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Northlands Surgery - Calne

 

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Copyright © 2006-2012
Northlands Surgery

  Latest News dated 1st February 2012

Northlands Surgery Newsletter:

Issue 2, the January edition of Health Matters, the Northlands Surgery newsletter has now been published.  To read it online, please click the link below.

The newsletter is available here as an Adobe PDF.  If you need the free Adobe PDF reader, please follow the relevant link below to download it.

 NORTHLANDS SURGERY NEWSLETTER (PDF) 
 
 GET FREE ADOBE PDF READER 
 

Previous editions of Health Matters are still available on the  NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE  page.


Departures and Arrivals:

At the beginning of February we say goodbye to Dr Roland Teare who has been with us as a Registrar for the last six months.  We wish him well in his next placement and his future career.

Roland is replaced as a Specialist Training Year Two Registrar by Dr Kimberly Bruce who will also be with us for six months, up to the summer.  Kimberly will soon start to see patients.


New Computer System:

During September 2011, Northlands replaced the computer system used to process all patient data.  Two areas of the changeover specifically affect users of this web site.

Firstly, the system for booking and cancellation of appointments over the internet changed.  Please see the  APPOINTMENTS PAGE  for further details, including information about changes to the logging in procedure on the new system.

Secondly, the method of requesting repeat prescriptions changed in early November 2011.  In order to request a repeat prescription on the internet you now need to have previously registered to use the Internet Access facility, as has always been the case for appointment booking.  Please see the  REPEAT PRESCRIPTION PAGE  for further details including how to apply for an Internet Access account.


Repeat Prescription Requests by Telephone:

Please note that, in the interests of patient safety, the telephone prescription requests service has now been withdrawn.

Please request your repeat prescription either by going via the  REPEAT PRESCRIPTION PAGE  here on the website or by sending your completed repeat slip in by post or by bringing it in to the surgery personally.


Wasted Appointments:

In January 2012, 177 appointment slots were lost because 166 patients missed them without letting us know.  47 of the slots were for appointments with doctors and 130 were for appointments with nurses or other staff.  The time lost to the surgery from those missed appointments was 37 hours and 13 minutes.

Missing appointments without letting us know beforehand affects everyone.  It means we are able to see fewer patients and the waiting time for appointments is longer.

If you know you are not going to attend an appointment please tell us as soon as possible.  The telephone service for cancelling an appointment, on 01249 812141, then Option 4 from the menu, is available day and night, including weekends and Public Holidays.

Due to the number of wasted appointments through patients failing to attend without informing us, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:-

If you repeatedly fail to attend appointments without informing us in advance, you may be removed from this practice list and will have to find an alternative doctor.


Patient Participation Group:

We are pleased to announce that the Northlands Patient Participation Group (PPG) is now up and running.  Thank you to all our volunteers.

The PPG is made up of a virtual community (i.e. patients who want to be involved via e-mail) and patients who are able to meet up from time to time at the surgery.  Membership of the group is open to all.  Please ask at reception for a form if you would like to join the group.

The PPG recently designed a survey so that patients could get involved in decisions about the range and quality of services provided by the surgery, as well as by other agencies, and help us plan together for the future.


Text Reminders for Appointments:

During November 2011 we reintroduced our popular text reminder service for appointments.

If you would like to take advantage of this service and we do not currently have a note of your mobile telephone number, please let a member of the reception staff know what it is and you will automatically start to receive reminders.

We will assume that you would like to take advantage of this service if we have your mobile telephone number, but if you would prefer not to receive text reminders for your appointments, please let the reception staff know and we can opt your number out of the service.


Extended Opening Hours:

As a result of patient feedback, we operate extended opening hours as follows:-

Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6.30pm to 8.00pm.

If it would be more convenient for you to visit the doctor during these times please use the  APPOINTMENTS PAGE  here on the web if you're registered for Internet Access; or ask at reception; or contact our appointments line on 01249 812141, then Option 1 from the menu, to book an appointment.

Please note that you will NOT BE SEEN by a doctor during these times if you do not have an appointment made in advance.

You will NOT be able to telephone the surgery during these extended opening times; the Out of Hours service will deal with ALL telephone calls and visit requests as they do now.


Calling all Carers:

Northlands Surgery wishes to establish a register of carers and invites all patients who are caring for someone to enrol.

As a carer, you may feel you need some help and support for yourself.

This information is also helpful to enable the surgery to plan our services.

You may have been caring for the person in their home, your home or elsewhere, regularly helping them with everyday tasks or giving them assistance and support which they need.

Perhaps you see it as part of your life, or duty, to care for your mum or dad, partner, child or friend, but there may be times when you need information, advice or some extra help.  When you are a carer, it is often difficult to have a real break because someone depends on you to look after them.  You can get tired and run down and your health may suffer.

Telling your doctor can help him or her to support you and make sure you get the right sort of care.

Carers themselves have felt that it is important that doctors recognise and value the work they do as carers.

We are trying to trace all those patients who are carers and set up a Carers’ Register.  This will mean that your caring role is recognised by the practice and steps are taken to support you.

If you wish your name to be included in the practice carers’ register, please tell us at reception the next time you visit; telephone us, preferably in the early afternoon when the lines are quieter; or use our  CONTACT US  form, here on the web.

As a carer, you are also entitled to a flu vaccination each year, so please ask about booking an appointment.