NEWSLETTER
ARGYLL HOUSE SURGERY
Winter 2015
Welcome Christina Richards Advanced Nurse Practitioner Srn,
Scm, Bsc, Msc
Sister Richards has been a
qualified nurse since 1982. After
her general and midwifery
training in Portsmouth, she
returned to the Island and worked
on Bonchurch ward
(orthopaedics), then at Shanklin,
Ryde and St Marys Hospital on
the Trauma and Orthopaedic
Unit. She left the NHS for a few
years to work in the private sector
at the King Edward V11
Convalescent home in Osborne
House. In 1999 she returned to
the NHS and worked as a
community nurse. She undertook
her degree to become a District
Nurse. After undertaking a
Master Degree in Advanced
Nursing Practice she worked first
as a Community Matron in the
South Wight Area for 10 years,
and later became a Practice Nurse
at Cowes Medical Centre. She
joined the team at Argyll House
in October.
The role of the Advanced Nurse
Practitioner (ANP) is to
complement the existing Doctors
and Nurses. As an ANP, Sister
Richards is able to assess
patients, diagnose and prescribe if
required, appropriate medications
to complete an episode of care.
The aim is to provide a more
effective and timely appointment
system for patients, especially as
future demands on GP services
have increased. However some
patients and their conditions will
need to be assessed and managed
by a GP.
To help us with this process, if
you are able to, please tell
reception staff why you need a
GP appointment. This will help to
provide more appointments, as
certain conditions could be dealt
with by the Advanced Nurse
Practitioner. Listed below are the
conditions that the ANP can
currently treat:
Adults only:
Respiratory tract infections.
Sore Throat.
Rhinitis.
Sinusitis.
Cough.
COPD and Asthma
exacerbations.
Urine Infections.
Earache.
Blocked ears.
Discharging ears.
Vaginal discharge/Thrush.
Constipation.
Diarrhoea.
Haemorrhoids.
Indigestion & Heartburn.
Skin conditions: cellulitis, rash,
bites, stings, eczema, psoriasis.
Minor Sprains.
Bach ache, if within the last 2
weeks.
Dry eye/conjunctivitis.
Pharmacy First Minor Ailment
Service
This service aims to provide you
with rapid access to a pharmacist
who can give advice on a range
of minor ailments and, where
necessary, supply medication
from an agreed formulary.
The purpose of this service is to
release capacity in general
practice and provide an
appropriate alternative to the use
of general practice or other health
care environments, for example,
A&E, Out of Hours Urgent Care.
The pharmacy will provide
advice and support to people on
the management of minor
ailments. This will also include
the supply of printed information
where appropriate and, if
necessary, the supply of medicine
(free of charge to those exempt
from prescription charges) for the
treatment of the minor ailment.
Please think Pharmacy First
before contacting your GP for an
appointment.
CQC Inspection
Some of you may be aware that
the practice was recently
inspected by the CQC on 14th
October 2015. The Care Quality
Commission (CQC) regulates all
health and social care services in
England. The commission
ensures the quality and safety of
care in hospitals, GP surgeries,
Dentists, Ambulances, Care
Homes and the care given in
people’s own homes. They
inspect the following headings:
Are the services safe?
Are services effective?
Are services caring?
Are services responsive to
people’s needs?
Are services well led?
The team that visits are made up
of 3, a CQC
Inspector, a GP and a Practice
Manager representative. They
spoke with patients, staff,
including GPs. They gathered a
wealth of policies and procedures
from us both before and during
the visit. As well as this they
would also have looked at NHS
websites and national websites
which hold data showing quality
of care provided by the practice.
We are pleased to be able to say
that the practice has received an
overall rating of good, with all 5
domains being rated as good.
The full report can be found on
the CQC website which is due to
be published within the next
couple of weeks.
Repeat Prescriptions
When requesting a repeat
prescription, please remember to
allow up to 2 working days
before your prescription will be
ready to collect from the surgery.
If collecting from a local chemist,
please allow up to 4 working
days.
If you have been asked to make
an appointment with a GP for a
medication review before you
receive another prescription,
please bear in mind that any GP
can help with this. You do not
have to see the GP you regularly
see. Any GP will be happy to see
you. Always book in advance
before your medication runs out.
Remember that you can book a
GP/ANP/Nurses or Health Care
Assistant appointment up to 3
Months in advance.
Early Opening
Each week we have an early
morning surgery starting from
7am on a Thursday. The surgery
will only be open for the patients
who have an appointment that
morning from 7am. Please do not
arrive any earlier than this time.
The doors will remain locked
until this time, enabling
Reception Staff to prepare for the
mornings clinic. If you come to
the surgery before 8am to book
an appointment, reception will
not be able to help you until 8am,
This gives patients a fairer
opportunity to book either at
reception or by phone, at the
same time as the telephone lines
open.
Charity Book Sale
Telephone lines are open as usual
from 8am. If you need to cancel
an appointment for that morning
or any other time during the day,
you can now leave a message on
our cancellation line, which
reception will pick up regularly
throughout the day.
Brackens Dog Rescue £50
Cats Protection £50
Ability Dogs for
Young People £100
Air Ambulance £100
Telephone Service
Surgery Christmas Closing
Times
We have recently changed the
way your telephone calls are
answered. This will ensure you
are speaking to the correct person
who can help deal with your
enquiry. When you ring the
surgery, you will now be given
different options to choose.
Appointments, and Home Visits,
including cancellations dial 1.
Test Reports, dial 2 . Referral
enquiries, dial 3. For all other
enquiries please hold for
Reception.
Friday Open Surgery
Every Friday we have Open
Surgery, which runs on a first
come first serve basis. The clinic
starts from 4.00pm. If you need to
see a GP before the weekend, you
will be able to have an
appointment. You need to arrive
at the surgery between 4.00pm
and 5.30pm and book in at
reception. Please be aware that
there may be a wait.
Thank you to everyone who has
donated books to us, and to
everyone who has bought books
from our book table. Our most
recent donations went to the
following organisations:
Our Current charity is The
Alzheimer Café.
Thursday December 24th Open
from 8am, closing time TBC
Friday December 25th - Closed
Saturday 26th December - Closed
Sunday 27th December - Closed
Monday 27th December – Closed
Tuesday 29th December – Open as
usual 8.00am -6.30pm
Friday 1st January – Closed
Please ensure that you have
ordered any repeat prescriptions
you might need in plenty of time
for the Christmas period.
If you require a doctor whilst the
surgery is closed, please
telephone NHS 111. A doctor
may also be accessed by
attending the Beacon walk in
centre at St Mary’s Hospital,
Newport during the hours of
08.00-20.00
Thank you from Dr Martin
Dr Martin would like to thank all
her patients for all her good well
wishes, cards and very generous
gifts that she has received for her
retirement. She will miss you all.
We would like to take this
opportunity to wish all our
patients and their families a very
Merry Christmas and best wishes
for 2016.