Welcome to our Spring 2015 newsletter! We’d like to share with you some of the many changes that have been happening in the practice recently, and some exciting changes to come soon which we feel will be of benefit to our patients.
Immunisation achievement rates
We take the annual immunisation campaign very seriously, and our immunisation team make every effort to encourage those most at risk to attend.
This year again our flu vaccination figures compare very well to other practices in the area, and to other parts of the country, but we would encourage all those over 65 to get the immunisation next year.
Over 65
Restalrig- 68%
Lothian- 76%
Scotland- 74%
At risk
Restalrig- 51%
Lothian- 50%
Scotland- 51%
Pregnant women
Restalrig- 52%
Lothian- 48%
Scotland- 45%
Staffing
Dr Anna Gelsthorpe and Dr CatherineEaston (nee Hamilton)
We are delighted to welcome 2 additional part time Doctors to our team. Many of you will already have met Anna who was our Registrar last year, and Cathy who has worked in the practice as a locum on many occasions. We believe they will bring an added enthusiasm and vigour to our team.
Dr Mary Payne, who has been a regular doctor at Restalrig for many years, semi-retired in summer 2014 and has been working since then at Restalrig as a locum doctor. Dr Payne has now decided to ‘‘hang up her stethoscope’’ and retire fully from General Practice in July 2015.
Dr Marshall left the practice in July 2014 after many years service at Restalrig.
Our new Health Visiting team.
Louise Allan, Emma Moonie, and Sarah Clyde have now joined Diane McGreavy to form our new Health Visiting Team, and we look forward to working closely with them,
particularly with young
children and young mums in the practice. We also welcome back our health visitor Jennifer Crooks who is returning from maternity leave.
District Nurses
We were all very sad to bid farewell to Mairi Howie, who had been our District Nursing Sister for 25 years. She will be sorely missed, but we know she is enjoying her retirement to the full.
We also lost Gillian Brydon who has been moved to another short staffed local practice, and her smiley face will also be missed.
The District Nurses mainly help us look after the housebound, but Mairi was also trained to undertake telephone Triage and Minor Illness.
Our new District Nurse team now includes Jackie Forsyth, Karen McQuade, Sheena Ross and Laura Sutherland, and we know they will continue to provide an excellent district nursing service.
Appointments
We continually monitor our appointment availability and on occasion we may need to make changes to improve our system.
Details of any changes will be displayed in the waiting room.
As always we appreciate constructive feedback. Our red suggestions box is sited on the wall at the right hand side of the reception desk.
Help us to Help You
Appointments
We know that it is not always easy to get an appointment with the doctor of your choice, but this is made even more difficult when appointments are wasted. If you are not going to be able to keep your appointment with the doctor, or nurse, please let us know. Even if it is last minute, someone else will be able to use it, and this will free up other appointments.
Last month 175 appointments were wasted by DNAs (Did Not Attend)
Repeat Prescriptions
Please remember that we need 48 HOURS (2 working days) notice to process a repeat and remember to pick up your prescription once ordered.
Lothian Learning
All GP surgeries in Lothian close for Wednesday afternoon team learning and training sessions.
We will be closed on the afternoons of Wednesday 3rd June, 26th August, 30th September, 28th October and 25th November 2015.
Notices will be displayed in the waiting room in advance of the closures.
Out of Hours
If you are ill and need urgent medical advice when the surgery is closed, call NHS 24 on Freephone 111. If you call the surgery out of hours, you
will hear a message asking you to call NHS 24 on this number.
An experienced NHS 24 nurse will assess your symptoms and
give appropriate advice or arrange for you to be seen by a nurse or doctor if it is felt necessary.
This may either be at a Treatment Centre or at your home, according to medical need. Out of hours cover is now the responsibility of NHS Lothian.
The NHS 24 website is accessible at
Changes on the Horizon
At Restalrig Park Medical Centre we are always reviewing practice and discussing ways in which we can improve the patient experience. Here are some improvements coming soon.
Waiting Room Screen
Recently we have been successful in obtaining funding for a Waiting Room Screen. We will be using the screen to communicate important information on healthcare and current campaigns and changes.
We are excited about this new addition to the practice and expect the screen to be in place within the next 3 months.
Website
Our new website is almost up and running and will be a treasure trove of useful information about the practice including useful links to further resources for our patients.
We expect this to be finalised within the next 2 months and will communicate the website address to you as soon as it is available.
Surgery POD
Restalrig has a surgery POD which is an automated health monitoring computer enabling patients to have their blood pressure and weight checked and added into their clinical record without the need for a nurse appointment.
The current location of the surgery POD has so far limited its use. Arrangements are being made to move the POD into the main reception area to make it more accessible to patients.
We expect this change to be of great benefit to those patients who regularly need their blood pressure checked.