BUSINESS OF GENERAL PRACTICE

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The business of General Practice remains a topical point. For those who missed our videos on this subject, we strongly encourage you to view them and read a recap of the main points .

Business of General Practice videos

You may have seen in the news that GP partners (owners of GP businesses) have voted overwhelmingly (98.3%) to take collective action in a bid to make the government do the right thing for General Practice and for patients.

BMA: GPs prepare to take collective action after overwhelming ballot result

The recent funding uplift announced by the government adds only 1p, yes one pence, to the 29.5p daily funding amount we get for looking after you. Yes, you read that right, we get only 31p a day (rounded up) to look after you. This amount pays for all our bills, our staff wages, electricity, light, water, equipment and you as patients get unlimited phone calls, text messages and attendances. The partners then get what's left over.

The amount the government pays us for looking after you for a year (essentially what they think your healthcare is worth) is less than the annual cost of a TV licence and significantly less than the cost of annual dog insurance. Never has the phrase 'you get what you pay for' been more apt.

It has been clear for many years that this is woefully insufficient to cope with current patient expectations, societal demand and administrative workload, woefully insufficient to deal with the complexity of ill-health, lengthy consultations, and meet insane 95%+ clinical targets, woefully insufficient to reward staff and retain doctors, woefully insufficient to compensate hardworking business owners for enduring heavy-handed one-sided contract dealings and pressure to conform to idiotic political meddling. This is what GP collective action is about.

The new health secretary, Wes Streeting, commissioned a rapid review of the 'broken NHS' by Lord Darzi to help 'diagnose the problem'. Having been very much against GPs, GP surgeries and GP partnerships in the past, the former NHS surgeon, in his report, now recognises the value of GP practices in the NHS. The report actually made for pleasant reading in contrast to the usual GP-bashing rhetoric we have always come to expect. Here are some of the key points:

• The £37 billion shortfall of capital investment into the NHS (needed to match other similar countries' level of investment) could have rebuilt or refurbished every GP practice in the country
• Despite more than a decade of underinvestment, currently GPs are 'expected' to manage and coordinate increasingly complex care, but they do not have the resources, infrastructure and authority that this requires
• There must be 'a shift' of resources towards community-based primary care services, because spending in primary and community settings has a superior return on investment when compared with acute hospital services
• Care 'should be delivered in the community', closer to where people live and work, and hospitals 'should be reserved for specialist care'
• The current GP standard contracts 'are complex' and can mean that 'doing the right thing for patients can require doing the wrong thing for GP income' and that 'cannot be right'
• GPs 'have the best financial discipline' in the health service family as they cannot run up large deficits in the belief that they will be bailed out [basically, unlike hospitals, which are bailed out regularly, there is no 'deficit' because all that happens is the partners take home less, until such time that the business folds]
• The primary care estate [buildings] 'is plainly not fit for purpose' as 20% of it predates the founding of the health service in 1948
• The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 'was a calamity without international precedent' – by dissolving the old structures rather than reforming them, GPs 'were to all intents and purposes set up to fail'
• There is a need for more GPs – while the review points out that there have been 'positive developments' in growing the wider workforce in general practice these 'should be supplements' rather than substitutes to GPs

GOV: Summary letter from Lord Darzi GOV: Independent Investigation of NHS in England

The above is all positive for General Practice and echoes GP leaders' calls for more investment and more GPs, which we have all been banging on for years. But will this translate into real change and more resources for General Practice?

Readers may recall that in October 2022, the former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, published a report into General Practice , fully supporting GP surgeries and partnerships and pushing for increased resources and investment.

However, the moment he became chancellor, he conveniently forget his own words and no funding was forthcoming, and indeed his time in office was capped by continued and deliberate underinvestment and three consecutive contract impositions against GPs, essentially forcing GPs to do more and more with less and less.

Having been stung many times before, GPs are definitely not counting their chickens, but let's hope that the new health secretary, will, with the new chancellor's help, put his money where his or Lord Darzi's mouth is, by properly resourcing General Practice so that GPs can provide a quality and sustainable service for their patients.

Until such time that happens, the 30p a day is clearly still not enough, so GPs are still going forward with the planned GP collective action.

