Northgate Village Surgery Newsletter

Northgate Village Surgery Newsletter Northgate Village Surgery Fountains Health Delamere Street CHESTER CH1 4DS

Dr I R Minshall Dr R M Davies Dr R Banks Dr L Cooley Dr J Crasta

Telephone: 01244 564319 Fax: 01244 370762 [email protected]

Autumn Edition Welcome to the Northgate Village Surgery Newsletter.

Flu Season

Opening Hours

Winter is approaching, and with winter comes the threat of flu.

We are open from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. The Practice will be closed for staff training between 12.00pm – 5.00pm on the following days: Tuesday 22nd September Thursday 29th October Wednesday 25th November Tuesday 15th December The surgery will be closed on the following bank holidays: Friday 25th December Monday 28th December Friday 1st January On all other dates the surgery is open as normal.

All patients eligible for a free vaccination have been written to with an invitation to the flu clinics. If you have received a letter, please contact the surgery to be booked into one of the clinics listed below. You are eligible for a free vaccination if:

 You are aged 2-4, or 65 or over  You have a chronic disease, such as diabetes or heart disease  You are pregnant If you have not received a letter, but feel that you are eligible for a vaccination, please check with reception. Some pharmacies offer flu vaccinations for a fee, so if you are not eligible for a free vaccination at the surgery but you still wish to be vaccinated, you can have this done at a pharmacy. You do not need a prescription. All eligible 2-17 year olds will be offered a nasal flu spray instead of an injection. This includes healthy 2,3 and 4 year olds. If you are eligible for a free flu vaccination and you do not wish to have one, please let a member of staff know so you do not receive further invites this year.

Flu Clinic Dates: Please contact the surgery to be booked into one of following clinics.

Useful Telephone Numbers When the surgery is closed, the following services are available: Out of Hours: 01244 385300 NHS Direct is now NHS 111 In a life-threatening emergency ring 999

 Friday 2nd October

 Thursday 8th October



 Monday 5th October

 Friday 9th October



 Tuesday 6th October

 Wednesday 14th

 Thursday 22nd October

 Wednesday 7th October

October

 Friday 23rd October

Phlebotomy (Blood Tests) at the Countess of Chester Hospital The Countess of Chester Hospital has a drop in blood test service available Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.00pm (last test at 5.55pm). The Blood Test Room is located at Outpatients 3 at the hospital. On arrival you will be asked to take a numbered ticket and then you will be called in for your blood test in order of ticket number. To use this service you need to have a blood test request form issued from the surgery, and take this form with you to the hospital. If you do not bring a blood test request form with you, you will not be able to use this service. If you have lost your blood form, please contact reception and a form can be re-printed for you. Patients for fasting blood tests have priority between 7.30am and 10.00am. Patients on Warfarin are asked to attend between 7.30am and 1.00pm.

What’s Changed in the New Building? We have moved to Fountains Health on Delamere Street. The surgery is located on the first floor, which is accessible by stairs and lifts from street level and the car park. The car park beneath the surgery is Delamere Street Car Park, which is owned and operated by Cheshire West and Chester Council. The surgery acknowledges that there are new difficulties as a result of moving premises—namely the lack of signage in the car park, a parking charge, and very slow lifts. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by these changes. The Council have been informed regarding the need for more signage in the car park to make things clearer for patients. Property Management are aware of the difficulties regarding the lifts. We do ask that patients needing to use the lifts allow extra time for their journey from the car park up to the surgery. Following patient and staff As the car park is council-owned the usual charge would be the same feedback, the surgery now as in any other council car park in the city, however a concessionary has a new fish tank in the rate was agreed for patients using the building. This concessionary waiting room, which is home rate is £1 for 2 hours for the first year, and £1.50 thereafter. This to bristle-nose plecos, concessionary rate is only available if patients take a GREEN ticket catfish, amano shrimp, neon from the GREEN ticket machine, so please ensure that the correct tetras, leopard danios and ticket is taken as the surgery is not able to apply the concessionary more! rate to white public parking tickets.

Do you have difficulty with transport to and from the surgery? There are various Community Transport Schemes in place in the Chester area. Further information is available from Cheshire West and Chester Council on 0300 123 7039, or alternatively please visit www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/transport_and_roads/public_transport/ community_transport.aspx. Chester Area Community Car Scheme This scheme is operated in the Chester and Malpas area, and is run by Cheshire Community Action. It is available to people who do not have access to private transport and are unable to use public transport to make their journey. There is a small charge to use this service. To use this service you need to be a member of the car scheme. Please call 01606 350042 for further information on the service and becoming a member. PlusBus This is a door-to-door minibus service for people with mobility problems who cannot access public transport. For bookings, registrations and general enquiries please call 0151 357 4420.

