PRACTICE NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014

Welcome to our Spring newsletter, and here is hoping that at last some better weather is on the way…
We are keen to update you on new developments within the practice and we also welcome any comments from you. Please direct these to our Practice Manager, Mrs Claire Gregory (email enquiries@crownmedicalcentre.nhs.uk)
STAFF NEWS
Doctors
I have been chastising myself for saying something silly in the last newsletter, smugly announcing that we had at last reached a full complement of doctors.
Since then, unfortunately, Dr Manning has become unwell and will be away from the practice for an extended period. We are looking forward to her return (which we are hoping will be in the Summer), although we are very lucky to have Dr Spreadbury covering her work sessions at the moment.
In addition, I am very sorry to have to let you know that Dr Gurushankar will be leaving us in May, for family reasons. She has been part of the team for the past four years and we are really sad to see her go. We are hoping she will be able to come back from time to time to do some “locum” work here.
In the meantime we have advertised the vacancy and will be interviewing for a suitable replacement at the end of March. 

Other Staff
Beth Gardiner, Business Administration Apprentice, has recently left us and we wish her all the best.
Charlotte Barham has been with us from the same scheme since the Autumn and is now very much part of the team, and we continue to see Billy Musk as she helps out on reception on the days when we have evening appointments.
On the secretarial side we were sad to lose Louise Gorringe, who has moved to a different part of the country, but delighted to welcome Amy Gould, who has fitted in seamlessly
APPOINTMENTS

Just a quick reminder, because there cannot be a newsletter without a paragraph on appointments …
Please try to book with your “usual” doctor about ongoing non-urgent matters.
Emergency/Urgent problems on that day go to the “Duty Doctor” or “Triage Nurse” – it really helps if you feel able to let the receptionist know what is wrong so the slot you are given is appropriate.
UNSURE WHO YOUR “USUAL” DOCTOR IS ?  Read on – 

We absolutely realise that many of you are registered with one of the doctors, but normally see a different one, and plenty of people see someone different at every consultation. We do not feel that this is particularly satisfactory and so we are starting a process of firming up which patients actually form which doctor’s list, and if necessary the registered doctor may change to reflect who you normally see. This will be a gradual process, it will not affect your ability to see any doctor for an urgent matter or for specific things such as contraception, minor surgery etc. It will take time before every patient’s registered doctor truly reflects their usual choice of doctor, but please bear in mind that this is starting to take place.   
ON-LINE APPOINTMENT BOOKING AND PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS
Please be aware that it is now possible to order repeat prescriptions or book an appointment “on -line”. This is easy to set up, please ask at reception how to arrange this as you will need some specific ID and so on.

NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM
As you may remember, from information at the time, the practice changed in November to a new computer system called EMIS web. This is the system on which we book all the appointments, add patient information from our consultations and hospital contacts, receive blood and x-ray results and so on and so on. We would like to thank all our patients for their understanding during the changeover period as some of us (mentioning no names except mine!) had quite a struggle to get to grips with the unfamiliarity of everything. You were all really supportive about it and as the months go by we feel that we are becoming reasonably competent with it now. That is not to say that from time to time there won’t be the odd glitch, but we have tackled the steepest part of the learning curve now.

PATIENT REFERENCE GROUP

The practice has a Patient Reference Group, made up of a small selection of registered patients who meet monthly to discuss issues relating to the Medical Centre. Many of them very much enjoy being involved and it is good to be able to have your say on matters such as appointments, the attached pharmacy, surgery facilities and so on. The group sometimes share ideas via email or telephone between meetings and when they all meet there is a doctor and staff representative present as well.
At the moment some specific sub groups of patients are under-represented in the group and these are as follows – 
•	Patients who are carers for a family member.
•	Patients who work in a Nursing Home.
•	Patients aged between 40 and 50 or teenagers.
•	Patients who are unemployed.
•	Patients from the Eastern European community (Polish, Lithuanian and so on).
If you fall into one of the above categories and are interested, please contact Vivienne Postma, Operations Assistant, at vivienne.postma@crownmedicalcentre.nhs.uk or ring her or write to her at the surgery. 
RESEARCH
We are pleased to be a “research” practice, meaning that we take part in various clinical research projects which change from time to time.
Please be assured that we will obtain your full consent before entering your information into anything of this sort, and you will at all times be able to refuse to take part.

CARE.DATA LAUNCH
You will have read in the National media that NHS England has postponed the launch of the controversial care.data system, until the Autumn. This is being set up to gather ANONYMOUS data about patients to help future health planning and research, but understandably there has been some concern about it. Please find the time to read up about this as it will be set up in due course. There are forms on our reception desk, which you can fill in if you wish to opt out of the scheme.
TEACHING
We are really delighted to be able to be involved in teaching Medical Students (we all had to learn once…) We have strong links with the University of Bristol and regularly accommodate students from the third, fourth and fifth (final) year of their course. You may sometimes be asked whether you are happy to have one or more student(s) sitting in on your consultation with the doctor or nurse, and it is perfectly acceptable for you to decline if you so wish.
In the case of third year students I invite patients in specifically to be seen by them, as at that stage the students require longer consultations and are usually focussing on particular diseases. If you have a long term health problem and are happy to take part in this I would be delighted to hear from you, please leave Lucy Pendered a message at reception.
In due course we are hoping to become a Training Practice again, which means taking on junior doctors who are already qualified but are specifically learning to become General Practitioners. We will keep you posted.
RACE FOR LIFE
We are again rustling up a team from the Medical Centre to run or walk the 5km course for cancer charities (specifically breast cancer).
It takes place on Sunday July 13th and we will put notices up in the waiting room asking for sponsorship – or you might like to join us?
DONATION FROM HODGES FAMILY
The family of the late Anthony Hodges has very kindly made a donation to the Crown Medical Centre in his memory. This is an extremely kind gesture, for which we are very grateful.
NEW PRESCRIPTION TELEPHONE LINE OPENING HOURS FROM 1ST APRIL 2014
Monday 10.00am- 13.00pm & 14.00pm-16.30 pm
Tuesday 10.00am-12.30pm
Wednesday 10.00am-12.30pm
Thursday 10.00am-12.30pm
Friday 10.00am-12.30pm 
USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Crown Medical Centre	282151

Prescription Line		250150

District Nurses				                      03003230026

Health Visitors	0300323 0115

NHS Direct (advice)       08454647

Out of Hours			111

Boots Chemist (attached)	337888

Chiropractic Clinic (upstairs) 333973

WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY SPRING HOLIDAY AND EASTER CELEBRATION IN DUE COURSE