PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
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PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
STAFF CHANGES
In the Practice – It is with sadness and regret that we must advise our patients Dr Challenor has decided to make changes to the direction of her medical career and will leave the practice at the end of March 2018.
Plans are already in place and the partners hope to recruit a new member to the clinical team in the near future.
In the Dispensary –We bid farewell to our dispenser, Natasha, and wish her all the best for her future career. In mid-February we were joined by our new dispenser, Lynne. Lynne will work at both the Bardney and Woodhall Spa sites.
In Reception – Congratulations to one of our longest-serving receptionists, Kathy, who has been appointed Senior Receptionist. Kathy will act as line manager to both our reception teams, liaising with patients, doctors and administrative staff as necessary.
We would also like to welcome two new members of staff; Tracey and Vicky. They will be joining our hard working reception team offering a first point of contact, help and advice.
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PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
IMPORTANT INFORMATION – as you may have seen reported by local media, united lincolnshire hospital trust has placed severe restrictions on certain referral pathways. we are currently unable to refer patients for routine matters relating to neurology to any of the local hospitals.
WE CAN, OF COURSE, REFER YOU OUT OF AREA IF YOU ARE ABLE TO TRAVEL.
CORRECT CONTACT DETAILS
Please make sure you let us know if you change your address, landline or mobile number. it is very important that we have your correct contact details on your medical record, please ask at reception for a change of details form.
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PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP
Our PPG is always happy to welcome new members who provide helpful advice, views and ideas regarding the patient experience. We will email you a copy of our quarterly newsletter and occasionally ask you for your feedback or to complete a survey. If you wish to join our virtual Patient Participation Group (PPG), please ask at reception for a sign-up form or email for further details.
OUR WEBSITE
You can find further information about our surgery, the practice sites, our staff and the services we provide on our website, The website also provides links to other healthcare providers and websites that can offer helpful information for self-care.
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PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
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PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
DNA POLICY
When a patient fails to attend an appointment with a healthcare professional a note of the date and time is made in their electronic medical record. If a patient fails to attend 2 appointments with a healthcare professional within a 12 month period, we will write to them reminding them of the importance of cancelling unwanted appointments and detailing the consequence of not cancelling. If, following this, a patient fails to attend another appointment (3 appointments in 12 months), the Partners will write to them, advising that they will be removed from our practice list unless they is able to provide a valid explanation in support of their remaining on the list.
CANCELLATION OF APPOINTMENTS
In addition, a considerable number of appointments are being cancelled at short notice which we are then unable to offer to other patients.
Please make every effort to attend all appointments made.
If you do need to cancel an appointment please give at least 24 hours’ notice, other than in an emergency situation. Please also remember that if you cancel an appointment it may not be possible to offer you an alternative appointment on the same day. If you repeatedly cancel and rearrange appointments at very short notice, the DNA policy may be applied.
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PATIENT NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2018
WHEN SHOULD I WORRY?
Having an ill child can be a very scary experience for parents. If you understand more about the illness it can help you to feel more in control. ‘When Should I Worry?' is a booklet developed by researchers atPRIME Centre Wales,Cardiff University.
It provides information for parents about the management of respiratory tract infections (coughs, colds, sore throats, and ear aches) in children, and has been designed to be used in primary care consultations. A few copies of this booklet are held at each site and available from the doctor. Alternatively, a version of the booklet can be read online or downloaded as a pdf document. Please visit
CERVICAL CYTOLOGY
Young women are avoiding getting smear tests because they are embarrassed, a survey suggests. The charity Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust surveyed 2,017 British women.
A third said embarrassment caused them to delay getting a smear test, which can prevent 75% of cervical cancers. The charity saidcervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under 35,yet almost two-thirds of those surveyed weren't aware they're most at risk.
A total of 220,000 British women are diagnosed with cervical abnormalities each year. Of the five million women in the UK invited to cervical screening each year, one in four do not attend. Your smear test could save your life, please do not put this off.
