Winter 2015/16 Springbank Health News www.springbankhealth.co.uk

Our mission statement As a patient you will be listened to, understood and respected. We are committed to working together to offer you high-quality, compassionate care. We will always include you in your health decisions and will continually strive for improvement. . This is our mission statement that was chosen dearest and, after several team meetings, we by all the staff, based on the core principles reached this statement. The top shared and values of the NHS. There are 7 key values were compassion, quality and working principles and 6 values which guide the NHS together for patients so these were in all it does. These have been derived from incorporated. extensive discussions with staff, patients and public. You can find more information about the NHS principles and values at NHS choices,

Members of our team were encouraged to http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs. vote for the values and behaviours they held

Springbank Health Highly Rated

We are now benchmarked against other nationally. The measures include such things practices and are pleased to see that we fall as cancer diagnosis, end of life care, patient into the category of “higher achieving” satisfaction, prescribing quality and how well practices. This places us in the top 10% of we look after people with long term practices nationally. There are only 2 other conditions. practices in the area which are also higher achieving. It is useful for practices to have this data so we can see if there are any aspects of the care we The ratings come from about 50 different give that require improvement. Jo Cook, receptionist measures comparing us to other practices New Defibrillator For Tockwith Community First You may have noticed that there is now a code is accessed by calling 999 which Responders defibrillator on the external wall of our means the device remains secure. It only surgery in Tockwith. A defibrillator is the gives an electric shock when it deems it Tockwith now has a community first device that gives an electric shock to appropriate which means it is safe and can responder (CFR) team. This is a scheme someone who has had certain types of be used even without training. operated with Ambulance cardiac arrest. It can potentially save lives. Service and involves trained volunteers The defibrillator cost in the region of £2000 providing potentially life-saving care. In many medical emergencies the first few This is a community public access and was funded by Tockwith Parish minutes are critical and, if effective defibrillator (CPAD) and can be Council. There is also a new defibrillator treatment can be provided at this time, accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week located in on the wall of Oak lives can be saved and disability reduced. to anyone in the vicinity who requires it. It Dene, Oak Road. There are existing This is especially true for heart attacks and means more people could benefit from a defibrillators located in Bilton in , medical conditions that have caused defibrillator and more lives could be Bickerton, Cowthorpe, , someone to lose consciousness. saved. This is particularly important when and Moor Monkton as well we live in villages which are a long way as inside Springbank Surgery, Green away from the nearest ambulance station. Hammerton. Community first responders are trained in patient assessment, basic life support The cabinet has a keycode lock and the skills including CPR, defibrillation and oxygen therapy. They are equipped with a defibrillator, oxygen and first aid kit. They are not called out to trauma, traffic accidents or to infants.

When a 999 call is received in the ambulance service emergency operations centre, an ambulance is immediately dispatched. At the same time, if a first responder is on-call in the area, they can be alerted and asked to assist at the incident to ensure trained assistance reaches the patient as quickly as possible. New volunteers are always needed and if you are interested in training and live in Lorraine Gill, of the parish council, who Tockwith, please contact us and we will helped coordinate the project. pass your details to Lorraine Gill, the coordinator.

Dispensary Improvements

The entire practice team has been we have even a near miss. We now involved in a project to update the have a computerised system where dispensing system in order to make it accuracy is checked by barcode. The safer and more efficient. It has been a dispensers have more workspace. We huge effort from everyone but the also have some new faces in impact has been that we now have a dispensary, including some very system that is more reliable. We are experienced dispensary staff. The grateful for the patience shown by reception area in Green Hammerton everyone whilst we have been refining has also been slightly rearranged to this service. give more confidentiality to patients.

We brought in the expertise of the The NHS Improvement Academy were Yorkshire and Humber NHS impressed with our collaborative effort Improvement Academy who helped and have asked if they can publish an guide us through the process in a account of this project. They are also structured way. They were impressed keen to be involved in improvement with our team ethic and noticed that we projects elsewhere in the practice. already had a very low rate of errors consistent with community pharmacies. There is a new initiative in the NHS called Sign Up to Safety which is a We have always acted on what we call scheme through which practices and significant events, meaning when hospitals can share their experiences of things go wrong. However, we are also improving safety. We are one of the first interested in preventing these events practices to be involved. Keith Ledson, dispenser before they happen in the first place. This involves making alterations when School Artwork MacMillan Coffee Morning Thanks to everyone who attended the MacMillan coffee morning Thank you to Green Hammerton and Tockwith primary at Tockwith Surgery which raised over £500 for MacMillan Cancer schools for their ongoing generosity in brightening up our Support. The coffee morning was organised by Christine surgeries with their fabulous artwork. We get so many Edmond, our senior team leader. MacMillan is a charity that positive comments about the pictures and paintings and are provides specialist health care, information and financial support very grateful. Here are some of the latest additions to the to people affected by cancer. As well as helping with the medical gallery. needs of people affected by cancer, Macmillan also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, and campaigns for better cancer care. As a practice we know first hand how much the Macmillan nurses support cancer care and were very happy to be part of their “world’s biggest coffee morning”.