Appointment Attendance We have been monitoring appointment attendance over the past 3 months and you may find the results quite surprising. In June 2015 99 patients failed to attend GP appointments and 73 patients failed to attend appointments to see the nurse. In July 2015 69 patients failed to attend GP appointments and 67 patients failed to attend appointments to see the nurse. In August 2015 88 patients failed to attend GP appointments and 89 patients failed to attend appointments to see the nurse. This has resulted in longer waiting times for routine appointments.

This equates to approximately 32 wasted clinics over 3 months, which means over 80 hours of appointment time lost. If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact the surgery immediately so that your appointment is available for someone else.

Alternative Transport to Fountains Health Fountains Health is very close to the bus station and numerous bus stops. For more information on bus routes and timetables please visit www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk and choose ‘Bus timetables’, or alternatively this information will be available from the local bus station. For bicycle routes please visit www.itravelsmart.co.uk/travel-smart/ cycle/ There is a dedicated outdoor cycle store at the building, however please remember to lock bicycles at all times.

You said, we did Northgate Village Surgery is committed to providing the best service possible for patients, and to do this we worked together with the Patient Participation Group to set up a rolling questionnaire, which ensures that the surgery continuously receives patient feedback. The newsletter will now feature patient comments from the last 3-6 months, and what has been done to improve the service.

You said: “Please can we have the fish tank back!? Great for entertaining pre-schoolers” “Make [the waiting area] friendlier especially for children” We did: The surgery installed a new fish tank in the waiting area.

You said: “I don't like the sterile environment of the new centre. “ We did: The surgery put up additional noticeboards and shelves to create a friendlier environment.

You said: “The layout of seats is very poor and uninviting.” We did: The surgery changed the layout of the seats in the waiting room.

You said: “Reception staff do not need to know why attending.” “[Receptionists] want too much information” We did: The surgery is trying to increase awareness of why reception staff ask for reasons for attendance, and ensure that this information is asked for in the correct way.

Have you been waiting a long time to be seen in clinic? If you have been waiting for more than 30 minutes to see the clinician please contact reception. They will be able to advise you roughly how much longer you may be waiting.

What causes clinicians to run late? There are many reasons why the clinician could be running late. These are a few of the more common ones:  A patient has arrived late, which causes a knock-on effect  The clinician has had to provide unexpected emergency care for a patient  A patient needs additional time and support during their appointment

We appreciate that nobody likes to wait for a long time, but please be patient. All the clinicians at the surgery aim to provide a high quality service, and want to give patients the necessary care and support that they need.

Patient Participation Group The Northgate Village Surgery Patient Participation Group is in place to aim to improve the quality of care for all our patients by working together with an understanding of both the needs of the surgery and of our patients. Members speak for not only themselves as individuals, but also voice the wider views of our patients so that through discussion and planning long and short term improvements can be facilitated. The group at Northgate Village welcomes enthusiastic members who would like to contribute to supporting the needs of patients whilst working collaboratively and positively with the Surgery. Any patient registered with the surgery can become a member of the Patient Participation Group. All you need is a positive attitude and an interest in supporting best practice for patients and staff! If this sounds like you, and you have any ideas, opinions or suggestions for improvement and are interested in joining the Patient Participation Group, you can join online through our website, or contact the surgery and speak to the group secretary Grace. To view the latest minutes from our meetings, please take a look on our website www.northgatesurgery.co.uk.

I have been asked for the reason for my appointment—why? If you are seeing a nurse, you will be asked to provide a reason/brief outline of the problem so that you can be booked in for the necessary amount of time with the most appropriate nurse—this is at the request of our nursing staff, because not all the nursing team are able to do the same things. For example, the phlebotomist would not be able to perform a diabetes review. If you are booking a telephone call (whether with the triage doctor or routinely) you will be asked to provide a reason/brief outline of the problem to advise the doctor who will be calling you—this is at the request of our doctors, because it allows them to correctly triage the telephone calls. For example, a person with chest pain would need to speak to a doctor more urgently than a person with a sore toe. However, if you still do not wish to tell the receptionist the reason for your appointment or telephone call, then there is no obligation to do so. Please simply inform the receptionist that you do not wish to say, and they will respect your decision.

Carer’s Information

Carer’s Trust Websites

If you are looking after a sick, disabled or frail relative or friend without payment then you qualify as a carer. If you wish to register as a carer, please contact reception. If you are registered as a carer then you can access free support and advice from Carers Trust.

