Lambourn Surgery Patient Participation Group October 2020
Open for Business.
We talked last month about the changes made to procedures in order to provide a safe and effective environment for patients and practice staff. Change is rarely welcome and there have been some negative press reports recently regarding the ability to see your GP face to face during this pandemic.
Reassuringly, Lambourn Surgery has never closed its doors to patients in opening hours, either before, during or since lockdown. They have continued to see patients throughout, including face to face when clinically appropriate.
Face to face contact is limited where possible to help control the spread of Coronavirus. Face to face appointments are available to all patients, but you may be asked to discuss your conditions online or over the phone first to assess what would be most appropriate for you. In addition, consultations are being offered online or over the phone. This can be a convenient and flexible way to receive healthcare, but if you would prefer to see a GP or nurse in person, then this will be arranged for you if it is appropriate and safe.
Please be assured that while things are different, and will be for some time to come, the changes introduced over the past 6 months are there to keep patients and staff safe and to ensure waiting times are minimised.
Here’s a few facts to show that Lambourn Surgery really is Open for Business. During the month of September for the practice population of 6700 patients;
They carried out 1041 face to face appointments with a GP or nurse (up 16% since August)
They had a total of 753 phone calls between a patient and a GP
They have carried out 12 home visits to patients in the community
They have carried out
- 215 blood tests
- 25 long term condition reviews
- 44 cervical smears
- 320 e-consultations
They have processed
- 2427 prescriptions
- 1607 hospital letters
- 2232 website requests
Flu Vaccinations
Eligible patients should now be aware of the schedule for flu clinics or the way in which they may receive a flu vaccination this year. If not, then full details are available on the website or by phoning the surgery.
Extended Hours
When lockdown started, extended hours were suspended but are now being reintroduced for the convenience of those at work during the day. The practice will provide appointments one evening a week until 8pm and on alternate Saturday mornings. Lambourn is working with its network partners in Hungerford and Kintbury so that every evening, from Monday to Thursday, patients of all three surgeries will be able to access an appointment in the evening. Kintbury will provide 2 evenings per week and Lambourn and Hungerford will provide one. Saturday morning cover will also be provided between the three surgeries, so will be open for appointments every Saturday morning. Friday evenings and Sundays are covered under a separate service currently provided by Burdwood surgery in Thatcham. This service will commence on November 1st.
Something Not Right?
The PPG are aware that during the pandemic a lot of changes have been made to the ways in which patients deal with the surgery and although these have always been with the best intentions and for the safety of patients and practice staff things sometimes go wrong. Feel free to discuss your general concerns with any PPG member, who will use the information in our dialogue with the practice team. However, if you have a specific complaint that requires attention then, in order for it to be effectively investigated, you should use the Complaints procedure that will ensure that it is looked into. In the first instance contact the Practice Manager, Louise Murray-Clarke on 01488 674033 or email at louise.murray-clarke@nhs.net. Needless to say that compliments and plaudits will also be welcome!
You can contact the PPG via email; ppgchairpersonlambourn@gmail.com or in writing via the surgery office (Bockhampton Road, Lambourn, RG17 8PS) addressed to the Chairman of the PPG.
