July 18, 2023

Minutes

Staff Changes

We have had a few staff changes over the last few months:

 

As you are aware from the last meeting, Dr Telford has now left the practice.  She is doing some locum work for us to cover holidays etc.

 

We are delighted that Dr Zuhair Elmahgoub will be joining us at the beginning of August. Some may remember him from his days as a registrar at the practice last year. 

 

We are pleased to welcome Amanda Fair as Office/Deputy Manager who will be working with the Practice Manager and will be learning the duties now that Heather is working 3 days.

 

Alison Barnett, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, will be leaving at the end of the month to take partial retirement.  Alison has been a great asset to our team, and we will miss her at the practice.

 

Social Prescribing Link Worker, Susan Green, has now left us and we are currently advertising for a replacement.

 

New School Building

We have recently experienced quite a lot of vibrations and noise in the surgery from the building works.  This has been reported and we will continue to report any issues.

 

Online Access

From 31st October 2023 patients who have online access aged 16 years or older will have the ability to view their full medical record from the date of implementation. This has been postponed a number of times due to issues with GDPR. 

GP health records are available via the NHS App and other GP online services. Better access enables patients to become partners in managing their health. This will help reduce queries to practices, such as those regarding negative test results and referral letters.

Once commenced, this means that patients will be able to see notes and documents related to all face-to-face, telephone and video GP appointments occurring from the switch on date. They will also be able to see test results and letters from other health and care professionals that have been added to their health record.

In some cases, such as positive test results, patients will not be able to see the information until it has been checked and filed, giving GPs the chance to contact and speak to patients first.

For patients with long term chronic conditions, where the GP is satisfied that the patient has a good understanding of the condition and test results, the GP and patient can agree that test results are released immediately on receipt. This will allow the patient to participate in monitoring their condition(s) and reduce GP workload. We recommend that patients have a conversation with their GP if this applies.

 

A form is available from reception to complete to gain access to your medical record via the NHS App or SystemOne Online. This is to be completed along with photo ID and address ID to enable access.

 

COVID Spring Booster

This programme has now ended and we are awaiting information regarding the possibility of an autumn booster.

 

Enhanced Access

The PCN enhanced access hub operates from 6.30pm-9.00pm on weekdays and Saturdays from 9.00am – 5.00pm, excluding Bank Holidays.

They offer a mixture of face to face and telephone appointments with nurses and GPs which are bookable by contacting your GP practice.  Each practice in the PCN has a share of the appointments available for them to book based on the practice list size.

 

Any Other Business

JG discussed the cross governance for ICB. Public Health in Durham via Durham County Council have input into NHS funding/commissioning of services in the local area. Time to heal beds is one example of this. These are for patients who no longer need to be in hospital but have social care needs and need assistance whilst they recuperate. These are also known as Intermediate Care beds and are usually located in a care home.

 

Following the last PCN PPG meeting, JH asked about the meaning of some acronyms which appear on the presentation document. HC said she would investigate the meaning. See below:

 

JLHWS = Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy highlights the key challenges we face to improve the health and wellbeing of people who work and live in local areas and help reduce inequalities. 

 

JSNAA = Joint Strategic Needs and Asset Assessment is a tool which identifies current and future health and wellbeing needs. It provides stakeholders with the information they need to agree priorities and deliver services that meet the needs in the local area. 

 

 

 

Next meeting TBA (Oct/Nov)