This is our latest news update following on from our last one in October. Previous updates issued throughout the course of the pandemic can be found here.
Unlike previous years of the news update, we simply don’t have the time for a full update this Christmas.
With the Group A Strep crisis still unfolding, an increase in general flu/viral cases, now exceeding covid cases and coupled with our ongoing severe lack of GPs, which we described in the last update, we have been absolutely run off our feet!
However, that’s not to say we won’t give you some essential news.
If you haven’t already, please do take the time to read our detailed essay on the GP workforce crisis. This should go some way to explaining the difficulties that you may be having in getting through on the phones, getting an appointment and generally accessing GP services, not just at our surgery, but at others too.
GP workforce crisisWe know it is super difficult at the moment, but we are trying our absolute best with what little we have. We are still awaiting applicants for our 15 sessions of GP cover, which equates to the work of nearly two full-time GPs. Please bear with us during this difficult time whilst we try to recruit.
For the benefit of our patients and the wellbeing of our staff, we are maintaining safe working practices and limiting workload. This is in line with current BMA guidance. This is not to be difficult or awkward with patients, but actually to ensure that we continue to speak to, see and assess our patients in a safe manner.
BMA: Safe working in general practiceWe're sure no-one wants to be that patient where the doctor seems not to be concentrating properly on or listening to their concerns, who feels they are being rushed through their consultation or who feels the doctor may be missing important signs and clues to illness.
And we definitely do not want to be that doctor, who is only human after all, who is so overworked, so tired, working in a system that is so overstretched and lacking support, that they then go and make a serious or even fatal error with a patient. You would have thought that the broken system and the pressure that doctors are working under could be used as part of mitigating circumstances, but doctors have been successfully prosecuted in criminal court for making genuine mistakes in such situations.
Please therefore do not be offended if we respectfully inform you that we have reached safe capacity for the day and cannot deal with your problem. We are working to recognised guidance on keeping everyone safe.
To help our patients when we are full or closed, we have developed two new sections on the appointments page of our website. This gives options for official reference information for their condition, online triage, leaflets and other help, including self-care and self-referral to the right professional.
Options when full Options when closed
In order to help General Practice cope with the extraordinary demand at the moment, extra face-to-face appointments for same day care have been made available for us to book into, for use when we are full.
If you call up and we have no capacity left, you may be offered a face-to-face assessment at the winter hub in Derby. This will generally be for acute medical problems requiring same day assessment, such as children with temperatures, sore throats, coughs, or adults with chest infections. You will need to travel to this clinic to be seen.
In the event that you are housebound, terminally ill, or would come to serious harm if moved, then we will assess your case individually, otherwise there is an expectation that if you wish to be seen on the day with your acute problem, you must make yourself available for this clinic.
Please note that children are always portable, and will not come to harm from being wrapped up, bundled into a car and taken to clinic, even if they have a temperature.
With the mention of housebound, it is timely to just remind patients of our home visit policy. Home visits for only for those who are truly housebound, those who are in bed terminally ill, or those who would come to serious harm if they were moved.
A truly housebound person would not be able to leave the home under any circumstance, this means going to the hairdressers, shops, going to hospital or physio appointments. If you can manage any of these, even if you need support or transport to do so, you are not considered to be housebound.
The bedbound are those who are confined to bed, and unable to get up to leave their bedroom under any circumstance. Examples include those who are terminally ill on a syringe driver, those with severe mobility issues requiring hoisting, those needing 24 hour nursing care.
The final category of those eligible for home visits are those who are so poorly that if they were moved, or were to travel, they could come to serious harm. An example would be those with serious medical conditions with unstable observations who could deteriorate quickly.
We follow this policy for the benefit of all our patients. By only visiting those who truly need a home visit, this allows us to concentrate limited resources on dealing with more patients who can come to surgery. If you are in one of the above categories and need urgent medical care, please don't hesitate to call us and we will assess your case.
Home visits Making a home visit request Home visiting support
There has been much in the news about the fatal cases of group A strep in children, leading to many worried parents calling in with their sick children. Unfortunately, the messaging from government and NHS England came far too late after the weeks of turmoil experienced by GP surgeries all through the land.
Not enough information was given to clear up the confusion between viral sore throats, bacterial tonsillitis, Scarlet fever and the very rare invasive Group A strep, leading to many assuming that if they had a sore throat, they were in immediate danger.
To provide much needed clarity, we have published our own information on the situation to help all parents and others.
Group A strep update Poorly child leaflet
With Christmas Eve (and New Year’s Eve) falling on the weekend, there will be no early closing this year. We remain open as usual on all normal working days and closed on all bank holidays and the weekends.
Demand remains exceptionally high due to the festive season, increase in viral/flu cases and the group A strep situation, therefore we encourage all patients to consider getting the right help from the right professional at this time.
To access medical help during the times we are closed, please visit our new 'options when closed' section.
Festive opening hours Options when closedOn the topic of closure, we have updated our staff training days for 2023, showing the dates when we will be closed in the afternoon for staff training. This training, some of which is performed jointly with all Amber Valley practices on the same days, is a necessary part of providing safe and effective care to our patients, therefore please bear with us on these days.
Staff training days
With the massive demand for acute care at the moment, GPs are still being held to over 70 clinical targets that they must meet in order to be paid. These are things like recording blood pressures, updating people's weight and tobacco consumption. In some areas of the country, GP leaders have successfully petitioned local health boards to suspend the targets temporarily so that GPs can concentrate on providing acute same day care.
As it stands currently, GPs in Derbyshire still have to meet these targets, therefore it would help us immensely if you can take the time to reply to any text messages you receive such as those asking you for your weight, or whether you smoke, or how your asthma is doing. This will help us to concentrate on providing you with day-to-day care and avoid the need to keep reminding you.