 

GP COLLECTIVE ACTION

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The GP collective action mentioned above is not industrial action. It is not about GPs going on strike [well, not yet anyway]. But you may be wondering what collective action actually is and how it might affect you. We can reassure you that, for Ivy Grove Surgery patients, nothing will change whatsoever, so still contact us as usual if you need help. We will still be open.

Nothing will change for you as patients, because we at Ivy Grove Surgery have always had fairly firm rules about what we do and don't do. Many people have employment contracts, and we, as self-employed subcontractors to the NHS, also have contracts that we must work to. We simply work to that contract. We have worked like this for many years.

For clarity, this means that we do what GP surgeries should do or are paid to do, and that we don't do somebody else's work for them. This means we don't do what a hospital should be doing. We don't do what another provider, including a private provider, is specifically being paid to do. We don't do something just because someone (incorrectly) thinks it's our job to do.

Also for clarity, working to contract does not mean that we do not liaise with or collaborate with other organisations for the benefit of our patients. We will always act in the best interests of our patients. We still continue to do that and to refer and to seek advice as needed. No GP or GP surgery or indeed any doctor is an island, who works in complete isolation.

Of course, if other organisations also properly worked to their contract, and did what they were supposed to do, then there would actually be less toing and froing in the health service and there would be less of patients being passed from pillar to post, because duties and tasks would be completed properly whilst a patient was there in front of them. Things would be a lot more efficient in the NHS, the patient journey would be improved, and there would be much less totally inappropriate 'see your GP' for this, that and the other.

You may wonder why we had long ago adopted this stance, and why it benefits you as patients. Just as an example, it's estimated that 25-30% of our workload is taken up by work inappropriately passed through to us by hospitals. Think of things like fit notes after hospital care, urgent medications and blood test requests.

Hospital care page Hospital meds info Private providers page Fit notes info

A prime example of the sort of ridiculous stuff that happens is where a patient is sitting there in front of the hospital doctor at their outpatient appointment, yet, instead of picking up their prescription pad and simply giving the patient a prescription there and then, the consultant will dictate a letter, their secretary will type it up, we receive it anything from days to weeks later, or the patient arrives shortly after their appointment and there is no letter to be seen, and we have to chase the letter, or if we do receive the letter we have to check the request is appropriate and then prescribe the medication, or sometimes we might have to write back to the hospital to clarify dosages or duration, we then get a response back which we then pass to our pharmacy team, the prescription is then done, our receptionist contacts the patient, they may not answer the phone, we try again and again, we may have to send a letter, the patient finally receives the letter, the patient goes to collect the medication from their local chemist. How can five, six, seven or more steps ever be efficient or good for the patient when the one step will do? Many of you will have been at the receiving end of such absurd goings on, and you will know it is not good for anybody.

Substitute the medication/prescription example above for fit note or blood test form and you can see that this is going to happen an awful lot. Add all these cases up and imagine all those patients affected by this ringing in to the surgery, or booking appointments and you can see that the phones are going to be busy and capacity at the surgery is going to be reduced.

Now imagine those 30% of appointments that are taken up with this sort of thing, and now imagine those appointments being freed up by our above approach. By sticking to what GPs should be doing, by kindly asking the organisation themselves to do their own work, we help to keep those appointments free for more patients, for those who genuinely do need to see the GP.

Other parts of GP collective action involve stuff that happens behind the scenes, with disengagement from non-contractual items that we are requested to partake in. Again there should be no impact upon your everyday care whatsoever.

BMA: Protect your patients, protect your GP practice

As NHS doctors we have a duty to do the best we can for our patients with the resources we have. And those resources, as you've found out, are limited and amount to only 30p per day. By sticking to what GPs should be going, this helps to keep the practice sustainable and viable as a business, so that we can keep looking after you.

As more and more GP practices work in a similar fashion, they will all be fighting for the future of General Practice, fighting for safe and sustainable care for our patients, because without it, all of us, as patients, now or in the future, will be in serious trouble. Hence the tagline, GPs are on your side.

GPs are on your side: a message for patients (2:27), British Medical Association

 

DR GREER'S MARATHON QUEST

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In our May issue, both Dr Riva Greer and Alyssa gave updates to their marathon experiences. If you missed Dr Greer's and Alyssa's stories in previous newsletters, you can read about them here:

Alyssa and Dr Greer's marathon stories Alyssa and Dr Greer's marathon experiences

Here, Dr Greer writes with more news.