If you receive an appointment reminder, please contact your surgery and arrange to see one of our practice nurses. If you have any concerns or queries prior to your appointment, please ask for the nurse to contact you. She will be happy to discuss any worries you may have and reassure you regarding the procedure.
FLU SEASON 2017/2018
Seasonal flu - as we are currently experiencing - happens every year and usually peaks in the UK in January and February. Most people have some immunity to it, having had flu before, or a vaccination. Those unlucky enough to catch flu may feel very ill, but will normally recover in about a week.
The latestfigures show a 40% increase in the number of people going to GPs in England with suspected flu in the last week. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have also recorded increases. Things are not expected to improve in the coming weeks - the UK has a nasty case.
Flu viruses are split into three different types: A, B and C Influenza, with lots of different strains within these. This winter one of the dominant strains circulating in the UK is a strain of Influenza A called H3N2, or Aussie flu. The H3N2 strain is not new, but is a more severe strain of flu than the H1N1 strain that has circulated over the last two years. It also differs from the strains covered by the current vaccine that has been given to many people.
Most cases of flu can be treated effectively at home.
• rest and sleep.
• keep warm.
• take paracetamol or ibuprofen to lower your temperature and treat aches and pains.
• drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration
(More info for patients can be found on
Unfortunately, this year the flu vaccination does not seem to be as effective as hoped and, therefore, even if vaccinated, someone may contract influenza. NHS staff are similarly affected and Woodhall Spa New Surgery has had almost half our staff off with the virus, at one time or another, over the past few weeks. Please be patient, we are continuing to provide healthcare for all and are prioritizing those patients with urgent or acute problems. However, we may not always be able to offer a routine appointment for a non-urgent problem.
RESULTS OF AUTUMN 2017 PRACTICE SURVEY
Many thanks to all our patients who returned the survey included in the Autumn 2017 newsletter. Having collated and counted all the responses, we are pleased to announce that BBC Radio 2 is the station of choice and will be played in the Waiting Room!
HOW DOES A DOCTOR’S SURGERY REALLY WORK?
For any of our patients who are interested in understanding a little more about the inside workings of a GP practice, please consider accessing the online article detailed below. The article offers hints, tips and advice on how to get the most from your GP practice, whilst trying to explain how and why the internal systems work they way they do.
EXTENDED HOURS AVAILABLE IN EAST LINDSEY
Some of our patients may have already read or heard a recent press release regarding the provision of 8.00am – 8.00pm seven-day-week working but we include the transcript here for your information.
“At a time when general practice is facing unprecedented pressures and demand, 11 practices in East Lindsey have banded together to create an Extended Hub Service that will provide their registered patients to GP services in the evenings and weekends. The service will be starting on 26 February 2018.
Patients will be able to see a GP at a clinic based at the Urgent Care Unit at Louth Hospital between the hours of 6.30pm to 8.00pm Monday to Friday and 8.00am to 7.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The appointments are all pre-bookable and patients should contact their own practice to access one of these appointments.
The innovative pilot scheme is part of a wider plan to strengthen Lincolnshire East CCG’s out-of-hospital strategy, integrate are within the community and improve collaborative working between local practices to deliver more joined-up GP services.
Dr Ko, GP and Clinical Leader of Lindsey Locality, NHS Lincolnshire East CCG said:
“We are really pleased to be introducing this pilot, which will be particularly beneficial to those patients who struggle to get an appointment during the daytime because of everyday life including work and school commitments.
Over the coming months we will assess how well it is working and will be asking people for their feedback. We also hope the scheme will reduce some of the pressure on other local health services, such as accident and emergency, urgent care and out of hours services, which people often turn to if they can’t see a family doctor. This is all part of our commitment to making our local GPs more accessible and for patients to get the care they need when they want it.
It is early days and there are still some limitations but extended access is just the tip of the iceberg of what the hub can offer in terms of the range of services that could benefit our patients in the future”
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