Dr Bance & Partners
W
elcome to the Summer issue of our Practice Newsletter, which is published
quarterly. The newsletter is to provide patients with any news, information and
forthcoming events. If you have any suggestions as to what you would like to
see in your newsletter please inform a member of staff.
**Your Named/Accountable GP**
The practice is required by the Government to allocate all patients with a named accountable GP
under the terms of our contract. The practice has allocated patients to a GP using the first letter of
your surname.
Therefore, the practice is hereby informing you that your allocated GP is as follows:GP
Dr H R Bance
Dr A Biswas
Dr L Enright
Dr J L Webster
Dr Z Yusuf
Dr N Coulson
Dr N Milne
Dr M Dunn
Letter
K, Q, W
L, M, T, U Y
P
E, F, I, N, O
B, J, V
C, R, S
G, H, X, Z
A, D
This does not mean you ONLY have to see your allocated GP; you can see ANY clinician who is
available.
*Opening Hours*
Please note our surgery opening times:Surgery
Monday
Open Close
Elizabeth Court
08.00 18.00
Castleford Health Centre
08.00 18.30
Pinfold
08.00 18.00
Tuesday
Open Close
08.00 18.00
08.00 18.30
08.00 12.30**
Wednesday
Open Close
08.00 18.00
08.00 18.30*
08.00 18.00
Thursday
Open Close
08.00 13.30**
08.00 18.30
08.00 18.00
Friday
Open Close
08.00 18.00
08.00 18.30*
08.00 18.00
* Please note that appointments are not available at the Health Centre on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. You can,
however, be seen at Pinfold Surgery or Elizabeth Court Surgery.
** Whilst Elizabeth Court and Pinfold close one afternoon per week, you can still be seen at our other two sites.
5. Summer 2015 Practice Newsletter
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*Bank Holidays*
Please note the days when we will be closed:
Monday 31 August 2015 (Summer Bank)
*Training Days*
Please make a note of the dates below when we will be closed for training:
Wednesday 16 September 2015

Wednesday 14 October 2015

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Wednesday 20 January 2016
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 NHS 111
Cancelling Appointments
Please note that our telephone system has the facility for you to leave us a message if you are phoning
to cancel an appointment. Please follow the operator instructions, should you wish to contact us to
cancel an appointment.
Where possible, please cancel your appointment as soon as you can and not 10 minutes before it is
due. This will enable us to re-use the slot for another patient.
Privacy
If you need to talk to one of our Administrators in private, please do let us know. We have quiet
rooms at all of our surgeries to enable patients, carers and family members to discuss things with us
away from the Reception/Waiting Area.
Shingles Vaccination
Existing Shingles Vaccination Campaign (ends 31 August 2015)
Were you born between these dates?
02/09/1943 and 01/09/1944
02/09/1935 and 01/09/1936
02/09/1934 and 01/09/1935
If so, have you had your Shingles Vaccination? If not, there is still time to get vaccinated. Contact us
to make an appointment with one of our Practice Nurses. You will remain eligible for a vaccination
whilst you are aged 70, 78 and 79 (up to 31 August 2015)
New Shingles Vaccination Campaign (starts 01 September 2015)
Were you born between these dates?
02/09/1944-01/09/1945
02/09/1935-01/09/1936
02/09/1936-01/09/1937
If so, please contact the surgery to arrange for your Shingles Vaccination after 01 September 2015.
You will remain eligible for a vaccination up to and including 31 August 2016.
SMS Text Messaging
The practice are continuing to send text reminders to patients for pre-booked appointments. If you
would like to be reminded about your appointment the day before it is due, then please provide us
with your mobile telephone number and a text message will be sent to you the day before your
appointment. If you do not wish to be included in this service, then please inform a member of our
Administration team.
5. Summer 2015 Practice Newsletter
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Flu Appointments – COMING SOON
Dates and times will be published within the next few weeks, keep an eye out for details in surgery.
You are eligible for a flu jab if you are over 65, have a long term condition (eg Asthma or Diabetes),
are pregnant or aged between 2 and 4 years old.
Talk to us…tell us what you think
Our ‘Friends and Family Test’ feedback form was launched on 01 December 2014.
Patients can either complete a paper form, or complete on-line at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7CCZDR5
Alternatively, scan the QR code to the right to be taken straight to the online survey.
Your answers to the questions will be used to help us learn what really matters to patients and to help
us improve our services.
Cancer Screening Programmes
If you receive an invite for Breast Screening, Cervical Screening (Smear) or receive a Bowel Cancer
Screening Kit, don’t ignore it.
Make an appointment for your check-up. A few minutes of your time can be lifesaving. Finding
cancer early makes it more treatable
A-Z Coping with Minor Illness at Home
This is the first in a series of handy helpful hints and tips to help you manage illness at home.
If you are able to treat a minor illness at home then that will be less intrusive on your own time and
will free-up the doctor to be able to see patients who are more seriously ill. You may prefer to see a
pharmacist or to ask for a telephone consultation with the doctor. The following general advice may
be of use to you:
A - Antibiotics
Antibiotics work only for bacterial infections and are no use at all for the viruses which cause
colds and flu. It takes a few days for antibiotics to work properly and if your doctor
prescribes antibiotics for you it is essential that you finish the course, even if you feel well
before you run out of tablets. By taking antibiotics only when really needed you give bacteria
less opportunity to become immune to their effect.
5. Summer 2015 Practice Newsletter
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Struggling to get an appointment?
In the period 01 December 2014 to 28 February 2015 960 patients failed to attend for their
appointment. This equates to 12,171 minutes of wasted time which could have been used by other
patients.
Surgery
Appointments
Time
Missed
Wasted
Elizabeth Court
389
4908
Castleford Health Centre
349
4415
Pinfold Surgery
222
2848
Totals
960
12171
In the period of 01 March 2015 – 31 May 2015, 956 patients have failed to attend for their
appointment, equating to 12,945 minutes of lost GP/Nurse time. Again, these appointments could
have been utilised by other patients.
Surgery
Elizabeth Court
Castleford Health Centre
Pinfold Surgery
Totals
Appointments
Missed
346
351
259
Time
Wasted
4635
4720
3590
956
12945
If you need to cancel your appointment, then please contact the surgery. If you have access to our online services, you can cancel your appointment through this facility. The practice will now be writing
to patients who fail to attend for 3 or more appointments in a 12 month period. This may result in
you being removed from the practice list.
Staff News
We have a few staff members who have left/will be leaving:


Nicola, Castleford Health Centre, has left to take up a new position in a local GP
surgery and wish her all the best for the future.
Nichola, Elizabeth Court Surgery, will be leaving us at the end of August and we all
wish her well for the future.
Dr Victoria Woodward, Dr Aisha Ismail and Dr Emma Firth will be leaving us to
embark on the next stage of their training programme and we wish them all the very
best in their next placement.
Whilst we have a few goodbyes, we also have a few welcomes to make too:


Dr Mike Dunn will join the practice as a GP on completion of his GP training
programme. We are all looking forward to continuing to work with Mike.
Drs Maria Husain and Sarah Graham will join the practice in the final year of their
GP training programme and both will be with us for 12 months.
Dr Elizabeth Tynegate will also join the practice as our FY2 placement for the next
quarter.
Autumn Newsletter
The Autumn Newsletter will be published during September. Please let us know if there is any
information you would find useful or if you would like to know more about our services.
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