As most of you will already know, I am a keen runner in my spare time and enjoy hitting the pavements not only for my physical health but also for my mental health.

In April 2024, I completed my first ever Marathon, the London Marathon, and decided that given it may be my only opportunity to run this iconic race, that it would be a good idea to raise some money for charity whilst I was at it! I chose The Miscarriage Association who are a small charity who provide valuable support to those affected by pregnancy loss. As you may know this is a charity close to my heart having experienced two miscarriages between my two beautiful children. I managed to raise over £1,600 with sponsorship coming from friends, family, my wonderful colleagues at Ivy Grove and some of the lovely patients I have looked after over the years.

Having got the marathon bug after this year's race I decided to try my luck and enter the ballot again. Although I didn't get a ballot place, The Miscarriage Association were kind enough to offer me one of their coveted charity places in view of my previous fundraising success and I can't wait to get to the start line again for The London Marathon in April 2025!! I have a fundraising target this year of £1,750 which is no small feat but will go a long way to helping my chosen charity. £5 could pay to send information to someone going through pregnancy loss, £25 could pay for the technology to run the charity's live chat service for a whole month and £50 could pay for two support groups per week for those who have experienced pregnancy loss.

Although official training hasn't yet begun, my fundraising efforts have! I recently ran The Great North Run Half Marathon from Newcastle to South Shields and then three weeks later took on The Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham, all with the aim of raising funds and awareness for The Miscarriage Association.

I will be holding some fundraising events at the surgery over the coming months which hopefully will include a cake sale or two and a raffle. More details of these will follow but if anyone would like to sponsor me please visit my fundraising page at the link below.

Any sponsorship, no matter how small, will be gratefully received and truly appreciated. Thank you in advance and watch this space for more updates in the coming months.

Dr Greer's Just Giving Page Miscarriage Association NHS: Miscarriage NHS: Couch to 5K

 

FLU CLINIC

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Ian, our Practice Business Manager, writes about flu clinic:

Dear Patients

Protect yourself this winter, get your flu vaccine

As we approach the colder months, it's crucial to take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones from seasonal illnesses. That's why, for the last couple of years, the flu vaccination campaign has started slightly later to help protect over the coldest months, when more people tend to gather indoors. The flu vaccine remains one of the best defences against the flu virus, particularly for those who are most vulnerable, such as the elderly, pregnant women, and those with underlying health conditions.

Why Is the flu vaccine important?

The flu isn't just a bad cold; it's a serious illness that can lead to complications like pneumonia, hospitalisation, or even death in severe cases. Every year, the flu virus mutates, and new strains circulate, making it essential to get vaccinated annually. This year's flu vaccine has been specially formulated to target the strains expected to be most common during the 2024/25 flu season.

Ivy Grove Surgery flu vaccination clinics

To ensure all eligible patients are protected, we are making it as convenient as possible for you to get vaccinated. If you're eligible, you should have received a notification from us. However, if you believe you are eligible and haven't been contacted, please speak to a member of our reception team.

Clinic dates and times

Saturday clinics These sessions are perfect for those who may find it difficult to attend during the week. This year, the main Saturday clinics are on October 5th, and October 19th.

Early morning and late afternoon clinics This year, we will also be offering clinics from 8.00am to 9.00am and 5.00pm to 6.00pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, starting from October 3rd, hopefully giving you even more flexibility to attend a time convenient for you.

Don't delay – Book your appointment today!

With flu season fast approaching, now is the time to protect yourself and others. Help us keep our community safe and healthy this winter by getting your flu vaccination.

For more information or to book your appointment, please speak with a member of our reception team or see our flu page.

Stay safe and well this winter!

Find out more about flu and flu vaccination eligibility:

Flu page Drop-in clinics

 

RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS

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Ian, our Practice Business Manager, now writes about the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination campaign

Dear Patients

Protecting you against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

For the first time this year, a new vaccine is available to protect against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). This is particularly significant for those most vulnerable, as RSV can lead to severe respiratory illness, especially in older adults and those with underlying health conditions. With the colder months ahead, it's the perfect time to consider RSV vaccination alongside your annual flu vaccine, although important to note these are not usually given at the same time.

What Is RSV?

