaccinations, holiday forms available at reception, please be aware that there is a national shortage of holiday vaccines. Patients may have to go to a private travel clinic to receive the vaccines they require, if we are unable to fulfil their requirements. We no longer administer the Yellow Fever Vaccine. There is information on the holiday forms of some travel clinics in the area. Please note – completed holiday forms should now be handed in to the surgery at least 12 weeks prior to travel.
Pre-School Immunisations
The Practice nurses no longer administer pre-school immunisations; these are now done by the Immunisation Team. These clinics are held on a Wednesday morning, in the Practice. Appointments for these pre-booked clinics are sent out by the Child Health Team in Dundee. To cancel or rearrange an appointment, please call the telephone number on the appointment letter.
Public Holidays
Please note that the surgery will be closed due to Public Holiday on Monday 24th July and Monday 9th October 2017. In case of emergency call NHS24 on 111.