Carer’s Trust have several websites tailored to meet the needs of specific groups of carers. For general information, please visit : www.carers.org For young carers under 18, please visit: www.babble.carers.org For young adult carers aged 16-25, please visit: www.matter.carers.org For adult carers over 25, please visit: www.carers.org/carers-space

For free support and more information about caring including your benefits and rights as a carer, please contact Cheshire & Warrington Carers Centre on: 0800 085 0307

Surgery colour Each surgery at Fountains Health represents a different medicinal plant. Northgate Village Surgery’s colour, which is dark pink/magenta, corresponds to the Foxglove. A number of foxglove species including Digitalis Lanata and Digitalis Purpurea contain Digoxin, used for treating heart failure and irregular heart rhythms. Digoxin was first used medically in the 18th century. Despite its licensed use in medicine, foxglove is a highly poisonous plant, so it is very important that any part of the plant is never ingested.

Ways to Order Your Repeat Medication Drop off your written prescription request at our post box at the main entrance to Fountains Health. Online – please enquire at reception for your EMIS Access security log on details. You will need to provide proof of ID before we can provide your log on details. Please be aware that children under 16 cannot be registered for confidentiality reasons.

Fax your prescription to us on 01244 370762 Post your request to: Northgate Village Surgery Fountains Health Delamere Street, Chester CH1 4DS Please allow 48 hours/2 working days to process your prescription request and an additional 24 hours for your pharmacy to collect and dispense your medication. Please remember to tell us which pharmacy you would like your prescription to be sent to, or if you wish to collect it at reception. If you wish to order your usual medication early for a holiday or any other reason, please make a note of the reason for the early request on your prescription request.

Midwife Booking Packs If you have newly found out you are pregnant, you no longer need to book in for an appointment with the doctor or nurse. All you need to do is collect a midwife booking pack from reception and contact the children’s centre of your choice directly to book in with the midwife. Please inform us of changes to your contact details as soon as possible. If we do not hold your correct contact information (address, telephone number, and email address) we will not be able to contact you regarding results, referrals, and review appointments, or even send you text reminders for your existing appointments. Do you have any suggestions or ideas to be included in the next newsletter? If so, please contact Reception with your suggestions.

Thinking about stopping smoking? Call the Stop Smoking Service on 0800 043 5134 for free, friendly and professional advice to help you Quit4Good. Alternatively, you can: Text: quit4good to 60777 Email: [email protected] Visit: www.quit4good.org

Pharmacy First

Art Exhibition Opening 31st July

Did you know that your local pharmacy can offer advice and treatment for many minor health conditions such as:

Cheshire Artists Network (CAN) opened their first exhibition here at Fountains Health on Friday 31st July. A new exhibition will be mounted every three months across the first and second floors, initially for a period of three years. For more information about Cheshire Artists Network please visit www.c-a-n.co.uk.

 Cold and flu  Cough  Diarrhoea and

vomiting

   

Fever Sore throat Thrush Worms

Not available in all pharmacies:  Cystitis  Conjunctivitis

To find out more visit your local pharmacy or look online at www.westcheshireccg.nhs.uk.

Teaching Practice We are a teaching practice, and so there may be a medical student or GP registrar sitting in during your appointment. If you do not feel comfortable with the student sitting in, please inform a member of staff prior to your appointment. Shingles Vaccination If you are in your seventies then you may be eligible for a free shingles vaccination from 1st September 2015. Letters are being sent out to all eligible patients, so if you have received a letter and wish to have your vaccination please book in to see the nurse in one of the listed clinics. You may also be able to have your flu vaccination done at the same time. Take a break… See if you can complete our Chronic Disease Word Jumble! Can you rearrange each set of letter blocks to spell out the names of five Chronic Diseases? 1. ERTHA IESDESA 2. HUAODREMTI RHIIARTS 3. HPRESOYPTNIN 4. YSELPIE 5. IBTSDAEE

Answers:

Day in the life of a… Medicine Manager

“I often get asked what I do. In a nutshell, it’s anything and everything to do with medicine management. My role is to act as a point of contact for patients with more complex medication queries, and to liaise with other healthcare professionals such as Sutton Beeches Rehabilitation Unit, Community Pharmacists, hospital clinicians as well as other service providers like District Nurses, Community Matrons, Midwives and Health Visitors. I check that patients are taking their medication correctly and are having the required blood tests and will update medicines as instructed by the GPs. I am to equip my colleagues with the knowledge and skills to optimise patient’s care through improving communication systems with medicine management and support the development of a smooth and efficient repeat prescribing system in our practice. My role also includes working alongside the Clinical Commissioning Group Medicine Management Team, and as required perform audits and monitor medication.”