RSV is a common respiratory virus that can affect people of all ages. While it often causes mild, cold-like symptoms, it can lead to more serious conditions such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia, particularly in infants, older adults, and individuals with weakened immune systems. Each year, RSV hospitalises thousands of people, particularly the elderly, and can result in serious complications.

How do you catch RSV?

RSV infections can occur all year round but cases peak every winter. RSV can spread through coughs and sneezes. You can help to prevent the spread of the virus by covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze (ideally with a tissue, or else into the bend of your elbow), and you can wash your hands frequently to reduce the risk of picking up the virus. Even with these measures it can be difficult to avoid RSV infection. The best way to protect yourself is to have the vaccine.

Who Is eligible for the RSV vaccine?

The RSV vaccine is recommended if:

• You're pregnant – the vaccine is recommended during every pregnancy (from 28 weeks onwards) to help protect your baby after they're born
• You're aged 75 to 79
• If you're aged 80 or over (If you turned 80 on or after 1 September 2024, you're eligible for the RSV vaccine until 31 August 2025.)
• You're not eligible for the RSV vaccine if you turned 80 before 1 September 2024.

If you fall into one of these categories, you are eligible for this new vaccine, which has been proven to offer effective protection against severe illness caused by RSV.

Why Is It important to get vaccinated?

RSV often circulates during the autumn and winter months, just like the flu. With both flu and RSV posing risks to the same groups of people, vaccination is a key strategy to prevent dual infections, which can overwhelm the immune system and lead to severe complications.

By getting vaccinated, you not only protect yourself but also help reduce the spread of RSV within the community, safeguarding others who may be vulnerable to this virus.

How does the vaccine work?

Almost all older adults will have had several RSV infections during their life. A single dose of vaccine will help to boost protection as you reach an age group at highest risk of serious RSV infection.

Do I need to have the vaccine every year?

No, a single dose is expected to give you good protection for a few years.

RSV vaccine clinics

To make it easier for you to get protected, we will be running clinics for both the RSV and flu vaccines throughout October, however, unlike some vaccines (such as flu or COVID-19 vaccines), the RSV vaccine is given all year round. We encourage eligible patients to consider getting both vaccines, ensuring optimal protection during the winter months when respiratory viruses are most prevalent.

Book your appointment soon

If you think you may be eligible for the RSV vaccine, or if you'd like more information, please contact a member our reception team. Our team is here to guide you on whether the RSV vaccine is right for you and to help you book an appointment.

To find out more, click the links below:

GOV: Your guide to the RSV vaccine for older adults GOV: How to protect your baby from RSV NHS: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) NHS: RSV vaccine

 

MENTAL HEALTH PAGES UPDATE

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Since the pandemic, we have had a mental health page on our website, which we have been directing patients to using our text messaging service.

It details many of the resources available to support patients with their mental health, with help for all age groups. We will always aim to support any patient with their mental health, but there are limits on what can be provided through GP input and/or tablets alone. This is where all these really useful resources come in, many of which come highly recommended.

Our single mental health page had been heavily used, but perhaps it was getting a little tired in the design and navigation. Therefore we are pleased to announce that we have carried out a complete make-over of the page and added new pages to cover each age group but also other sections and resources, such as sleep problems, ADHD and bereavement.

We do realise there is a lot of information on these pages, and it can be quite overwhelming, especially if you are distressed and can't think straight. But please don't worry, we always follow up any verbal information we have given you with texts to your mobile, which you can keep on your phone, so at any time, if and when you are ready, you can simply click the link in the message and it will take you to the right page or section on the website. It also helps if you can browse the pages with a trusted friend or relative.

On the mental health pages, you will see there are many things you can start doing to help improve matters - remember there is no right or wrong way, and it is a journey of recovery that starts with finding out what helps for you and then to start doing it - and all journeys do start with but one step.

Visit the pages or sections below to see what support there is, or see the taster of the new layout below:

New mental health pages and sections

Mental health landing page At risk of self-harm page In a crisis page Kids page Teenagers page Adults/general page Older/vulnerable page Other resources page Anger resources section Autism/ASD resources section ADHD resources section Bereavement resources section Eating disorders section Sleep problems section Smartphone apps section Books section  

Taster for new mental health pages layout

 

EXPLORING COFFEE MORNINGS

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Our care co-ordinators used to hold regular coffee mornings on a monthly basis. Unfortunately, they were discontinued during the pandemic, in a bid to keep people safe.