We continue to receive plenty of positive feedback from our patients, and it reassuring to know that many of you are still appreciating what we are trying to do for you. Some of you will recognise yourselves from the comments made and the initials. We really value each and every one of these in such difficult times, so thank you to all of you who have taken the time to reach out to us.
Thank you for the latest newsletter. We particularly liked the '..you can't make a unicorn out of a donkey and some papier-mâché!' It was informative...
I've had a couple of health scares earlier in the year and Ivy Grove Surgery staff were fantastic in making sure that I was referred to a specialist/cared for fast and compassionately. Thank you so much. You have done so much for our family over the years...
You are all doing a fantastic job, from the cleaners, the admin staff, receptionists, nurses to the GPs etc. and we appreciate it. We'd be in a right old mess with out you! -JW
I can't fault the service I have received from all the people at Ivy Grove, from the receptionists, to the doctors, everyone has gone out their way to help me now that I'm struggling with awful health. I must have cost much more than is allocated, yet Dr Greer has gone out of her way to help me with this downturn with my health, which can be frightening at my age. So come on everyone be thankful that we have such dedicated staff and cease to denigrate them, you will be lost without them -SH
I would like to pass on my thanks to Dr Axten and just wanted to say you all do such a good job and I always find you all very helpful -JT
Thank you, Dr Axten, the community nurses and all Ivy Grove staff for the kind and compassionate palliative care given to Mum. A special thank you to Dr Axten for his warm, understanding, and unhurried bedside manner and the help he gave during this period - SL
Firstly, you were right in suggesting a 'cuppa and feet up' whilst reading the lengthy article! However..... I was completely absorbed by the contents. If more people were to commit to reading this, there would surely be more understanding of the ways in which we can all help each other.
Making personal changes, using common sense (where has that gone?) and considering the 'bigger picture' would be valuable for all concerned. Bandwagon negativity is selfish, cruel and thoughtless. Kindness, kinship and care for each other should be foremost for everyone and I have always found this to be the case at Ivy Grove Surgery. Grateful thanks to you all - YC
I'm really happy with the service I received today from reception and Dr Greer! I would have emailed or texted but I don't use technology, so I rang instead (and managed to get through too!!) - MW
I would like to say how great I think everyone is, especially the reception team who are always helpful and it's upsetting that some people give you all a hard time. Xxx - MM
Thank you to Michelle (reception), very happy with your efficiency and caring attitude. I had a very good patient experience and thought you went the extra mile - OW
I just wanted to say how amazing Dr Neely has been, she has given me lots of time and is helping me such a lot. Also very pleased with the help I'm getting from Abbigail - JM
I want to pass on how very understanding Dr Jackson is and that she takes time to listen. She is a brilliant GP, and I would mark her 10/10 - SB
I just wanted to say a big thank you to Dr Greer and said how helpful she was. Also thank you to Cath of the reception team for being very helpful and kind xx - MW
I wish to pass on my praise for Dr Olaoke. He has been absolutely brilliant - HA
I just want to pass on massive thanks from all of my family to all involved with my mum's care, especially Dr Neely, we are so impressed with the service we had from Dr Neely, the surgery and the community teams :) - HM
Having lost his dad earlier this year, it seems that not a day goes by without the author casting his mind back to Dad, his wicked sense of humour and the good times shared.
So with that in our hearts and thoughts, here we present a selection of excrutiating Dad jokes. We did this last year and think that they were well received – well, we didn’t get any complaints!
This selection of so-called jokes was carefully curated with the help of the author's teenage daughter. The numbers in brackets give the indicative cringe factor as determined by a large and diverse studio audience (of relatives of dads).
PATIENT: Doctor, I've been bitten by a wolf!
DOCTOR: Where?
ANSWER ➕ (9/10)PATIENT: No, just a normal one
PATIENT: Doctor, can you do me a sick note, my life is in ruins
DOCTOR: OK, what job do you do?
ANSWER ➕ (6/10)PATIENT: I'm an archaeologist
PATIENT: (on phone) My wife is pregnant and the contractions are only a minute apart!
DOCTOR: OK, is this her first child?
ANSWER ➕ (8/10)PATIENT: No, it's her husband
PATIENT: Doc, I've accidentally swallowed a load of Scrabble tiles!
ANSWER ➕ (10/10)DOCTOR: Well, your next trip to the bathroom could spell disaster
DOCTOR: (holding up x-ray film) Hmm, it's exactly what I was afraid of
PATIENT: What?
ANSWER ➕ (8/10)
DOCTOR: Skeletons
DOCTOR: Nurse, how is that kid who swallowed all the coins doing?
ANSWER ➕ (9/10)NURSE: No change yet
PATIENT: Doc, my marriage is on the rocks because I have no sense of direction
DOCTOR: So what did your wife do?
ANSWER ➕ (6/10)PATIENT: She packed up her bags and right
How many doctors does it take to change a lightbulb in a power cut at night?
ANSWER ➕ (7/10)None, I never get to see one
DOCTOR: Looking at you, I think you're not well at all
PATIENT: Can I get a second opinion?
ANSWER ➕ (5/10)DOCTOR: Yes, your hairstyle is awful too
PATIENT: Doc, I can't read your handwriting on this prescription!
ANSWER ➕ (10/10)DOCTOR: Yes, I must admit it's quite tearable
We hope you enjoyed that tribute to all fathers everywhere and even to the one that will hopefully be coming down your chimney later this week.
For us, the only present we’d really love is the precious gift of more colleagues (corny but true).
A Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all our patients!
Kind regards
Written by Dr M. Wong
© Dr Michael Wong 2022