Patient Newsletter January - March 2020

Pilgrim Primary Care Centre The Health Centre Weelsby View Health Centre Pelham Road Pelham Cresent Ladysmith Road Keelby DN40 LJW DN41 8EW DN32 9SW

Tel: 01469 572058 | theroxtonpractice.nhs.uk

All information correct at time of print. Appointments A guide to The Roxton Practice Appointment System

askmyGP is a quick and simple way to access your GP Once you log in, all patients under your care will be listed practice online. Patients can search for self-help or go and you can select which of them you are making the straight to completing a simple questionnaire and sending request for. a message to the surgery seeking advice. Our Care Navigators will then look through the responses and assign Hooww y oyuo aure a croen tcaoctnetdacted them appropriately to a clinician, who will respond to patients with either a solution to the problem or next steps. You can request that you are replied to and contacted through instant message, telephone or email. When your With the changes to The Roxton Practice’s appointment request is being dealt with, the clinician will contact you in a system, this means that we now operate a same day only way that you are comfortable with. If you wish to be system for GP appointments. We no longer book contacted via telephone, please note that calls may come appointments in advance and you must make a request to from a withheld number! us on the day in which you wish to be seen. Chhooooses eyo yuro GuPr GP To use askmyGP, you must be either a registered patient at The Roxton Practice or be using it on behalf of a registered If you are familiar with a certain GP and would like to speak patient (a parent or carer). To access the system, please to them, you can choose this option when submitting your visit our website and click on ‘askmyGP’ along the top request. You will encounter the options of your request navigation bar. Please note that askmyGP is not suitable for going to ‘Anyone’ or ‘Someone by name’ – please note that use in emergencies. if you choose someone by name, your request may take longer to be processed. Seelfl-fH-eHlpelp If the GP that you wish to see is not listed, they are not It may be that you are able to use the Self-help option in the surgery on that day. If you only wish to see them and without needing to speak to a member of our clinical staff. are not comfortable seeing anyone else, you should make By simply typing a small explanation of your concern in the your request on a day when they are available. To find out box such as “Headache” or “Swollen ankle” and then clicking when your preferred GP is available, visit our askmyGP the ‘Quick self help’ button below, you may find a solution to portal and click ‘When is your GP working?’ – that way you your problem. Around 40% of patients will use this option can see which day would be best to make your request in and not need to see or speak to a clinician at all. order to see your preferred clinician.

Coonnsuslut ylto uyro GuPr GP Duurirnign sgu rsgueryg heoruyr shours

If your problem cannot be solved using the self-help option, We try to respond to requests quickly and efficiently, you can contact the surgery directly via askmyGP. To do however if your request is submitted outside of service this, type a brief description of your concern into the box hours between 8:30am and 4pm, your request will be and click ‘Consult your GP’ below, this will load a new page allocated when the clinicians are next available. Our staff asking whether you are a patient, parent or carer. members are hopeful that requests will be responded to within 2 hours of you submitting your request between Onn b beheahlfa olff ao rfe agi srteegreids tpeartieednt patient Monday and Friday.

If you are the parent or carer of the registered patient in If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to which you are making a request for, you can register them contact us or visit our website for Frequently Asked on your user for askmyGP. Questions about askmyGP.

A MOMENT OF YOUR TIME

We want your feedback on the treatment you receive when you visit us. Tell us what is working well and what we can improve on. Say what you think without giving your name and we will use the information to plan improvements to our services. New in 2020 What has changed at The Roxton Practice?

Welcoming new GPs Whilst the country is battling with a shortage of GPs, the demand for appointments with a doctor in the UK is growing at a significant rate. The Roxton Practice, along with other practices across the country, is attempting to deal with the growing demand and have been fortunate to secure five new GPs in 2018/2019. Our newest GPs are S. Cole, J. Cowling, R. Sparling, D. Harris and S. Maughan. We are constantly monitoring our systems to doing our best to meet the demands of the population.

Launch of askmyGP On Wednesday 13th November 2019, The Roxton Practice saw a huge change to its appointment system! We introduced askmyGP, which is an online consultation platform. It is a system that makes it easier and quicker for you to request help from your GP Practice for yourself, your child or someone that you care for.

