Warrengate Medical Centre

Tel: 01924 371011 – Appointments & Enquiries

elcome to this issue of our Practice Newsletter. The newsletter is to provide patients with any news, information or forthcoming events.

If you have any suggestions as to what you would like to see in your newsletter please inform a member of staff.

Missed Appointments

During the months of March, April and May a total of 649 patients failed to attend their appointment. This is the equivalent to :

108 hours wasted GP / Nursing time
36 x 3 hour clinics

The Practice does review all patients who do not attend their appointments, after 3 non-attendances patients will be issued a first warning letter in line with the Practice policy. Where there is continued non-attendance of appointments following a first warning letter the Practice is entitled to remove patients from its Practice list at this time. Please bear this in mind and contact the surgery if you are unable to attend your appointment then the appointment can be used for someone else who genuinely needs it.

GDPR

You may have already heard some information about GDPR in your day to day lives, so what is it exactly?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulations and is a new piece of legislation that will supersede the Data Protection Act. It will not only apply to the UK and EU; it covers anywhere in the world in which data about EU citizens is processed.

The GDPR is similar to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 (which the practice already complies with), but strengthens many of the DPA’s principles.

As a Practice we have been reviewing our patient privacy notices in line with the new GDPR requirements, these have now been updated and are on our website and in the patient waiting area for patients to view.

These privacy notices detail things such as who is responsible for your data, what information is held and why the Practices collects this on patients, how information is stored, who it might be shared with and the reasons why it would be shared and includes detail on consenting to share your Summary Care Record.

For more infomration on GDPR, scan this code with your mobile

Staff Training Days

Please make a note of the dates below when the surgery will close.

Wednesday 20th June

Wednesday 18th July

We will close at 12noon on the day of training and re-open the following day at 8.00am. If you need a Doctor in an emergency please telephone NHS111.

Bank Holidays

The surgery will be closed on August Bank Holiday – Monday 27th August 2018.

GP Care Wakefield is operational on Bank Holidays between the hours of 9am – 3pm. If you require urgent medical attention during these hours, please telephone the Practice as usual and you will be transferred through to GP Care Wakefield where you will be able to speak to a Nurse about your condition. Following initial discussion with the Nurse, if deemed appropriate he / she will offer you a GP appointment at Trinity Medical Centre or Pontefract General Infirmary.

Should you require urgent medical attention outside of these hours please contact NHS111 who are operational 24 hours.

Please remember to order your prescriptions in time and allow additional days for processing of prescriptions over the August Bank Holiday period.

Unacceptable Behaviour

Unfortunately as a Practice we have noticed an increase in the number of incidents lately.

We value and care for our staff. We would ask that they are treated with courtesy and respect.

Any individual not complying with this request will be asked to leave the premises and may be removed from the Practice List.

Make use of our on-line Services

Did you know that you can access the following quickly, easily and securely?

Book GP appointments
Order repeat prescriptions
Access your GP records

If you have not yet registered for online services yet, please contact the Practice and for further information

Electronic Prescriptions /Nominated Pharmacies

Did you know that your prescriptions can be managed electronically from the Practice?

Once we have received your repeat prescription at Reception (or you can request it electronically – by using our on-line services as described above), it is then signed off by your GP, and then sent electronically to your nominated pharmacy for collection or home delivery.

Patients do not need a computer to benefit from electronic prescriptions.

Mobile Phones

Polite Reminder - Please can you switch off your mobile phone whilst on the premises, or have them on silent.

Staff News

We would like to welcome two new members of staff to the Practice, Shaun has taken over from Maxine as Assistant Practice Manager and Zara has joined the Practice as our new surgery Phlebotomist.

We are delighted to announce that Becky, one of our Office Manager’s has had a baby girl in May! Congratulations to both Becky and her husband as they embark on this exciting journey.

Requesting Medication for Holidays

If you are requesting your medication earlier or needing an extra supply due to holidays please inform the prescription clerk, so we are able to provide you with the correct prescription needed.

We ask that if you are travelling earlier than you prescription due date we have at least a few working days’ notice.

**Annual Blood Test**

You may see this noted at the side of some of your medications on your prescription. This is to remind you that you will require an annual blood test in your birth month. This will run in conjunction with your other reviews that take place on a yearly basis, such as medication reviews and long term condition reviews. This is to ensure that your medication is working correctly for you and it is hopefully easier to remember that you are only attending once a year during your birth month for all your reviews.

Holiday Vaccinations

If you are intending to go abroad, it is best to check what vaccinations you may require. You should make a separate appointment for each family member with the Practice Nurse allowing at least four to six weeks before travel to discuss and arrange any vaccinations and travel advice.

Should you require any vaccinations which are not available on the NHS please note that the Practice no longer administers private travel vaccinations, the Nurse will however be able to advise however where you can access these elsewhere. The cost of travel vaccines at private travel clinics / pharmacies will vary, but it could be around £50 for each dose of a vaccine. It is therefore worth considering this when budgeting for your trip.

Your local pharmacy can also assist you if you require anti malaria tablets.

Don't leave getting your travel vaccination advice / vaccinations done to the last minute as we may not have appointments available at short notice and leaving them to the last minute can also affect how effective they are in protecting you!

Autumn Newsletter

The Autumn Newsletter will be issued in September 2018.

Please let us know if there is any information you would find useful or if you would like to know more about our services.