Produced in co-operation with PPG Group
December 2017 / Volume 1, Number 13
Monday18th – Friday22nd December 2017normal hours
Saturday and Sunday Christmas Eve (Weekend) 23rd and 24th December - Closed
Christmas Day Monday the 25th of December 2017 - Closed
Boxing Day Tuesday 26th of December 2017 – Closed
Wednesday 27thDecember 2017 8:00 – 18:30
Thursday 28thDecember 2017 7:30 – 18:30
Friday 29thDecember 20178:00 – 18:30
Weekend 30th– 31stof December 2017 - Closed
New Year’s Day Monday 1st January 2018 – Closed
Tuesday 2nd January 2018 – 8:00 to 20:30(normal hours resume)
When the surgery is closed if you require URGENT medical advice, please contact the NHS service on 111
You can also attend these three walk-in centers across Harrow (open 7 days a week from 08.00-20.00)
Alexandra Avenue Health and Social Care Centre
Rayners Lane
275 Alexandra Avenue, HA2 9DX / The Pinn Medical Centre
37 Love Lane
Pinner
HA5 3EE / The Belmont Health Centre
516 Kenton Lane
Harrow
HA3 7LT
Alternatively Walk-in Centre at Edgware Community Hospital Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware, HA8 0AD
In event of a life threatening emergency Call 999 or go immediately to the nearest A&E Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, HA1 3UJ Tel:020 8864 3232 - Open 24 hours a day
You are eligible for the SHINGLES VACCINE if you are aged 70 or 78 years old
In addition, anyone who was eligible for immunisation in the previous three years of the programme but missed out on their shingles vaccination remains eligible until their 80th birthday. This includes:*people in their 70s who were born after 1 September 1942
*people aged 79 years
FLU VACCINE - is available, please call 0208 952 5073 to book an appointment
(For more information and eligibility criteria, please speak to receptionists at the surgery)NHS Choices comments and reviews
Dear Patients,Why not give us your views on health services received by our Practice.
Please visit NHS choices website to write your review today. Thank you,
Bacon Lane Surgery Team
Missed Appointments October 2017
Doctor / 43Nurse/Nurse Practitioner / 36
HCA / 13
Other–Clinical Pharmacist/Dietician/CMN / 10
Total / 102
This is a gentle reminder, if you cannot keep an appointment, please call to tell us, so it can be offered to another patient who does need to be seen. If you are running late, it will be at the doctor’s discretion to see you at the end of their surgery session or to request that your appointment is rebooked. Thank you for your understanding.
Ordering Repeat Prescriptions
Bacon Lane Surgery, along with most GP practices in Harrow is reviewing how repeat prescriptions are ordered.
Fromthe1st of January 2018Bacon Lane Surgery will cease to accept repeat prescription requests from pharmaciesas perNHSPrescribing Wiselyguidance. Patientson repeatsprescriptions can request by either;
- Onlineor mobile appvia'Patient Access'. To register for an onlineaccount please use this link you can’t manage this then ask a family member or friend to help you)
- Posting their signed and datedrepeat request slip or dropping it into us.
After 1st of January 2018 we will stop accepting repeat prescription requests from community pharmacies, with the following exceptions for:
a. patients who cannot request their own repeat medicines, and who do not have a friend or carer who can request for them
b. disabled patients who say that asking their community pharmacy to request their prescription is a ‘reasonable adjustment’ under the Equality Act 2010.
Please read information below explaining the reasons behind this change.
If you take prescribed medicines regularly, your GP may have said that you can request repeat prescriptions without having to see the doctor each time At regular intervals (every 3, 6 or 12 months is common), your GP will review your medication and this may involve having some blood tests or other tests.
At present repeat prescriptions are being ordered in a number of ways:
- Pharmacies ordering repeat medication on behalf of patients
- Patients ordering medications by handing the repeat slip to the reception at Bacon Lane Surgery
- Patients ordering medications via email to
- Patients ordering medications via Patient Access (which is an online app and patients can order medications via computer or phone)
From now on we would like patients to request their repeat prescriptions directly from the practice rather than from their community pharmacy. Nobody knows which medicines you are running out of better than you. We think that if people request their own repeat prescriptions, that will help to reduce waste. When a pharmacy (chemist) automatically requests repeat prescriptions on your behalf they may not always know if medicines have been changed or how much of each medicine you have left. This can sometimes mean that medicines are requested that are not needed, which can lead to some patients building up a stockpile of medicines at home. This is a waste of NHS resources and poses a safety risk to patients and their households.