Various agencies, including health organisations, fire service, local businesses attended the meetings, and many patients attended and found them useful. Given how useful they were to our patients, we are exploring the possibility of restarting the coffee mornings.

Please watch this space!

Carers page Coffee mornings Care co-ordinators page

 

TELEPHONE SYSTEM UPDATE

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Ian, our Practice Business Manager, writes with the latest information on the new telephone system.

Our new cloud-based telephony system is finally up and running!

As you will be aware from our previous newsletters, as part of the changes made to the GP contract last year - it was made a requirement for all GP practices sign up to a fully cloud based telephone (CBT) system. As a practice, we decided to stay with our existing provider Wavenet and their system 'GP Voice'.

Wavenet and GP Voice was approved by the NHS 'Better Purchasing Framework' and is an accredited provider of advanced cloud-based GP telephone solutions. For those of you that have not called the surgery in a while, I am pleased to announce that our system went live back on July 30th, which is somewhat later than originally planned, but we had experienced some challenges along the way, mainly with getting the new FTTP internet connection routed through the building.

We have had some positive feedback from patients since the system went live, and we would love to hear from more of our patients about what you think.

The main driver for the change was to improve the experience for our patients by reducing the call waiting times with place in queue notifications, as well as giving our patients the option to request a call back when they reach the front of the queue, because we appreciate that not everyone has time to sit waiting for the telephone to be answered when we first open. I am confident that this new system has improved the appointment booking experience for our patients and we would be really interested to hear your thoughts.

Contact us

 

PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP

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Sam, our Operational Manager, writes about the Patient Participation Group (PPG)

Dear Patients

Help us get better!

To improve the service we provide, we would like to restart our Patient Participation Group (PPG), many practices' PPGs stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we need your help to get our PPG going again!

What is a Patient Participation Group (PPG)?

A Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a group of patients, carers and GP practice staff who meet to discuss practice issues and work together to build a better practice.

What's the point of a PPG?

• To give patients and practice staff the opportunity to meet and discuss topics of mutual interest
• To provide a means for patients to become more involved and make suggestions about the healthcare services they receive
• To explore issues from patient complaints and patient surveys, contribute to action plans and help monitor improvements
• To contribute feedback to the practice on National Patient Survey results, and Friends and Family Test feedback to help us improve the service we offer
• To support health awareness and patient education

Can you support our PPG?

A PPG is open to all our patients, so long as you are registered with our practice. All communities, groups, genders, ages, ethnicities, and disabilities representing the patient list are encouraged to join. There are no other membership requirements except that patients must be registered with the practice.

How often would we meet?

We would like the group to meet three or four times a year, although as a group you may want to meet more frequently if you have a project you are excited about. Ideally this would be in the evening and would probably only last a couple of hours.

How do I join, or find out more information?

If you would like to find and more and discuss if this is something you could help with, please email us and we will be in touch.

For more details, please visit our PPG page:

Email us PPG page

 

GREENER GENERAL PRACTICE UPDATE

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Dr Neely continues her series of articles on the green agenda.

Our nursing team have been through many clinical ordering areas with the help of Dr Greer for her contraceptive clinics and have developed a list of what is needed and we are reducing ordering and avoiding, such as instruments going out of date.

Following on from information in the last newsletter about greener prescribing, I wanted to let you know how we are doing with inhalers. This is the biggest area we can reduce our carbon footprint so there will be many updates along the way. Interface will be starting to arrange remote consultations to asthma patients to improve their asthma control and as part of this they will offer a chance to swap inhalers, the first of these clinics will be in mid-October and invites will be sent out to eligible patients. We should have some numbers about carbon reduction for you on this in the next update.

Above right is a table of the carbon footprint of different inhalers with the number of miles a car would do to give the same carbon footprint.

Our antibiotic prescribing remains better than average, which shows we are prescribing well and appropriately and are likely to be contributing less to antibiotic resistance.

Our practice pharmacists will continue medication reviews to reduce the amount of unwanted medication patients are on and to improve control of medical conditions.

Stay tuned for more updates.

 

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

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Just a reminder to any patient who has a Facebook account, to try and follow us on Facebook. This way, you will receive any urgent or important updates that we post on the platform.

Facebook page

 

HOME VISITS REMINDER

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We need to remind all our patients, including their relatives or carers, of our home visit policy.