Named Accountable GP As from 1st April 2015, GP Practices are required to allocate every patient with a named GP. This does not affect your treatment or care at the Practice and you can continue to see any GP of your choice as normal. If you have any questions please ask at reception.

Mobile Numbers The surgery offers a text reminder service for appointments. If you would like to receive these please ensure that the surgery has your up to date mobile number and advise the receptionist when you book your appointment.

1. Heart Disease, 2. Rheumatoid Arthritis, 3. Hypertension, 4. Epilepsy, 5. Diabetes

Medicine Manager’s Corner Hospital Outpatients—GP Medication Review/Request Forms If you have been seen at a hospital outpatient clinic and are given a GP medication review/request form please bring this along to the surgery within 28 days to inform your GP of any suggested changes to your medication. The letter is NOT URGENT as we will need a few days to make these changes, and you may even be asked to make an appointment to discuss the changes. In the meantime, do not change your present medication unless specifically asked to do so.

Is your repeat medication out of sync? If your repeat medication is all out of sync and you would like your medication aligning, when you next need to request your medication please count up the number of tablets/capsules you have of each medicine and let us know the number on your request form. A prescription can then be issued for the required amount to align your medication. Please bear in mind that prescription requests take 48 hours/ 2 working days to process.

Epipen Users—is your Epipen out of date? Have you checked your Epipen recently to ensure it is still in date? If your Epipen is out of date you must replace is immediately. You can sign up to an online expiry alert service and receive free reminders by text or email.

Recycle your used & old Inhalers ‘Breathe new life’ into your used inhalers by recycling inhalers used to treat Asthma and Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease (or COPD). You can really make a difference by returning your used inhalers to a pharmacy participating in the COMPLETE THE CYCLE scheme.

Staff Changes Our congratulations to Dr Roland Potocki who has now finished his registrar training. Sadly this means his time at the surgery has come to an end, as he will be moving to another GP surgery in Chester. We are pleased to welcome back registrar Dr Jenny Eriksson-Lee, and introduce our new registrar Dr Sarah Strong. We are pleased to welcome the newest addition to the reception team, Nick, who started with the surgery in June. We are sad to say goodbye to Lead Nurse Practitioner Lynda Sayer who will be leaving the surgery after being with us for 3 years to continue her nursing career at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Are you unable to attend the surgery between 8.00am-6.30pm Monday to Friday? Extended Hours is a service available to all patients registered with a Western Cheshire GP which offers routine appointments outside of the usual GP practice opening hours. Please note that the service is unable to offer an appointment with your own GP. Appointments are available at the following times:

Monday to Friday 6.30pm – 8pm Saturday 10am – 12pm

Clinics are held at the Countess of Chester 1829 Building, Ellesmere Port Hospital, Helsby Health Centre and The Rookery in Tattenhall. Appointments are bookable up to two weeks in advance by ringing 01244 385422, Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm.

Our telephone number is 01244 564319. A member of the public with a very similar telephone number has been getting a large volume of calls over the past couple of months, so please make sure that you dial our telephone number carefully to ensure that you get through to the surgery.

Fountains Health—where is it?

GP Patient Survey Patients are being selected at random to complete a survey reflecting their experiences of GP practices and other local NHS services. If you receive a questionnaire, please complete it and send it back as soon as you are able to, as your feedback will help to improve the service provided for patients. Ipsos MORI is an independent survey agency who administer the survey on behalf of NHS England twice a year. For more information, please visit: www.gp-patient.co.uk.

Opening Ceremony 22nd July The Fountains Health building was officially opened by Olympic Athlete Beth Tweddle. The event was well attended by both staff and patients, and musical entertainment was provided by Wirral Symphonic Wind Band.

Childhood Immunisations

Wrong Trousers Day Fundraiser

Child immunisations are usually only done on a Wednesday morning – please bear this in mind when booking a childhood immunisation appointment. This is to ensure that all immunisations are kept together in the same clinic. By doing this, the chance of making a mistake or cross-contamination is greatly reduced. There is currently an occasional Friday morning immunisation clinic, so if you are unable to attend on a Wednesday please ask reception about availability.

The staff at both Northgate Village Surgery and Northgate Medical Centre wore the wrong trousers on Friday 26th June to raise money for Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity (Reg. Charity. 1043603) which works to improve the lives of sick children in hospitals and hospices across the UK. Together we raised a cracking £43.56! Thank you so much to everyone who took part and donated. If you would like to subscribe to the surgery newsletter, or for further information, please visit our website www.northgatesurgery.co.uk.

Follow us on Twitter @NGVSurgery

Edition release date 01/09/2015