Download Read our Newsletter - Whitwick Health Centre

Dr Hepplewhite & Dr Virmani NHS
Volume 1, Issue 1
April 2017
Practice Newsletter & Patient
Information
Practice News
Special points
of interest:
 Prescription Protocol
 Wasted Appointments
 Diabetes Education
Event
 Changes to Prescribing
 Online Services
 Why do our Reception Team ask questions?
Staffing Changes: We have recently said Goodbye to Sister
Jane Scott. Jane has moved to a new role based in Derby. We
all wish her well in her new role and her new adventures. Retirement: July will see the retirement of Dr Hepplewhite. After ...years, she is going to enjoy her time at home and be taking time to travel. We are all going to miss her, and sincerely
wish her all the best for the future. “Retirement, a time to do
what you want to do, when you want to do it, where you want
to do it, and, how you want to do it." Catherine Pulsifer
New Manager: In November, we welcomed Sarah Chalmers to
the practice as our Lead I.T. administrator. Since March, Sarah
has taken on the role of our Practice Manager. We have also
been joined by Jayne who is working as part of our Reception
& Admin Team.
ONLINE SERVICES - Please speak with our
Reception Team for help accessing our Services
PRESCRIPTIONS—HOW TO HELP US TO HELP YOU
We increasingly have patients who are asking for medication and prescriptions because they have run out. Many of them are asking us to
deal with this request the same day , stating it is “Urgent”. We are also
experiencing an increasing number of patients telephoning the surgery to request the same.
We cannot take requests for medication over the telephone. Orders
for medication must be done in writing, by ticking your white repeat
list, or online with a user name and password.
Please do not allow your medication to run out or run low and then
expect us to deal with it immediately.
We require at least 48 hours notice to get your prescription ready
whether it is on repeat or an acute item. The prescription will be ready
after the 2nd or 3rd working day (longer if you have it sent to a chemist)
Urgent prescription
requests are
requests for
medication which
you need within 24
hours to prevent
you becoming
severely unwell.
We will not process your item over the telephone it can lead to mistakes and those patients who do follow the correct process end up
with their prescriptions delayed because of others requesting them
urgently.
Patient Responsibility
It is your responsibility to ensure that your repeat prescription request
is ordered in plenty of time.
Urgent requests for medication that is available over the counter will
not be processed as Urgent; it will be processed as a Routine request.
This is not the receptionist’s decision: please respect them.
Urgent requests are monitored and recorded on your records.
Urgent repeat requests may result in you receiving a letter from the surgery, to identify the
cause for repeated Urgent requests, and try to
assist you to manage your medication better.
URGENT PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS - Out of
Hours: Weekends and Bank Holidays Urgent
prescription requests can be requested by contacting 111, who will assess the urgency of
your request and direct you to the appropriate
service. By the end of the next working day, the
111 service will inform your GP of any treatment or medication you have received.
PRACTICE POLICY: URGENT PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS
Urgent prescription requests are requests for medication
which you need within 24 hours to prevent you becoming
severely unwell.
Urgent prescription requests must be submitted by 11:00 for
collection at 17:00 the same day. Requests received after
11:00 will be processed the following day.
The exceptions to this rule are the following medications:

Oral anticoagulants – Warfarin, Dabigatran, Apixaban,
Rivaroxaban, Edoxaban

Insulin and glucogel

Epilepsy medication (Tegretol, carbamazepine, gabapentin, pregabalin, lamotrigine, leviceteram, phenytoin, topiramate, sodium valproate, epilim)

Ventolin inhalers

Oral steroids –e.g. Prednisolone, Hydrocortisone, Fludrocortisone, Dexamethasone,

Adrenaline pens for anaphylaxis (epi-pen, JEXT)

