Surgery Telephone System

The new telephone system is now ‘bedded in’ and the majority of patients appear to be comfortable with the options available when dialling in.

Carers Emergency Card Scheme

The Carers Centre recently launched the Carers Emergency Card Scheme for people who care for adults or children who depend on them because of illness of disability. Leaflets are in the practice. This is run by the Princess Royal Trust. Carers Emergency Card scheme provides the carer with a card (much like a donor card). This card alerts the person finding it (such as the emergency services) that there is someone who relies on the card carrier for help.

The scheme is designed to provide short-term access to emergency cover for the career in the event that the career unexpectedly can't undertake their caring role. Emergencies in this case could involve the career being admitted to hospital, family emergencies or specific occasions when a career’s job is at risk.

Care can be provided for the person normally cared for, for up to 48 hours, unless this period runs into a weekend and then emergency cover can be extended up to 96 hours. After this time, the responsibility for cover will be placed with Adult Care Management. There is no charge for care provided in an emergency, for a maximum of 72 hours until other arrangements can be made. When the carer registers for the scheme, they will be asked to complete a basic 'Plan of Care; which tells exactly what the carer does and when. This will help ensure the person cared for receives the same level of care already provided.

More details are available from the Carers Centre, The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ
Admin: 0117 9392562
CarersLine: 0117 9652200
Website: www.prtcarescentre.org.uk

Building – Pharmacy

The practice has submitted a planning permission application for an extension to the existing building. Currently all the surveyor reports and other investigations’ are being taken into consideration. Architect advice and support is being given. There is no additional funding source for this development from the primary care trust and this will remain a practice-funded venture. Therefore there will be no increase in the floor area but it is believed that re-configuration will result in a much more attractive and functional working space.

The patient group will consider raising funds for new equipment in the future, once a clear “needs assessment” has been carried out, and would appreciate fund-raising suggestions. This would be funding for patient equipment or resources - not for the pharmacy, or anything connected with it, as this will be a private commercial venture.

A new building will give the practice an opportunity to plan and increase patient services.

Donations

The practice recently had some donations which patients have agreed should be used for medical equipment and we purchased a spirometer and new electronic weighing scales. The spirometer will help the clinical team to diagnose and treat patients with increased accuracy those with asthma or chronic obstructive airways disease. The scales will replace old fashioned mechanical ones and because of their pin point accuracy can be used for more complex treatments’ where accuracy of body weight is a crucial measurement.

Meetings attended by Group Members

Mike Matthews continues as contact for South Gloucester LINk, which works to encourage and support people to get involved in shaping local health and care services. If you would like more information please contact Mike Matthews on 633955 and he will try to help. PSSG members have also attended forums on Deep Vein Thrombosis and Changes in Gynaecological Care in South Gloucester. Please contact a member of the Group if you would like more details.

Surgery Support Group

Jan Shingfield is leaving the area and Nicky Vickery has resigned, creating two PSSG vacancies. We would like to thank them both for their involvement in the Group. We would welcome volunteers to replace them, so please ask at reception or contact a member of the Support Group for further details. Our aim is closer engagement with patients which is vital to the success of our practice and key to improving services. Feed back is important to us, particularly your well thought through ideas and suggestions.

Please do make use of the Surgery Suggestion Box or contact any member of the Support Group. Details of members and their contact numbers are on the photoboard at the Surgery.

Living with Cancer Talk

So many people are touched by this illness in so many ways, and the Support Group hopes to arrange a local talk in Autumn 2010. The talk will be one of a series which we hope to organise to better inform patients on various conditions. Watch out for more information soon.

Research

As the population ages, more and more people are suffering from long–term conditions. Health services around the world are exploring new ways of supporting people with these conditions to look after themselves. There is great interest in the use of telehealth technologies such as the internet, phone support, text messaging and home self-monitoring. In the UK, NHS Direct offers a well established infrastructure to implement telehealth, and NHS Direct is working with some PCTs in this way. However, we need evidence about the cost-effectiveness and acceptability of this approach. In particular we need to know how to ensure that telehealth interventions provided by NHS Direct could support and enhance existing care provided through general practices.

There is a five year project which will explore new ways of expanding the role of NHS Direct and will do this initially by seeking out the experiences and views of people who are either (a) at increased cardiovascular disease risk because of conditions such as hypertension, obesity or hyperlipidaemia or (b) have depression. They have chosen these groups as exemplars of very different types of long term condition. The views and opinions of health care providers will also be sought. The findings will be used to formulate new ways for NHS Direct to care for people with these long term conditions which will then be tested in a randomised controlled trial.

The programme of research has been funded by the National Institute of Health Research and is a collaboration between researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Sheffield, Manchester and Southampton and NHS Direct. The aim of the programme is to develop, implement and evaluate new interventions via NHS Direct for patients with long-term conditions (LTCs) and to provide evidence about benefits and costs. This will involve five sub-studies, delivered in two phases. We hope the practice will be approved to take part in this research. We will write to patients for consent and work then with Bristol University to share findings

Hand Gel

Hand gel is available for patient use in the surgery waiting room, and we would welcome suggestions to encourage the use of this.

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