Abbey Field Medical Centre
Patient Group Minutes – 30 January 2014 : 6.30pm
Attendees
Dr Stacey (Partner) Nicky Young (Practice Manager), Edith Dow, Christine Ward,
Raymond Whiting, Ken Warne, Fred Harvey, Dave Harris, Elizabeth Bezzant, Merle
Johnson, Su Rhys Jones (Health Forum Committee Member),Tony Shorter (CCG)
Apologies
Sue Amos, Rupert Edwards, Alice and David Harper, John Dobbin, Vi Haddow, Gareth
Thomas.
Update from Previous Minutes – 5 December 2013:Nurses
Debra Olver and Andy Maclean will be joining the Practice on the 3 March 2014 – as
Practice Nurses. Debra is already a Practice Nurse, Andy is currently working at the
hospital and has many Practice Nurse skills so will soon be up to speed.
Our nursing team will now consist of; Rose Albon (Lead Nurse), Debra Olver and Andy
Maclean (Practice Nurses), Amanda Lunan and Clare Webb (HCA).
Opening
Nicky had an action point to look into the cost of amending the sign in the waiting to
include “Peggy Austin”. The total cost for this was £201.22. The Patient Group agreed
that money should not be spent on this. A photograph of the opening is now in the
waiting room.
Patient Survey
The draft patient survey was discussed, there were various suggestion for additional
questions and changes to draft questions, the survey was amended to reflect these
changes before being issued.
Minutes
Tony Slater : Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
Tony provided an outline of the CCG Vision – there are huge financial challenges and
increasing demands on services. Various initiatives are being investigated including
moving services away from the hospital and into the community – this is part of the
“Care Closer to Home” programme.
Feedback on health care provision is being garnered through the Big Care Debate. The
CCG have received over 700 formal responses. Maintaining access to a GP was one of
the highest concerns.
The CCG have also been campaigning to try and stop inappropriate attendances at A&E they are investigating the number of attendances where no treatment was given to try
and ascertain why people are going there.
Su Rhys Jones : Health Forum Committee Member
Sue also spoke about the Big Care Debate and said how important it was that people
attend these events and make their views known.
Car Park
Work on the church should start shortly. This will impact on the number of spaces
available for patients. We always knew the car park was not big enough for both the
Practice and the Church – we have been fortunate until now to have it all to ourselves.
Patient Survey
A summary of the results from the Patient Survey were given to everyone and
discussed:There were 38 respondents.
Positive Comments
 The majority of people, 32, were very satisfied/fairly satisfied with the opening
hours.
 The majority of people, 27, were very satisfied/fairly satisfied with the
prescription service.
 Generally the comments about the new building were positive.
Negative Comments
 In general people did not find it very easy to book an appointments on the phone.
10 people stated that they had to wait 10 minutes or longer to get through.
 Difficult to see the same doctor.
 Had to wait to see own doctor.
Summary of discussions
 In general it was acknowledged that it is best if patients, with an on going
problem, always see the same doctor. The practice is always striving to achieve
this but it remains an issue.
 The pros and cons of having “open surgeries” were discussed. This can mean that
patients have to wait a long time to be seen. At the moment the Partners are
not in favour of this approach.
 People were very positive about the hopper bus – it has made a huge difference
to a number of patients who would otherwise have problems accessing the
Practice. Thank you to Dave Harris who is continuing to sponsor this service.
Action : Nicky to ensure a sign is put on the “Jayex screens” stating more
drivers are needed for the hopper bus.
Action Plan
 More should be done to promote on line booking – this negates the issue of not
being able to get through on the phone. Update : Leaflet produced and issued
in Pratice
 Re-train Reception Team to try and ensure patients are booked in with the same
doctor wherever possible for continuity of care. Update : Training plan in the
process of being developed.
Date of Next Meeting : Thursday 24 April 2014 @ 6.30pm
Supplementary Update : 23 March 2014
It has been rather hectic here the last couple of months so I thought I would bring you
up to date with some of the changes :-
New Services :
 As from the beginning of May we will again be providing phlebotomy – 2 hours of
phlebotomy appointments will be available every day. We will also be providing
phlebotomy for patients not registered at Abbey Field. The logistics of how this
will work have as yet to be finalised.
 Also, as from May we will be hosting the new diabetes services on Tuesday
afternoons – again more news to follow on this.
 We also hope to host a new audiology service – negotiations are still in the early
stages regarding this.
 Nationally there will be a new care programme for patients aged over 75 – as yet
we do not have any further news on this.
People Changes :
 Partners : Dr Roberts is leaving at the end of June 2014 to pursue other
business ventures. The current partners have decided they will not take on a
new partner at the moment but they may take on another salaried GP.
 Salaried GP : These remain the same – Dr Doria, Dr Newcombe and Dr Velusamy
 Nurses : Unfortunately Rose Albon has been on long term sick – she should be
back at the beginning of May. Lynn Nattrass has been covering which has been
good. We recruited Debra Olver and Andy Maclean at the beginning of March.
Debra was previously a Practice Nurse and has settled in well at Abbey Field.
Andy previously worked at the hospital and has decided that Practice Nursing is
not for him so is hoping to move back to a similar position. We are currently
advertising for another nurse.
 HCA : Amanda Lunan and Clare Webb have been training for the last few months
and this will be ongoing as they continue to develop new skills. They are really
enjoying their new roles.
 Secretarial : Ros Jupp left in March – she has moved to a new job closer to
home. Karen Turner will join the team in April – Karen is a very experienced
secretary.
 Administration : Richard Hartwell, Assistant Practice Manager, is leaving at the
end of April – he will become a Practice Manager in Braintree so we all wish him
well in his new role. Alison Newell and Donna Johnson are both going on
maternity leave. We are still in the process of making arrangements to cover
these posts.
 Reception : We have a new addition to the reception team – Georgina Diprose our
new Apprentice.