How to order repeat prescriptions from now on
1. Using NHS GP online services – Patient Access (this is the preferred method for you to request medication). NHS GP online services are a quick, easy and secure way to order repeat prescriptions using a computer, tablet or smartphone.
2. Using a paper repeat prescription request slip if you cannot or do not want to use a computer or smartphone you can use a paper repeat prescription request slip:
•If you get paper prescriptions, the repeat prescription request slip will be attached to the right hand side of the prescription for you to tear off. You can mark it up to request a repeat prescription from the GP
•If your GP sends your repeat prescription to your community pharmacy electronically, from computer to computer, ask the pharmacist to print your repeat prescription request slip and give it to you • When you are running out of a medicine, tick the medicine(s) you need on the repeat prescription request slip, sign and date it, then post or bring it to your general practice
Simply follow the steps below to register for free for the Patient Access service:
- Log on to
- Click on “Register” on the homepage
- You will be asked “Have you received a registration letter from your practice?” > select “No”
- Enter Surgery Postcode: HA8 5AT and click “Next”
- Select “Bacon Lane Surgery” from the list and click “Next”
- Follow on-screen instructions by entering your details, create password and tick box to agree to “Terms and conditions”. Click on “Next”
We also offer the facility to send your prescriptions electronically to your chosen Pharmacy. Please inform the receptionist about your nomination for the chosen Pharmacy or contact your chosen Pharmacy directly.
Please note, the same time frame of two working days applies to this process.
How can you help?
• Request your repeat prescriptions directly from us if you are not doing this already. If you can’t manage this then ask a family member or friend to help you
• Only request medicines that you are running out of
• If a pharmacy has been requesting your repeat prescriptions, inform the pharmacy that from now on you will be requesting them yourself, direct
The way you receive your repeat medication from the pharmacy will not change. So it you collect the medications from the pharmacy or if the medication is delivered to you this will continue as normal.
Your local NHS spent £13 million last year on medicines and products that can easily be bought in community pharmacies.
By buying some of these medicines and products rather than getting them on prescription you are helping your NHS save money.
So if the medicine you need can be bought without a prescription, your GP may ask if you are willing to buy it.
Your local community pharmacist can advise on medicines that are available to buy. When you buy this medicine at the pharmacy, please ask for the least expensive appropriate form of the medicine.
NAPP Conference Report 2017
Keynote Address – The Role of the CQC - by Ruth Rankine
Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice in CQC's South region
The CQC undertakes inspections to implement the Health and Social Care Act. It is an independent regulator, on the side of patients, and has inspected 50,000 providers. The private sector has also been inspected by them since 2014.
Method of regulation
All providers must register with the CQC. They are then monitored, with inspections and given a rating. The CQC can enforce action where care is deemed to be poor, issuing a requirement notice and an action plan. A surgery can be closed down in exceptional circumstances.
The CQC publishes a report following an inspection on what they find. There are 4 ratings and this must be displayed by the practice in a prominent position.
The CQC also publishes a more general report on ‘The state of General Practice and Hospitals’ It seeks to engage the public by:
Raising CQC awareness
Listening to and acting on people’s experiences
By giving high quality information to support choice
The ratings picture has been improving, 86% rated as good but 1 in 10 still need to improve.
The best practices have good leadership and an active PPG. They seek to promote PPG’s as a ‘critical friend’ and to foster an open culture. They seek to empower patients to ‘Manage long term conditions’ and for practices to work with multi-professional colleagues from other organizations to enhance the patient experience.
The speaker went on to give real life examples of cases. The full lecture can be accessed online on the NAPP website, without password, at
“We would like to say thank you to our Patient Participation Group members for all the help and support given to the Bacon Lane Surgery in 2017 and wish them Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Bacon Lane Surgery Team
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