Newtons
Practice
In collaboration with the Practice’s Patient Participation Group (PPG)
SUMMER 2014 NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the Newtons Practice Newsletter, with information about the PPG, what’s happening
within the practice and in Primary Care
The PPG meets regularly to discuss matters of concern to patients and the
practice. We get involved in practical ways too. We helped to run the autumn flu clinics and used the ’10minute wait period’ to encourage patients to learn how to use the blood pressure machine. On other
occasions we helped to distribute the patient survey forms and to assist patients with the automatic check-in.
Along with other patients we took part in a Focus Group run by the Clinical Commissioning Group to discuss a
project looking at new ways of supporting patients with Long Term health conditions.
Any patient of the practice is welcome to join the core group of PPG members – we would like to encourage
younger patients to join to
represent their views. Please
“HOW NEWTONS WORKS FOR YOU”
contact the practice for
further information.
PPG ANNUAL EVENT
Patient Survey Results!
KNOW YOUR PRACTICE & MEET THE TEAM
Every GP practice is required
to carry out a patient survey
SATURDAY 5th JULY 10.30am – 12.30
annually. The questions are
set by a specialist company
A GP, Senior Nurse, GP Registrar and a Manager will talk about what
and the results are fed back
they can offer patients during a busy day at Newtons
to the practice.
The
practice’s results are also
Everyone is welcome!
compared with the scores for
practices across the country.
So how did Newtons do this year? 85% of all patient ratings about this practice were good, very good or
excellent. As with last year’s results, the scores relating to clinical care – how we and our illnesses are treated
by the doctors and nurses – were very high and above average.
Some respondents were less happy about the wait for non-urgent appointments and the ability to see a
specific GP. Unfortunately, if you talk to friends and relatives you will be aware that this situation is replicated
in most practices around the country nowadays. It is a result of the strain that General Practice is under.
Similarly, some people complained about not being able to get through on the phone and queuing at
Reception. The limited car parking was also criticised. The practice regrets the difficulties that patients
experience but does not own the car park. Working with the PPG, we are actively trying to remedy the
situation. It’s important to remember that the survey had a very small sample - 331 of our 13,450 patients.
Patients over 75 years old
Patients of the practice who are over 75 will be asked to confirm who they want to have as their named GP.
This is a government initiative to ensure the named GP takes responsibility for the patient’s overall care. It
does not mean that the patient can only be seen by that GP or that the GP will be responsible for the patient’s
24 hour care. Many of Newtons Practice GPs are part time, so you can continue to choose to see any GP or
nurse who is available, but for continuity your named GP will ensure that appropriate community services and
care packages are made available if required.
Avoiding going into hospital…
Another new government initiative this year is to ensure that patients who can be cared for in the community
with their health condition are not admitted to A & E unnecessarily, especially if it could have been avoided
with more help from the community nurses or the Multi-Disciplinary Teams. These teams are made up of local
Physiotherapists, Nurses, Social Workers and Community Mental Health nurses. Some of our patients have
already benefited from their input making their lives far more manageable. Your GP at the practice may talk to
you about putting your name forward for this type of help, if s/he thinks it would be good for you. We would
also want to write up a Care Plan that is personal to just you, which we could share with these teams, as the
last thing we want, is for you to end up in hospital when it could have been avoided. You may have a carer
who would also want to contribute to this plan. If you receive a letter from the practice telling you about this
scheme please consider this seriously, as we want to ensure you have access to the best health care we can
get you.
We are now offering appointments with the doctors on line!! Check out the Appointments
page on the practice website www.newtonspractice.co.uk and click into the appointments on
line tab. It is easy! But don’t worry if you don’t use the internet – only a small number of
appointments are available in this way on a daily basis.
Newtons practice is still expanding….. We are delighted to announce that we have several new staff
joining the practice.
We have 2 new Receptionists, Nicola and Rose who come to us with a wealth of experience in patient/customer
services. Charmi Rogers, an experienced Paramedic Practitioner who was here on an 8 week placement earlier in the
year is returning to the practice as a member of the team. She is joining the soon to be launched ‘Urgent Care Clinic’
because she feels it is such a great service. Finally we are extremely pleased that Dr Ruth Gwynne-Hellier who has been
a registrar at the practice for the last 12 months, has accepted our offer to become part of the team of excellent GPs
we have working here.
Newtons ‘URGENT CARE CLINIC’ takes over from the Express Clinic giving improved access for urgent
care. Our new ‘Urgent Care Clinic’ is for patients who have developed a problem over the last 24 to 48 hours that
need to be seen and treated promptly.
When a patient phones the Surgery for an urgent appointment (or on the
day), our reception team will ask for an indication of the problem to ensure that the patient is booked in with the most
appropriate Practitioner for their needs. The patient may be allocated to consult with either the Duty Doctor or the
‘Urgent Care’ Practitioner.
It will have been assumed that the patient would have already consulted with the Pharmacist. If it is a common selflimiting condition such as a sore throat, cold, cough or thrush etc., many remedies can be purchased over the counter,
which can be quicker and more convenient for the patient.
The practitioners of the practice will NOT prescribe antibiotics unless the patient has a bacterial infection.
Patients will be asked to rebook on another day if the Doctor believes the problem was not
appropriate for the Urgent Clinic.
www.newtonspractice.co.uk