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 our resources on helping more patients who can come in to surgery. It is a recognised fact that any clinician is far more effective working in a surgery environment, where patients can come to them if possible, rather than the other way round. In addition, better facilities are available, as well as equipment and superior lighting in order to properly examine patients.

We follow recognised criteria from local medical committees for authorising home visits by a clinician. Accordingly, home visits for only for those who are truly housebound, those who are in bed and/or terminally ill, or those who would come to serious harm if they were moved.

Many a time, we have gone out on home visits requested by patients, and found that, rather frustratingly, the patient is out in town, or that they are all jolly and bright answering the door, or that the patient is fully mobile and there are multiple cars on the driveway. Such visits are inappropriate and take the clinician away from other needy patients.

A truly housebound person never leaves their home under any circumstance, this means not going to the hairdressers or shops, not 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 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 needing hoisting or 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, and who, if appropriate, would be conveyed to hospital only in the back of an ambulance with attending paramedics.

We are more than happy to visit anyone in need, so if you are in one of the above categories and are not well, please don't hesitate to call us and we will assess your case. Our receptionist will take brief details and then pass your case to the duty doctor who may call you back to obtain further details. Please note that all requests are assessed on the basis of clinical need and urgency only and any visit granted will entirely be at doctor's discretion - this is in line with requirements under the GP contract.

It is important that we have up to date contact details of your relative or carer who is ringing on your behalf, so that, with your permission, we can obtain more details if needed.

Visits may be performed by either ourselves, as the patient's registered doctor, or by the home visiting service. Please note that we cannot promise a specific time for a visit due to other commitments. In some cases which have been assessed and agreed as being less urgent and which do not require a same day visit, visits may be arranged by the home visiting service days or weeks ahead.

We should also note that we always encourage patients, who feel that they may need a home visit, to ring us earlier rather than later in the day. Ideally, any requests should be made before 10.30am at the latest. This allows us to plan our day effectively, again for the benefit of all patients. Even if you're not sure, call earlier rather than later, as we can always give timely advice and make any necessary medical arrangements, rather than try and do things last minute.

The visiting doctor is never just sitting there waiting for a visit to come in, just to 'pop out' of surgery at a moment's notice. They are invariably busy with many other things, such as being in clinic, dealing with letters and results, triaging consultation requests, training and mentoring other staff and so on. If you ring after the morning cut-off time, we may not be able to guarantee you a visit the same day.

Thank you to everyone for their understanding and for following the above policy. The following links might be useful for those interested in finding out more, including dispelling many of the myths around home visiting.

Home visiting leaflet Home visits Making a home visit request Home visiting support

 

MEDICINES ORDER LINE

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Just a reminder to all patients who are taking repeat medications, to continue to order your repeats via the Medicines Order Line (MOL), where dedicated staff will take your call and help you with your prescription. And if you are making a request for medication that is not on your prescription, please also make such requests using the same method.

This means that requests are dealt with safely and effectively, whilst also freeing up our receptionists, as well as the phones, so that other patients can get through with medical matters.

MOL Leaflet Ring MOL Ways to get your repeats

 

POSITIVE FEEDBACK RECEIVED

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Thank you to all those patients who continue to leave us positive feedback. We really do appreciate it and reading your messages does keep us going. Here we share recent feedback for the benefit of our staff and other patients.

No-one gets things right all the time, as we are all human after all, and although we don't (and can't) publish them here, we do always act upon the complaints that we receive, as well as acting upon any critical feedback, so that we can continue to improve the service that we provide to you. Thank you once again.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Dr Greer and Dr Murthy for everything, they have been amazing to me – MC

I want to thank Dr Axten for everything, I feel he has saved my life as I was in such a dark place – TB

Dr Axten is a wonderful doctor and a doctor who takes his time with patients. With your return after illness, I hope the buggers don't work you too hard – RW [Editor's note - as a self-employed partner of the business, it's up to Dr Axten himself to speak to the rest of us buggers about workload levels!!]

