Surgery Snippets Autumn 2016
We are well into Autumn and looking towards Winter and this brings a number of issues and challenges at the medical centre. The surgery becomes increasingly busy in these months as there is an increase in acute viral infections and patients with long term conditions are at risk of flare ups of these.
Flu Vaccination
The surgery is now able to offer a flu vaccination to all those who are eligible - many of you will already have received notification from NHS Grampian if you are entitled to a flu vaccine this year. The surgery will be offering two Saturday morning flu clinics on the 29th October and the 5th November. If you are attending the surgery for another matter in the next few months please ask the GP or the nurse you are seeing about getting the flu vaccine during your visit. Protection from the flu is very important at this time of year especially if you suffer with a long term health condition. Every year influenza infection claims several lives in Aberdeenshire and we want our patients to be given the best available protection from this.
Change of Appointment System Trial
Many people will be aware of and experienced our recent 2 week trial of a change in appointment system. During the trial all requests for an appointment with a GP or a nurse practitioner were triaged by a doctor who would then call every patient back to discuss their needs and get the best outcome for them.
Understandably there was a lot of anxiety (from both staff and patients) about such a significant change from our usual approach. A change in the appointment system is being considered to try and better meet the needs of our whole population. There is not a single approach which will suit everybody and we are always trying to get the best overall approach.
The triage system we trialled received a lot of negative feedback when it was announced on the surgery PPG Facebook page. A lot of this was understandable anxiety around how this system would work for the individual. The trial was undertaken for 2 main reasons – to assess how this style of work would suit the GPs and other staff working in the surgery and also to get an idea of how well it would work for patients although we are aware that 2 weeks is not long enough to fully assess the latter. During our trial we received over a 900 requests for an appointment, an average of 90 patients per day. Nearly half of the issues raised were dealt with on the phone. The feedback from patients during the trial was generally positive. The surgery is now undertaking a period of analysis and reflection before any decision is made on whether any further changes to the appointment system will be implemented. If there were to be any significant changes going forward this would be communicated with patients in advance.
On the topic of appointment requests we would remind everyone to call in the morning for an appointment when you need one as the on the day slots will usually fill quite quickly and the Sit and Wait service does not run after lunchtime. Likewise we ask that if you think a home visit will be required that you contact the surgery as early in the day as possible and ideally before 11am.
Patient Participation Group
The group continues to meet every 2 months on a Monday evening at 7pm. Thank you to everyone who completed the PPG survey earlier this year. The results of this have been considered by the surgery and we are looking at implementing some changes as a result.
Disappointingly the Patient Educational evenings organised by the PPG have not been well attended in recent times. This is a real shame as the topics and speakers who come along to contribute have been excellent and there has been a lot of really useful talks to help patients and their relatives / carers deal with health issues. The group wants to keep offering these events and ask that as many of you to come along to support them as possible. The next meeting is scheduled for the 14th November and will be educating people on how to perform basic life support and CPR.
Know Who To Turn To
Autumn and winter sees a sharp increase in the number of acute viral infections. The majority of these are minor and will improve naturally. Every year the surgery sees a sharp increase in appointment demand for this type of viral illness. This can put a significant strain on resources. There are many appointments wasted by patients who have a self-limiting viral infection for which there is no specific treatment available from a GP. Know who To Turn To gives guidance on what other help is available beyond your GP practice to treat these ailments. Please consider carefully if you really need to see a GP before booking an appointment.
Public Holidays
The surgery will be closed for 4 days over both Christmas and New Year with the public holidays. During this time GMEDs will provide cover for emergencies and can be contacted through NHS24 on 111. It is important that you plan ahead for ordering your repeat medication over this period as it will be difficult to access this if you run out.
Staff Update
Our two GP trainees, Dr Greenslade and Dr Macleod, have both now successfully completed their training and are fully qualified GPs. Congratulations to them both. They have both moved on to jobs elsewhere for now and we wish them all the best.
We are delighted to welcome two new GP trainee doctors to the surgery. Dr Iyalla and Dr Sonanis will be working with us over the next 3 years.
We were also sad to see Dr Caroline Bates leave the practice to have her baby. Dr Bates has worked with us on and off for the last 4 years and will also be missed.