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Patient Newsletter - Aug 13
Welcome to the 29th issue of the Patient Newsletter.
Staff Changes
We welcome aboard Hannah Phillips, our new part time receptionist. Our new Practice Nurse, Nadine Bailey,
will be doing sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If a review of your Long Term Condition (such
as Diabetes or hypertension) is due then please book an appointment to see her. Please note that she does not
do smear tests.
When Is The Best Time To call The Practice?
One thing no General Practice is short of is phone calls. Our reception staff and clinicians have to field a large
number of calls on a variety of different subjects throughout the day. We understand it can be extremely frustrating for patients if they are asked to call back later, so we've put together this short guide on some of the best
times to call us (on 0203 487 0200) for certain things.
ON THE DAY APPOINTMENTS
Our phone lines open at 8am, and this is when the “book on the day” appointments are released. If you feel you
need a same day appointment, this is the best time to call. There are limited same day slots available so it is
best to call as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
FUTURE APPOINTMENTS
If you would like to arrange a routine appointment, if possible try to avoid calling at 8am, because reception have
a lot of calls to get through for patients needing same day appointments. By 10:00am the demand has lessened
and we usually have more staff to help answer the phone.
RESULTS
When asking for test results you should call after 2pm, as we are more likely to have the results through by this
time of day.
Staff Please Remember To Check In Before You Take A Seat
If you do not check in, the doctor or nurse will not know that you are waiting and you may miss your appointment. You can either use the touch screen to let us know you have arrived (this will be quicker for you when the
receptionist is busy on the phone or dealing with other patients) or you can see the receptionist to let her know
that you have arrived
Dealing With Emergencies
We try our best to run on time for doctor and nurses appointments but we do encounter delays from time to time.
This is usually because we have had to deal with an emergency such as a patient who comes to the surgery
with symptoms that have to be dealt with urgently. If delays arise we will keep you informed – you can either
continue to wait for the doctor or nurse to become available or you may wish to re-book your appointment for
another time.
New Vaccination Programme
This year there will be several new additions to the national vaccinations programme. In July the government introduced a new vaccine for babies for Rotavirus. This is to prevent a nasty vomiting and diarrhoea bug
that affects an estimated 130,000 babies and young children each year. Also new this year will be the Shingles
vaccine for people aged 70 – 79 years.
Bank Holiday Closure
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Please note that we will be closed on Monday 26th August. Please order your repeat medication on time!
www.hoxtonsurgery.nhs.uk
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What Do You Think of Our Practice?
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Improve the surgery
Give us your opinion
Interact with other patients
Respond to proposed changes
It only takes a couple of minutes
The practice has a Patient Reference Group, which will allow you to give us feedback on the range and
quality of our services and tell us where we can improve or how well we are doing. Our aim is to reach a
wide range of patients across the community so we can get views from across our population. To make
it as easy as possible for you and us, it will be a virtual group. This means most of the communication
will be through email and completing online surveys.
What will be involved?
The main role of the group is to give us feedback through a survey. The Survey only takes a couple of
minutes and you are asked to register with the group which only takes a few seconds. Patients will be
asked a series of simple questions about how we are doing. We will then publish the survey results
along with our proposal to improve the areas it highlights as in need of change. You will have the
chance to let us know if you agree with our plans. At the end of the year we will publish the results of
our achievements.
How do I participate?
If you are interested in joining, simply leave your email with us, speak to reception for details and we
will be in touch, or get started at:
www.Hoxton.HealthUnlocked.com
High Blood Pressure
Whenever you attend the Surgery, one of the most commonly undertaken parts of being examined is to check
your blood pressure. Our circulation is essential to life with certain conditions making our blood pressure too low,
or much more common, too high. High blood pressure is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney and visual impairment if untreated over a prolonged period. It is estimated that 30% of over
50’s have raised blood pressure but it is something which causes few symptoms hence doctors’ eagerness to
opportunistically check it even in patients who are not known to have high blood pressure.
Most people assume that raised blood pressure needs to be treated with medicine but there are many lifestyle
measures which can be implemented to lower a raised blood pressure and these in combination can be as effective as tablets at lowering blood pressure.
Healthy eating with a low salt diet and drinking only 1-2 units of alcohol per day will help lower blood pressure
but also weight loss is another effective tool in blood pressure management. Get active as exercise not only
helps lower blood pressure it helps with weight reduction. It is recommended to undertake a 30minute session
five times per week, if you can’t achieve it straight away, don’t worry you can build up to it at your own pace
Stop smoking as well as helping with blood pressure control will have many other positive health effects, we
offer a full range of services within the surgery should you wish to stop smoking.The next time you have your
blood pressure checked you now know the reason why.
Care Quality Commission
From the 1st of April 2013, all GP Practices are required to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. This
is a body that has so far been involved in inspecting standards in residential and nursing homes, hospital and
dental practices and now GP Practices. Every GP practice will be inspected by the CQC every 2 years. The
practice will be given 48 hours’ notice prior to the inspection. There are 28 standards of regulation that the practice is required to meet, and will be expected to be able to provide evidence of meeting these standards. The
CQC will focus on 16 of these standards which relate most directly to quality and safety of care.
The inspections will check that the Practice meet national standards and the focus will be on the patient experience when they receive care. During the inspection, the CQC will assess information about our services to decide which standards to look at during an inspection. They will usually inspect several of the 16 essential standards during their visit. Inspectors will spend time talking to patients and staff to check their findings. The inspectors take into account information provided by the Registered Manager, the staff, the patients and the documentary evidence provided by the Practice.
www.hoxtonsurgery.nhs.uk
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