direction for some improvements we have telephone with an increase in telephone lines Shorter waiting, made in the last year. We have worked hard from 3 to 6. Early mornings are still the to reduce our waiting times in the surgery. busiest times, so please wait until after 11am longer opening... The average waiting time has now fallen from if you are calling for test results. 14 minutes to 7 minutes. Unfortunately, we still have some days when we run behind as We receive feedback from the GP patient we try and give patients as much time as they survey which is a semiannual survey need. conducted nationally by NHS . The survey showed that we have higher than Please note we are next closed for We have also increased our opening times. average levels of patient satisfaction. We are regional staff training on the We have long-established late opening on a particularly proud of the nurses here, with Monday evening with appointments until afternoon of 11th February 2016. 99% of respondents saying they had 7.30pm. We now have early opening on a confidence and trust in the last nurse they As usual there will be cover Friday morning with appointments from saw or spoke to. Respondents also said that arranged for people requiring 7.30am. if they had a preferred GP, they usually got to urgent care. see or speak to that GP. Another development is that we have tried to make it easier to get through to us by The results were pleasing but also gave us

Protect your child against the flu

A nasal spray flu vaccine is available and nursery. By vaccinating your child against flu encouraged for all 2, 3 and 4 year olds. It is you help protect them, and make it much also for children up to age 17 with chronic long harder for the flu virus to spread. term conditions such as heart disease, The flu virus is very clever and can change asthma, diabetes, kidney and liver disease. itself every year. The World Health For most people, flu is limited to being an Organisation recommends which virus unpleasant disease. However, for the very strains should be used in flu vaccines for the young, the elderly and those suffering from next flu season. That is why your child will long-term health conditions, flu can be very need a new flu vaccination every year to serious. Children are very good at spreading guard against flu. flu - they often catch it at nursery or school and The flu vaccination for children is a nasal can make people ill at home, or they catch flu spray rather than a jab. at home and make other children ill at Refurbishment updates The refurbishment of the surgery We are aware of plans for new buildings continues with the latest housing developments and are in significant changes being new discussion with NHS England with flooring at Tockwith and a newly regards to how we can expand our relaid carpark at Green Hammerton. services to meet any increases in demand. To date, we have managed to make gradual improvements with The new carpark makes for a safer refurbishment and we have not and cleaner entrance to our surgery received any grants from the NHS for and we have allocated disabled this. We are grateful for the parking now. The flooring at Tockwith generosity of some patients to help is of the same hygienic grade as make improvements possible. Green Hammerton. The paint on the internal walls of both surgeries has an anti-microbial coating of the same type used in operating theatres. We try to ensure that our refurbishment follows high standards of cleanliness. Sophie Gallimore, our new healthcare assistant

Friends and family test Online access to services Thank you for continuing to use the iPads We are pleased to see increasing numbers your doctor or nurse. This could be your in the surgery corridors to leave feedback of patients registering for online services test results, illnesses you have had in the for us. Please feel free to do this after every such as booking appointments, ordering past or if you feel there are any appointment you have. The more repeat medications and now viewing of inaccuracies. Before you go on holiday, feedback we get, the better. The iPads medical records. You can already go you could check if your vaccinations are up have the “Friends and Family Test” which online and see some of the information in to date without having to go to the surgery. simply asks if you would recommend us to your GP records, including medication and your friends and family. Even if you answer allergies. During the next year, you will be We have a responsibility to look after your supportively, please feel free to offer able to see even more. This will include records. We would ask that you take care suggestions for further improvements. illnesses, immunisations and test results. online and make sure that your personal We are looking to make this available information is not seen by anyone who when our computer system, SystmOne is should not see it. updated to allow it. You should not share your login details We are hoping that it will be a lot like online with others. To protect your information banking and that you will be able to look at from other people you should keep your GP records on a computer, tablet or password secret. In future you will be able smartphone using a website or an app. to choose to allow others, like your family or carers to look at your GP online records. You will be able to look at your records No one should coerce you into sharing whenever you choose to, without needing your GP records. If this happens you to print them. Online records are up to date should tell us as soon as you can. and more secure than a printed paper record which could get lost or seen by If you would like to start using online others. People who have long term services, information is available from conditions might benefit from viewing test reception or our website. There is also results. You can look at your medical further information available at: records before your appointment to see if www.nhs.uk/patientonline. there is anything you need to discuss with CPR courses

Our patient group, in association with the British Heart Foundation, is running CPR Springbank Health courses which are open for all to attend. Road We anticipate that the courses will be Green Hammerton popular but are keen to provide as many Tel: 01423 330030 training evenings as required to fulfil demand. Please check our website www.springbankhealth.co.uk www.springbankhealth.co.uk for up to date information about dates and how to book a place on the courses.