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ISSUE 42
AUGUST 2010
GP News
Dr.Carter who has been with us for the past year has completed his registrarship here and has gone on to pastures new. It has been a pleasure to work with him and we wish him all the best of luck in his new job.
Also leaving us are Drs Awan and Jaffari. They have both been with us for 4 months and are now going on to the next step in their training. We wish them good luck with that and hope they have enjoyed being here as much as we have having them.
New to the Practice are Drs. Ibrar and Schofield. They will be with us for the next 12 months to complete their training. We also welcome Drs. Ghangrekar and Burt who will be here for the next 4 months. We hope they all will enjoy their time here and look forward to working with them.
Health checks for over 40's
Are you aged over 40 and don't suffer from diabetes or a heart related disease? Our GPs and Nurses are offering a simple blood test to help to identify the risk of you developing one of these serious diseases in the future. We can then offer you the appropriate advice to help to prevent this from happening. Please ask about the health checks at your next appointment.
Travel Vaccinations
Patients who need travel vaccinations must give 4 weeks prior notice for this. We now only offer Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Tetanus jabs. All other vaccinations are available at:
St.George's Multi-Therapy Centre
50, St. George's Road
Bolton
Tel. 01204 361463
Patient Satisfaction Survey
If you have received such a questionnaire we would like to encourage you to take part in the survey bearing in mind the issues raised in the last survey which we have addressed. These include appointments and telephone access. We hope the changes we have made will be reflected in the overall result of the survey and that patients will answer the questions honestly and favourably.
DON'T FORGET TO UPDATE YOUR DETAILS
If any of your details change you will need to fill in a form obtained from the receptionist. In order for us to keep records updated correctly and without delay, it is important that you fill in the form with all the details it asks you for and in clear writing. Change of name MUST be proven by bringing in birth certificate, marriage certificate , decree absolute or deed poll. This will be photocopied and the original returned to you.
Change of address and telephone number will not need proof but patients should note that if their new address is outside our practice boundary, they will have to register elsewhere. So, please do not be offended if you are asked to register with another practice.
Beating the blues
Due to lack of interest the Beating The Blues counselling service is no longer available on the NHS. As an alternative, patients can go on-line at Bolton PCT and go onto "Your Health" (at the top) and then select "Mental Wellbeing" (on the left). There are several on-line services that aim to help.
Child immunisations are Mondays 1.30 - 4pm.
New Appointment System For Quicker Access To Your GP On Trial
We have listened to your comments and realise that our previous appointment system did not suit your needs. We have implemented a new appointment system to trial which enables patients to have quicker access to our GPs. We have also introduced many more telephone appointments as many of our patients commented that they could not speak to a GP over the telephone. Our new system is as follows: If you need to see a GP you should ring the surgery at the start of the morning or afternoon (ie, 9am or 2pm). We have extra staff answering your calls at these peak times. We aim to be able to offer you an appointment the same day. If you wish to pre-book an appointment, you may book a telephone consultation in the morning with a GP of your choice. We have used this new system over the last 2 weeks and we have had an excellent response from patients as they are able to be seen on the same day. This new system also reduces the number of patients who do not turn up for their appointment, which therefore results in approx 100 extra appointments each week that we can now offer to our patients. We realise that a change in appointment system doesn't suit all of our patients, but we have listened to a large number of you who were unhappy. If you experience any problems with this new system we would appreciate your comments in the suggestion box at the front of the surgery. It would be useful to have your name & telephone number, but these are not essential if you would prefer to remain anonymous.
Thank you.
Any Suggestions?
If you would like to contribute to this Newsletter or make suggestions to improve our service, please put these in writing in the letter box (same as for prescriptions). All constructive suggestions will be considered.