Medication for terminal palliative care patients
48 hours are
required for the
[production of all
routine
prescription
requests
If the above medications are requested routinely, they should
be processed routinely. These are the only medications for
which an urgent script will be generated, if requested urgently.
Please Note: Urgent prescription requests are not requests for
medication which has been ordered late.
Routine requests submitted as Urgent requests will be reviewed by a Doctor, and if appropriate rejected or only part
issued.
You should allow 48 hours (2 full working days) for routine
repeat prescription requests.
Requests for morphine and methadone (or physeptone) will
be directed to the duty doctor to make a decision whether
the script is urgent, or if it can wait for the following day.
Changes to Prescribing: In accordance with a directive from WLCCG, we will no
longer prescribe certain medications—Paracetamol, Gluten Free products. Paracetamol is available to buy cheaply and easily over the counter at supermarkets,
pharmacies and many other retailers. In 2015/16 the NHS spent £1.5 million on
prescribing paracetamol for patients in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. If
you are a patient diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and / or Dermatitis Herpetiformis you will now be able to have up to 8 units per month of bread and flour
on prescription. This is a reduction in items/units per month.
Using our Online
Service means
you can book or
cancel appointments, order your
prescription or
view your medical record. Please
speak with reception for more information
DID NOT ATTEND 38 patients did not attend their
appointments in February. This equates to about 6.5
hours of missed appointments if they were all 10 minute appointments. The average cost of a missed appointment is £15 that equates to approximately £570
wasted money. 54 patients did not attend for their
appointments in January, this equates to about 9
hours of missed appointments if they were all 10 minute appointments. The average cost of a missed appointment is £15 that equates to approximately
£810 wasted money. Overall £1380 would buy 55
nursing hours !
The effect of these DNA’s are:

An increase in the waiting time for appointments

Frustration for both staff and patients

Costs the NHS billions of pounds per year

Prevents someone else who is sick being seen
sooner
Unfortunately patients frequently missing booked
appointments is a wasted resource that neither other
patients or the surgery can accept.
Please use your appointments—Keep It or Cancel It!!
Please give us or update your mobile number
so we can keep you informed, by text, about:

Your Appointments

Clinic Cancellations

Relevant health campaign information
such as flu clinics
For those patients who have already provided a mobile telephone number, we will use
the text service unless we are advised that
you wish to opt out. All newly registered mobiles will also be included unless patients opt
out.
DIABETES INFORMATION AND ADVICE EVENING
Arranged by Your Practice PPG
Free for Everyone
Thursday
6 July,
7pm - 9pm, 2017
PARK HALL,
WHITWICK
in the park, off North Street Whitwick, (near Masons)
Speaker from University Hospital Leicester

What is diabetes?

How pre-diabetics can reduce their risk of developing diabetes

How type 2 diabetics can best manage their
condition

How type 1 diabetics can best manage their
condition

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
(Please bring your question on a post card)
Organised by the Whitwick Patient Participation
Group
Supported by University Hospital Leicester and
Whitwick Parish Council
Please keep the date in your diary, support your
practices patients group and come along to this informative event.
And finally…….
Why do the receptionists need to ask
what’s wrong with me?
Our receptionists are not being nosey! As members of our
practice team, they are trained to ask certain questions to ensure that you receive:

The most appropriate care, from the most appropriate health professional, at
the most appropriate time.
Information from patients given to our receptionists helps with:

Ensuring the Doctor can prioritise who needs to be seen, who may need a
phone call or who the Doctor may need to visit at home.

You information helps us to give the appropriate level of care and direct our
patients to the relevant Clinician for their problem or concern.
Your information is held is confidence by ALL our staff; our reception team are
bound by these same confidentiality rules and, as such, any breach would be taken very seriously. If you wish to speak to one of our reception team privately,
away from our reception area, please tell them. If you feel that the issue is “very
private”, you can state this and it will be respected.
Please help us to help you by supporting our reception team and by being open
to sharing brief details with them. They are acting with the consent of the Doctors. Thank you.
Did You Know…. Your local pharmacist can help with some minor illness without
the need for a GP appointment? Please speak to the Pharmacist if you have:
Cough, cold, sore throat
Pain inc backache
Minor skin conditions/Acne/ Athletes foot
Cold sores
Minor eye infections
Diarrhoea/Constipation
Head Lice
Colic
Thrush
Dr Hepplewhite
The practice would like to confirm that Dr . Hepplewhite will be retiring in the summer. She
has been at the practice for a long time and will be much missed. We will provide further
information in due course.