To register, you simply visit our website and follow the link on the home page. You may need to click "Accept cookies" for the link to work properly. The link will take you through to the askmyGP portal, where you can get advice or consult your GP. New users will need to add a few details when first making a request. All you need is your name, date of birth, an email address and a phone number.

This means that The Roxton Practice now operates a same day ONLY appointment system! You must make a request on the same you wish to be seen.

Good or bad, Healthwatch want to hear about your experiences of care services in North East . It could be about anything you want. Your experience can help shape and improve future healthcare, so they want to hear from you. Search healthwatchnortheastlincolnshire.co.uk/share or phone 01472 361459. A day in the life of a... Practice Outreach Nurse Check diary to see where the day should start, Grimsby or Immingham.

Head to the office, making sure that the car has petrol, tyres and everything else is okay. In the winter, I ensure that I have a blanket, some chocolate and a snow shovel. I make sure that my personal phone is charged and ready to go. I always check that the car boot has all of the clinical items needed, such as gloves, so that I can replenish when going into the surgery if needed.

I arrive in the office, start up the computer and plug in my work mobile phone to charge! I then make a cup of tea! Work always runs smoother with a cup of tea. I check with my colleagues to see if there have been any developments overnight which may change plans. I then check my emails and respond to any relatives that live away. I then log on to the clinical system and check blood results and address any concerns. This may involve visits, changing instructions for district nurses or liaising with the pharmacists, if prescribing is affected and not in my scope of practice. I then check my task list for urgent tasks, and plan them around visits.

I check with my colleagues to see if there have been any developments overnight which

may change plans.

Check that I have paperwork needed for any meetings, such as planning meetings for the Complex Case Team, as once out on visits, I may get calls from triage for urgent house calls and not be able to get back for it. ...continued Visit to a care home, as a new patient is all available clinical staff attend, to review discharged to them from hospital and needs a patients on the palliative list. I pick up any tasks review to ensure that everything is in place for from the meeting and take the opportunity to their care. Whilst at the care home, I ask to see speak to specific GPs about their patients that I 2 other patients that they were going to call have seen and iron out any issues. I do a review about regarding home visits or medications. I visit for someone that I saw last week and who I sort out these issues and leave the care home. was unhappy about, to ensure that everything My mobile pings with a message from triage was being dealt with. I liaise with the requesting a call back (I often cannot get a physiotherapy team to get some support signal in care homes). arranged to improve the patient's mobility. I then referred the patient to the dietitian and Call back to triage to ascertain problem. I am checked that their medication is working. requested to visit an elderly lady in one of the villages who is very chesty and unable to I visit a second care home for a learning attend the surgery. I visit her and arrange for a disability health check. The patient is deteriorating and is unable to make their own decisions. After doing a formal capacity I am requested to visit an elderly assessment, I check if anyone has power of lady in one of the villages who is attorney for health. No-one does, so I needed to very chesty and unable to attend call a best interests meeting to decide a long- term plan. the surgery.

prescription for antibiotics as she is found to have a chest infection. No-one is available to I need to call a best interests get her prescription so I attended the meeting to decide a long-term pharmacy and took it back to her as she plan. needed it today. I ensured that she is able to get food and drink and that she has the ability to contact her carers/family if needed. I make I phoned several professionals involved in the sure that she knows what should prompt further patients care and contacted the only non- calls to the surgery, for example, if her condition clinical involved; a long standing family friend. worsens or she feels no better. Ask everyone to contribute their views, ensuring patient advocate involved. Consensus decision On my return to the office at lunchtime, I liaise is made that a "Do Not Attempt Resuscitation" with district nurses. One of the patients form is needed. receiving insulin has a level that is too high. I checked notes and adjusted dose and filled out The patient has not seen a GP for some time, so their required paperwork to enable them to I arrange a visit and request that they are administer the correct amount. added to the palliative list. I then go back to the office and enter the day's work onto each I check the agenda for the lunchtime meeting individual patient's record and head for home! and head for the bathroom and to make soup for my lunch as I can eat at the meeting. I participate in the Palliative Care Meeting, where by Lynne Dowle Patient Participation Group

The Patient Participation Group (PPG), act as a liaison between the Practice and its patients. The group is required to ensure that the Practice provides high quality care that meets the needs of its patients and carers; ensuring it puts the patient, and improving health, at the heart of everything it does.

