DANEBRIDGE MEDICAL CENTRE
NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2015
DOCTOR NEWS
Dr Joanna Gregory and Dr Christopher Jordan
In September we welcome two new permanent
Doctors to Danebridge.
Dr Jordan will be working 4 days a weeks, 2 of
which he will be at Kingsmead surgery and 2 at
Danebridge.
Dr Gregory is with us 3 days per week and will be
working 1 morning at the Sandiway surgery and
the rest of her time at Danebridge.
Doctors in Training (Registrars)
As a training practice, August brings a new
rotation of Doctors in Training joining us. We have
3 new GP Registrars who will be with us for a
period of 12 months and 2 Foundation Year 2
Doctors who will be with us for a period of 4
months. GP Registrars are fully qualified doctors
who have had several years of hospital experience
before joining us for their GP training. Their time
with us is invaluable to their GP training and they
are very closely mentored by our GP Trainers Dr
Mullin, Dr Russell and Dr Gilchrist.
Medical Students
During
September,
October,
November and December we will be
joined by 5th year Medical students.
Their time with us is a vital part of their
training ahead of their final exams in January.
During the period they spend with us they gain
experience which is instrumental to their medical
training. The Students will hold joint surgeries with
the Doctors here and you may occasionally be
asked to be seen by a Medical Student prior to
seeing the Doctor. These students are our next
generation of Doctors so please help us to help
them.
APPOINTMENTS
Appointments with the Doctors are 10 minutes and
each appointment is for one problem. If you would
like to discuss more during your appointment,
please advise the receptionist so they can make
accommodations for you.
Dr Valasek, Dr Bala and Dr Goodwin
We say goodbye and good luck to
our 2014/15 GP Registrars who have
now completed their training and
passed all of their exams.
Drs
Valasek, Bala and Goodwin are all
moving on to continue their career as
a GP. However, you may still see Dr Valasek and
Dr Bala in surgery as they are going to be doing
some Locum work for us over the coming months.
NEW OPENING HOURS AT DANEBRIDGE
We continually strive to improve
access for our patients. Danebridge is
currently open till 9pm on a Monday
evening providing late access for
patients. Now to provide early access,
Danebridge opens at 7:00am on a Thursday and
Friday morning.
We provide early and late
surgeries with Doctors and Nurses for patients who
find it difficult to attend during normal surgery hours,
thus hopefully improving many patients access to a
clinician.
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP (PPG)
The PPG continues to be the liaison between the
Practice and the wider patient base and are always
pleased to receive any feedback that you want to
provide. See the posters displayed in the surgeries
for details of how to contact the PPG. Members of
the PPG are hoping to have a more regular
presence in the surgeries over the coming months.
You can come and meet them at Danebridge on
25th September, when members will be taking part
in the Macmillan "World's Biggest Coffee Morning”.
If you are interested in
becoming a member of the
PPG, please ask for an
information pack at Reception.
FLU & PNEUMONIA VACCINATIONS
The Department of Health issues advice as to who
should be immunised. This is reviewed from time
to time. The aim is to protect people who are more
likely to develop complications from flu. Current
advice is that you should be immunised against
the influenza virus each autumn if you:
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ARE AGED 65 AND OVER
ARE DIABETIC
SUFFER HEART DISEASE
HAVE COELIAC DISEASE
HAVE KIDNEY/LIVER DISEASE
HAD A SPLENECTOMY
HAVE CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASE
ARE ASTHMATIC ON REGULAR STEROID
INHALER
ARE A CARER OF THE ELDERLY OR
DISABLED
CURRENTLY PREGNANT
Flu can be a debilitating illness. If you have
answered YES to any of the above PLEASE book
your appointment at reception now.
FRIENDS AND FAMILY TEST (FFT)
You may have noticed small blue
questionnaires in the surgeries. We
are asking for patients views on our
services and if you would recommend
us to friends and family and if not,
why? When in surgery we would be
very grateful if you take the time to complete this
very small questionnaire. Alternatively you can
access the questionnaire via our website
www.danebridge.org.uk Thank you
HALF-DAY CLOSURES 2015
Danebridge and Kingsmead surgery will
be closed during the hours of 1pm –
5pm on the following dates for staff
training:
Wed 16th September
Tues 20th October
Wed 25th November
On these dates all surgeries will close at 1pm.
REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS
Repeat prescriptions can be ordered on-line by
registering
an
account
with
www.patient.co.uk/access Patients can also
request prescriptions in person, via post, fax
(01606 331977) and by using the Chemist delivery
or electronic service. REQUESTS ARE NOT
TAKEN OVER THE TELEPHONE.
Please note: repeat prescriptions
take 48 hours to process, so
please ensure you put your
repeat request in good time so not to run out of
your medication. If you are due to go away on
holiday and are requesting your prescription
earlier than it is due, please make a note of this on
your request slip. This will avoid any delays and
our staff will be able to process your request.
Please however note that it is practice policy that
we only issue 2 early prescriptions per year for
holidays. If for some reason you require more
than this, please speak to a member of our
prescription staff before putting in your early
request.
Danebridge and Kingsmead will re-open at 5pm for
emergencies only.
During the closed period,
emergencies are dealt with by the Out of Hours
Service by telephoning:
01270 273666
UNATTENDED APPOINTMENTS
During the month of July 2015 331 patients did
NOT attend their booked appointments with either
the Doctor or Nurse. This equates to
approximately 52 hours of clinicians
surgery time!
Patients’
not
attending
for
their
booked
appointments is a waste of valuable appointments
that other patients could have had! If you cannot
keep your appointment, please be courteous
enough to cancel it and allow other patients to take
your place!
KEEP IT OR CANCEL IT,
PLEASE DON’T WASTE IT!
Joanne Sullivan, Reception Manager