LAURENCEKIRK MEDICAL CENTRE
Newsletter – Summer 2014
Patient Survey
Staffing
We are pleased to announce that Dr
Emma Houghton has joined the
Practice as a GP Partner and Miss
Lynne Jenkins as our new Practice
Nurse. We said goodbye recently to
our Senior Practice Nurse, Elspeth who
left to work with the Health Visiting
Team at Portlethen and wish her well
in her new career challenge. Anita
Connell will now take over
responsibility for the Diabetic Clinics.
Forthcoming
calendar:
dates
for
Thank you to those patients who
completed our patient surveys earlier
this year. The results have now been
collated and we are pleased to report
that the overall rate of satisfaction with
the care received from the Surgery is
96% and 99% expressed that it is easy
to get through on the telephone.
Some patients did express concerns
regarding time waiting to be seen at a
GP practice. To help reduce the
patient’s wait to be seen we have
introduced a doctors running late
protocol which
will reduce the
patient’s wait to be seen by a doctor.
your
Wednesday 10th September, Thursday
13th November,
Tuesday 10th February 2015 and
Wednesday 11th March 2015 - Practice
closed for staff training between the
hours of 11.30 am – 4.30 pm
Monday 22nd September - Public
Holiday - Practice closed all day
Telephone Triage Appointments
As from 1st September we are pleased
to announce a change to the way we
manage the non-routine appointment
needs of our patients. All patients with
on the day requirements will be offered
telephone call backs from our doctors
to enable clinical care to be
appropriately given. Telephone call
backs will take place throughout each
day. Routine appointments will be
available for booking in advance in the
usual way. We do experience an
extremely high volume of calls into the
surgery each day but always aim to
answer as quickly as we can. Thank
you for your patience and cooperation
during this period of change.
LAURENCEKIRK MEDICAL CENTRE
Newsletter – Summer 2014


their
medicines
from
their
pharmacist. This works alongside
the medical care they get from their
doctor.
This Service helps patients, doctors
and pharmacists work more closely
together to improve patient care.
This Service also allows some
people to get the medicines they
use regularly on a serial
prescription which the patient’s
usual pharmacy will hold for them.
NHS 24 - Telephone Number
111
The number for contacting NHS 24 has
changed to 111. The new number will
ensure that people across Scotland can
access the service whether via a
landline or mobile phone free of
charge using a number that is short and
easy to remember.
NHS 24 should be used when someone
is unwell outside surgery working
hours and is unable to wait until the
surgery has re-opened. In the event of
a life threatening emergency always
dial 999.
The NHS Chronic Medication
Service –
A service for patients with a long-term
condition.
The Chronic Medication Service is
an NHS service for patients with a
long-term condition to help them get
the best results from their medicines.
A long-term condition is a health
problem, such as high blood pressure
or hypothyroidism, that is likely to last
longer than a year, and needs ongoing
medical care.
.........What does this mean to you?

This service lets people with a
long-term
condition
get
personalised care and advice about
You can register for the Chronic
Medication Service at a pharmacy of
your choice. Your doctor will be
informed that you have registered.
Many of you will already have done
this. Please ask for details about this
service from your local pharmacist.
Serial Prescriptions . After you have
registered for the Chronic Medication
Service your doctor can decide
whether the medicines that you take
are suitable for a serial prescription. It
should be noted that medicines
requiring close monitoring by your
doctor will not be suitable for a serial
prescription.
What’s the difference between a
normal prescription and a Serial
Prescription?



A serial prescription looks like a
normal prescription but lasts for
either 24 or 48 weeks.
A serial prescription allows you to
collect
items
of prescribed
medication direct from the
pharmacy where you are registered
at agreed time intervals.
Your Doctor decides how often
you
can
collect
suitable
medications
on
your serial
prescription from your Pharmacy.
LAURENCEKIRK MEDICAL CENTRE
Newsletter – Summer 2014
Could you please let us know if you
are unable to attend an appointment so
that we are able to allocate the
appointment to another patient, so that
we can re-arrange your appointment to
a more convenient day and time. This
will help to improve the availability of
appointments for all patients as it is
impossible for us to rebook
appointment slots when a patient does
not inform us in advance that they will
not be attending.
You do not need to order your
prescription
for
the
approved
medication during the agreed period
from the practice (or online)
Not everyone who registers for the
Chronic Medication Service will be
prescribed medication which is
suitable for a serial prescription.
However, you do not need a serial
prescription to benefit from the other
parts of the service, such as the care
plan provided by your Pharmacist.
Please ask for details at your
pharmacy.
DNA (Did not Attend)
We would like to thank patients who
call us to cancel their appointments as
this means we can then use them for
other patients (often at very short
notice) and 96% of the appointments
we offer are attended by patients.
However, in recent months DNAs (did
not attend) rate has been increasing
again = often over 20 per week.
Patient Confidentiality
We are unable to give out information
to anyone other than the patient - this
includes details of appointments or any
test
results,
unless
by
prior
arrangement with the practice. This is
to protect your confidentiality. If you
want to nominate someone to be able
to access this information on your
behalf, please send a signed letter to
the practice giving the name of the
person you permit to access your
information.
Next Newsletter - Winter 2014.
Please tell us if there is something you
would like us to include in our Newsletter,
or ask any questions which you may have
on subjects which we have published.
Use the comments box at reception in the
Health Centre.
Please detail your
comment/query “Newsletter”. Remember,
this Newsletter is also available to read on
the
Practice
Website
–
www.laurencekirkhealthcarecentre.co.uk