Patient Newsletter - June 2023

168 Medical Group has two new Digital GP’s

What is a Digital GP?

A Digital GP is a Doctor who has consultations with patients via video call or over the telephone as they are not physically present in the surgery. 

What happens if I need to be seen face to face at the surgery?

If a patient needs a face to face appointment then the Digital GP will arrange for the patient to see a medical professional at 168 Medical.

This will either be another GP, a Physician Associate or an Advanced Nurse Practitioner who  will update the Digital GP so that they can decide on any treatment needed.

Will the quality of care be the same?

168 and the P.P.G. realise this may cause anxiety for some patients, but be assured the quality of care patients receive will be no different to those who see their GP face to face.

Using askmyGP gives patients the opportunity to request a consultation with a GP of their choice. Whilst this is not always possible, due to GP availability and continuity of care for example, 168 make every effort to accommodate patients’ wishes and preferences. 

askmyGP Workshops

We were delighted to see such keen interest from patients to attend our in-house askmyGP workshop on Wednesday 14/6 but we also regret to confirm that some patients were asked to attend on a different day, as we did not have enough room for everyone. On behalf of the Practice, we would like to apologise to those that made the effort and took time out of their day but could not come in, sorry.

Due to the successful attendance of so many patients, we are planning future sessions, hopefully on a monthly basis. The Practice is looking into ways of managing attendance, possibly by booking into slots.

Invites with new dates will be published shortly.

168 Medical Group is pleased to announce a new triage system for all patients

The practice has introduced a new initiative to meet the rising patient demand by being more efficient with existing staffing.

Background

Patient demand continues to rise but unfortunately there is not a rise in available or newly qualified GPs. Thus, the Practice is employing new types of staff such as Physician Associates and Digital GPs. The Practice is also looking at new and innovative ways of increasing efficiency with existing resources and this has started a new triage system.

What happens to my request?

Once you log your request in askmyGP, the Practice administration team review the request and up to 50% of new requests are resolved by them, using approved clinical and administration protocols.

For the remaining requests, these are allocated by clinical priority, based on urgency. This review is completed by a senior clinician, who is solely focussed on triage, and they generally decide whether it requires an on-the-day response or if it could benefit from waiting until the appropriate clinician is available. This is described as “continuity of care”, which the Practice believes is the best approach to delivering the best care possible.

If your request is triaged as non-urgent you will receive a message via askmyGP informing you of this. If you are concerned or consider your need to be urgent please contact the Practice.

The Practice assures the PPG that most cases are dealt with within a few days, however, if there has been no contact from 168 Medical after 2 weeks patients are advised to make contact with the Practice again.

The Practice and the PPG realise this may cause some anxiety for patients but be assured that patients who need urgent assistance will be prioritised, and for those with non-urgent requests are asked for your patience and assure you that you will receive assistance as quickly as possible.

Update on vaccine uptake

The national campaign for COVID vaccines has completed and at 168 Medical Group we delivered 1538 vaccines over two days. We invited a total of 3373 patients. For those that missed this round, please call 119 to organise a vaccination.

The Practice is starting to plan for Flu and Covid vaccines starting September and kindly ask patients to book with the Practice directly when we open up for bookings. This makes a financial difference to the Practice which relates to how many staff can be employed.

New building coming soon

Our new building at Parklands is nearing completion; flooring is going down and doors have been installed. The building is due to be completed by the builders in July and we will then be allowed in to install all of our equipment, such as computers, monitors, chairs, information screens etc. We are planning to welcome our patients into the new building in September.

With our new premises we are also looking for any new initiatives that benefit patients improved health and wellbeing, such as yoga, meditation and so on. We would value any suggestions you might have – please contact the PPG.

New Check In machines

Please look out for our new check-in machines that were recently installed; one is on the ground floor and one is on the first floor, opposite reception. We are offering this service with the aim of reducing the need to wait in queues at reception.

Monday rush hour

Following the weekend, where the Practice is closed, we recognise and understand that patients can come across issues which they then want to discuss with their GP on Monday morning when the Practice opens.

If your request is more routine and less urgent, you might get a swifter response by contacting the Practice after midday on a Monday, as we spend the morning reviewing and focussing on the most medically urgent cases. 

Feedback on improvements and ideas

The PPG and the Practice welcome any ideas, suggestions and comments on anything that can lead to a better experience for patients.

If you have something you would like to share please feel free to email the Patient  Participation Group.

Medical Reviews

There are many different types of medical reviews out there and it can be challenging to keep on top of them all, especially for patients with long term conditions such as diabetes or asthma. 

The Practice recognises that sometimes the reviews seem to come around the same time and for almost identical reasons, hence the Practice is continuously working on improving the review frequency and amount, in order to minimise disruption on patients’ lives. 

It is Important

Whilst it is recognised that these reviews can seem to often and overlapping, the Practice also asks that patients continue to attend reviews as best possible: staying on top of the management of conditions has proven improved outcomes and means patients lead longer and healthier lives. 

Volunteering

The Practice welcomes any offers from individuals to volunteer their time to our local community. You could help your fellow patients in accessing services, contribute to your local community and potentially even help other patients finding out about services that might be available.

According to Oxfam there are a number of reasons for volunteering. Here’s just two of them which the PPG have picked to share with patients:
- It’s good for your health
- You might meet new people along the way 

If you are interested in giving some of your time, please email the Practice.

Join the Patient Participation Group

Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) currently has a full complement of face-to-face members but are happy to welcome virtual members. 

Please contact us if you are interested.