A PPG is a group of people who are patients of the Whhaat tis ias vair tvuiarlt guraoul pg?roup? surgery and want to help it work as well as it can for patients, doctors and staff. The NHS requires every A virtual membership of the PPG includes people who practice to have a PPG. They provide feedback and would like to be part of the PPG but prefer not to attend suggest improvements that can be made to the services meetings. They get involved via email instead and offered by our Practice. It offers open discussion and an information such as practice newsletters, minutes of the alternative perspective on the many topics relevant to PPG meetings and surveys will be shared electronically. It general practice. means that if you can't make face-to-face meetings, are caring for someone and unable to leave them, or are working, you can still be kept informed, give your views and participate.

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Your views are important and will be listened to. It may not be possible to act on every suggestion, but all Whhoo is i psa prta orft t hoef PtPhGe? PPG? feedback is very valuable. Working in a spirit of mutual respect, openness and trust, all patients' views will be The Patient Participation Group is developed in an discussed and, where appropriate, we will work together appropriate way to ensure regular engagement with a on solutions. representative sample of the practice population, and it should have a structure that allows it to reach the broadest cross section of the patient population.

Whhyy s hsohuoldu Il jdo inI ?join?

If you have been to the surgery as a patient, parent, carer or friend, your experiences matter and you can bring different ideas to the surgery to help us treat patients better or to improve what we do in some way. You will Vaaccaancniecsies also gain a better understanding of the NHS, and gather feedback from other patients. At present, there are a number of vacancies on both PPGs and the groups are particularly keen to recruit Hooww o ofteftne dno dwoe mwee mt? eet? younger membes and those with young families. No previous experience of health services or of the operation The group meets at the surgery but not too often. The of The Roxton Practice is required. What is required is an Roxton PPG which covers Immingham and Keelby, meet interest in helping achieve the aims of the Patient approximately every 6 weeks and the Weelsby View PPG Participation Group. If you would like more information or meet around every 8 weeks. We know that you are busy, are interested in becoming a member of the Roxton PPG, so we meet only a few times per year and hope that you the Weelsby View PPG or a 'virtual member', please can join us. If you can't make meetings then don't worry - contact Les Allen on 01469 560546 or email you can still be part of our virtual group. [email protected]. KEEP WARM, KEEP WELL 1. Keep warm Heat your home to at least 18°C. Keep your bedroom window closed on a cold night. Breathing in cold air can increase the risk of a chest infection.

2. Get financial support There are grants, benefits and sources of advice available to make your home more energy efficient, improve your heating or help with bills.

3. Look after yourself Get your free flu jab if you are aged 65 or over, have an underlying health condition, live in a residential or nursing home, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person. Some children are also eligible. The NHS website provides information about flu vaccination. Visit www.nhs.uk/fluvaccine to learn more.

Don't delay in getting treatment for minor winter ailments like colds or sore throats. Visit your local pharmacist for advice on treatment before it gets worse so you can recover quicker.

Layer your clothing whether you are indoors or outside. Wrap a scarf around your mouth to protect your lungs from the cold air.

Wear shoes with a good grip if you need to go outside.

When you're indoors, try not to sit still for more than an hour or so. Get up, stretch your legs and make yourself a warm drink.

Have your heating and cooking appliances checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer to make sure they are operating safely.

Contact your water and power suppliers to see if you can be on the Priority Services Register. For more winter wellness tips visit the NHS website.

4. Check on others Parents of children over the age of 6 months with a long-term health condition, aged two or three years old or in primary school, speak to a GP or pharmacist about your child having a free flu jab.

Check on older neighbours or relatives to make sure they're safe and well. Make sure they're warm enough, especially at night, and have stocks of food and medicines so they don't need to go out during very cold weather.

If you're worried about an older person, contact a family member, the local council or ring the Age UK helpline on 0800 055 6112.