PERRANPORTH SURGERY SUMMER NEWSLETTER
Perranporth is now in the middle of its busy season, full of holiday makers enjoying our lovely surroundings and beautiful beach. As well as bringing much needed business to the community it builds additional strain and pressures into our already busy medical services.
Please see below for an explanation of how we organise our workload during this time.
The Practice receives a baseline payment for each patient registered on its list. Currently our list size is around 7100. Prior to 2004 there was an additional payment for each temporary resident that we saw having completed a form and submitted to the then Health Authority for payment. From 2004 all such payments were discontinued and a funding allocation was included in the baseline formula for each registered patient to take account of a number of different factors including deprivation, rurality and historical numbers of temporary residents seen at each practice (temporary resident is the phrase used in the NHS for non-registered patients who are basically holiday makers).
Therefore the Practice has no incentive to see additional holiday makers to acquire additional funding. The funding that we receive as our baseline (for permanent and temporary residents) is spread over the year and is not weighted to one particular part of the year. Access to appointments throughout the year remains exactly the same for all of our registered permanent patients, in other words it is possible to pre-book an appointment, pre-book a telephone appointment, book an on the day appointment, book an on the day phone appointment and to be seen as an emergency. These arrangements do not alter in the summer. Our staffing levels do not vary much month to month and we aim to keep our staffing as high as we feasibly can (not withstanding holiday and illness although it is our policy to cover all holiday).
Therefore in the summer access for our permanent patients is no different in July and August as it is in November, December, and indeed for the rest of the year.
How do we manage our holiday makers?
The simple fact of the matter is that we work harder. After we have completed our morning surgeries, we then start to see holiday makers. These are people who are on holiday and happen to be ill or need medical attention. This can vary from the very simple to the really rather complex (a bit like our own patients). If patients did not seek medical help at the surgery they would probably attend the A&E department and the black alert that is already in evidence at Royal Cornwall Hospital would get even worse and make the situation for our permanent residents also worse. Summer is a difficult time for the staff at the surgery in trying to match the demands of our patients and holiday makers.
We see our holiday makers after our morning surgeries as this is the most convenient point of the day to fit them in. This of course means that whatever spare time we had at lunch to do our paperwork and admin is now completely taken up with holiday makers such that we end up doing these tasks at the end of the day. In effect we just work harder over the summer like a lot of people in Perranporth.
However, we do not get paid extra and the surgery receives no extra income as a result. Indeed no matter how many times people come to the surgery, our income is the same. We get allocated a set amount of money for each patient and this provides for all care whether they attend once or twelve times during the year or even twenty times and have numerous home visits. The commitment to our patients is open ended. All that we ask is that they respect our staff and bear with us when things are rather tight and difficult.
PATIENT SURVEY
We ran our annual patient survey in the Spring, please go to our website to view the results. Thank you to everyone who contributed, and also to our Patient Participation Group for their assistance.
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS
Prescription medicines
It’s illegal in England and Wales to drive with legal drugs in your body if it impairs your driving.
It’s an offence to drive if you have over the specified limits of certain drugs in your blood and you haven’t been prescribed them.
Talk to your doctor about whether you should drive if you’ve been prescribed any of the following drugs:
amphetamine, eg dexamphetamine or selegiline
clonazepam
diazepam
flunitrazepam
lorazepam
methadone
morphine or opiate and opioid-based drugs, eg codeine, tramadol or fentanyl
oxazepam
temazepam
You can drive after taking these drugs if:
you’ve been prescribed them and followed advice on how to take them by a healthcare professional
they aren’t causing you to be unfit to drive even if you’re above the specified limits
ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION STANDARD
From 31 July 2016 GP Practices must follow the Accessible Information Standard by law. This aims to ensure that disabled people have access to information that they can understand and they receive any communication support that they might need. We will be gathering information on specific communication needs of patients and recording it within medical records. All new patients joining the practice will be asked about this, and we will gather information on our existing list of patients as they are seen. If you have any specific needs you would like to inform us of, for example you need letters sent to you in large print, or need an interpreter or sign language, please inform our staff.
FLU SEASON
Yes, although it’s the middle of the summer we are already planning our flu programme. As from next week appointments will be available to book in advance. When booking your appointment please give our staff your mobile telephone number so that we can send you an appointment reminder nearer the time. Our ‘flu day’ is being held at the surgery on Saturday 1st October, an easy date to remember. We are encouraging as many people as possible to attend this event, instead of taking appointments within the normal working week. We have 1800 vaccines available to eligible patients. Please speak to reception about your eligibility and making an appointment for 1st October.
PERRANPORTH SURGERY STAFF NEWS
Dr Sidebotham retired from the surgery mid July, he received many kind wishes from his patients and generous gifts. He would like to pass on his thanks and appreciation.
Dr Clem Mitchell will be joining us for two days a week from September. He is currently GP Registrar at St Agnes surgery, and is looking forward to joining our team.
Dr Noor Hamad had a baby boy last month, both mum and baby are well. Her maternity leave is being covered by her husband, Dr Steve Seale. Steve trained with us a few years ago and is currently a salaried GP at Penryn Surgery.
We have a new GP Registrar joining us for a year, Dr Daniel Haghani. We also have a new Foundation Year 2 Doctor with us for the next four months, Dr Jordan Swift.