Mersea Road Doctors Surgery
Patient Newsletter – Summer 2011
Welcome
Welcome to our second Patient Newsletter. The content of this letter has largely been
decided upon by our Patient Group – you can find out more information about the Patient
Group later in the newsletter.
The clinical team remains the same, consisting of Partners; Dr Gatland, Dr Stacey, Dr
Goel, Dr Kuppuswamy and Dr Roberts, nurses; Jo, Lynn and Sandra, and HCAs; Lindsey,
Vicky and Janet.
In July both Dr Doyle and Dr Coxhead will leave the Practice as the Partners now have
the capacity to undertake this work themselves.
Possible Move to New Site : Garrison Building
As reported in the last newsletter we have put a bid into the Primary Care Trust (PCT)
to move to the old Garrison hospital building. Currently both ourselves and two other
surgeries are bidding to move to this new site. The next stage in the process is for all
Practices concerned to present to the PCT on the 18 July 2011. We will keep you
updated as to the next steps as soon as we know.
Feedback at the last Patient Group meeting indicated that although people acknowledged
the need for a larger site, and the convenience both for patients and the Practice of
having all clinicians on one site, that there may be difficulty in getting to the Garrison
by public transport. We have discovered that there is a bus which stops opposite The
Grapes Public House and from there it is a 7 minute walk to the Garrison. The PCT have
been told about the concerns regarding public transport and are investigating this with
the local bus companies to see if they are able to provide transport even closer to the
site.
Did Not Attend
In May there were 243 appointments for which patients did not turn up. This
represents 65 hours of clinician’s time which could have been spent with other patients.
If you are unable to attend please call to cancel your appointment or you can cancel on
line via the web site:http://www.mersearoadsurgery.co.uk/
Click on “Cancel Appointments” and follow the on line instructions.
We do now send out text reminders they day before to remind people that they have an
appointment – this can only be done if we have your mobile number on record – please can
you ensure your details are up to date – thank you.
Prescribing
NHS North East Essex has asked GPs to reduce their prescribing of some medicines
that are readily available to purchase.
This decision has been taken because:
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Many of these products are cheap to buy and are readily available from
pharmacies, where you can also get additional professional advice on your
condition.
Shops and supermarkets (which are often open until late also have a limited
range of these products that you can purchase).
Some of them do not actually work very well e.g. cough syrups.
This money could be better spent on treating more serious conditions such as
diabetes and heart disease.
Hence it may be that if you request or need a medicine which is available from the
pharmacy or a shop you will not be given a prescription instead you will be advised that
you need to purchase it direct.
Blood Tests (Phlebotomy)
Currently we provide phlebotomy appointments most days either at Mersea Road or
Creffield Road. We also provide a community phlebotomy service whereby we visit
housebound patients. However, given the increase in the number of blood tests now
undertaken, we do not have the resources to provide enough phlebotomy for all patients.
Hence, we ask those patients that are able to travel to go to one of the following:Location
North Colchester Health Centre
Turner Road
Colchester
Essex County Hospital
Outpatients Department
Colchester General Hospital
Blood Clinic
Days
Monday – Friday
Times
07.00 – 14.00
Monday – Friday
08.30 – 12.00
Monday – Thursday
Friday
08.30 – 16.15
08.30 – 15.45
Repeat Dispensing
If you, or someone you care for, use the same medicines regularly, you may not need to
get a new prescription every time you need more medicine. The first step is to talk to
your doctor and ask them if you can use repeat dispensing.
Please discuss this with your doctor if you believe this may be helpful for you.
1 Appointment 1 Problem
The sign 1 appointment 1 problem is there as a guide. Sometimes patients come in with
several unrelated problems and there is not always time, in the allocated 10 minutes, to
investigate them all thoroughly.
If there are a number of problems which you believe are all associated then these
should all be mentioned so that the clinician has all the relevant information when
deciding what course of action needs to be taken.
Clinicians always do their utmost to provide the best possible care whilst still running to
time. They understand that it inconveniences patients if they are running late.
However, sometimes there is a problem which takes a little longer to investigate than 10
minutes and this can make clinics run late. Trying, where possible, to keep to the 1
appointment 1 problem rule helps to mitigate this.
Patient Group
The Patient Group held its first meeting on 12 May 2011 in the evening. Many of the
subjects in this newsletter were discussed. We currently have 16 members but more
are always welcome. If you would like to join please just give your details to Reception
and Nicky, the Practice Manager, will be in contact.
Next meeting : Tuesday 2 August 2011 @ 6.30 at 272a Mersea Road, Colchester