Thank you to Cath [reception] who took my phone call today about      . She was so friendly and helpful. It is hard with us       working outside of GP practices especially when our electronic record systems don't match up. My query was dealt with really quickly – MM

Please pass on my thanks to Anil [locum advanced clinical practitioner] for how good and understanding he was last week – MM [a different MM]

Thank you to Dr Axten for taking time to seek advice from       and for sending me a text with the answer yesterday, I really appreciate this – MB

Just wanted to say how lovely Alyssa was – LM

Thank you to everyone as I had my       on Friday and everything was rushed through for me – KE

Dr Murthy is one of the best doctors I have ever seen, I felt she listened to me and she was amazing, it was a shame it was one of her last days and I won't see her again! – JW

I'd like to pass on my thanks to Dr Murthy for all she has done for me. I am very pleased I don't have to start       tablets currently! – JM

Thanks so much to everyone in the team who has had any dealings with      , you are all marvellous, responsive and so kind – L

Thanks to Michelle [reception] for how you handled my request for an appointment this morning in the queue. You were lovely and helpful, despite the pressure you were under – JH

I have been very pleased with Dr Rajan [locum], he doesn't rush and he listens to me, it would be very good if he could be taken on as a permanent GP in our practice – EE [Dr Rajan has a substantive post in his own practice, but continues to help us out when needed, for which we are very grateful]

Alyssa is amazing! – EC

I'm ringing specifically to thank Dr Wong for his very informative information that he gave to me today. I can't reply on my phone so that's why I'm ringing to pass on my grateful thanks and just to say how brilliant Dr Wong was! – CB

I had a telephone conversation with a nurse practitioner Alyssa at       concerning my      . She was excellent. Very understanding, very informative, and compassionate – JB

Very impressed with meeting Lyndsey regarding a       problem. She was very helpful, good to talk to and realistic – KH

Thank you for getting me seen quickly this morning after I arrived early at      . The doctor was helpful, explained things clearly & reassured me. A very good experience. Thanks again – DH

Dr Greer has been fantastic with me today. Thank you! – BR

Phone appointment with Dr Francis today 5★ – PL

Great care from Dr Greer! Reception staff are always very polite and helpful! – MA

The care that I have received from Ivy Grove Surgery over recent months has been second to none. Dr Greer and Dr Marval have been exceptional – TF

Excellent communication from Dr Wong, everything was explained very well and he has taken my worries away – AT

Great follow up call from Dr Wong, several tests put in going forward with everything explained thoroughly hopefully will soon be on the road to a full recovery – BW

I've just had an appointment with practice nurse Sarah Braun, you are lucky to have her at Ivy Grove Surgery, she was very friendly and showed great empathy for my situation and gave me plenty of good advice moving forward – JT

Very thorough and understanding. Cannot fault my treatment – RG [a patient, not Dr Greer!]

Excellent service, receptionist Mandy very polite and helpful, the doctor rang my wife back within 20 minutes and was very thorough – ML

Excellent experience with Alyssa, felt listened to and dealt with in a very positive manner. Many thanks – JC

Everybody is extremely friendly and supportive. Alyssa, whom I saw, is very knowledgeable and reassuring, she is excellent at her profession. Thank you for excellent service Ivy Grove – AJ

Very polite and professional is how I'd describe my conversation with Dr Wong, really impressed me – GW

I asked for a phone appointment with Dr Wong today. Having left hospital and feeling like I had no support, Dr Wong answered all of my questions and explained everything to me clearly. He listened to me and didn't rush me at all. All of his advice made sense. I felt relieved to have someone so understanding to talk to. Thank you Dr Wong – DH

Dr Lavender was the best doctor I have seen in 61 years – NB

A telephone consultation with Dr Wong shortly after       was clear and precise. A new medication was prescribed to help me with ongoing       following recent      . Within 6 hours I am in receipt of my new tablets and ready to commence the course. I wish to thank Dr Wong for his prompt telephone consultation for listening and helping me through this temporary period of      . – RJW

Thank you for all you do and support, the only thing I like is online appointment to book – KC [we are currently exploring online appointment booking]

Efficient and friendly doctors and reception – GM

Telephone call on time and helpful – RH

Lindsey was so helpful, and easy to talk to x – ZR

Couldn't be in better hands – AS

 

FINALLY...

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That's it for another issue. We hope you enjoyed this newsletter update. The next one should be around December when we start to enter the festive season. And remember, given the time of year, we will be bringing back some long awaited Dad Jokes! [I can hear you all groaning already - Editor]

In the meantime, please do your best to look after yourselves and try and stay physically and mentally healthy. See you all soon!

Kind regards

Ivy Grove Surgery