Patient Involvement Group
Church Street Practice, The Health Centre,
Mably Way, Grove, OX12 9BN

The first wave of the Swine Flu pandemic was very mild and relatively few people caught it in this area. From experiences in previous pandemics, however, we expect a second wave to hit within the next few weeks which is likely to affect far more people and could possibly give more severe symptoms. The Practice has made plans for providing services to patients throughout the Flu epidemic even if levels become critical.

We do ask for your cooperation:

• If you have flu-like symptoms, do not go out unless you have to, as you are just passing the virus on to others;
• Have Paracetamol ready at home;
• If you want Tamiflu phone the National Flu Line on 0800 1513 513;
• If you want advice on flu either phone the National Flu line on 0800 1513 100 or the surgery;
• Please do not complain about our infection control measures e.g. the removal of toys and magazines from the waiting room, as these are to help protect you and our staff;
• Receptionists are required to triage all calls as flu patients are all being telephoned by the duty doctor, please be tolerant and provide just an indication of the nature of your problem so that the receptionist can find you a suitable appointment quickly and efficiently.

When Swine Flu reaches a critical level, the Practice will not be able to provide all routine services and we will introduce our emergency Flu plan, namely:

• The 3 local practices will unite to work as one team;
• All telephone calls will be handled by staff based at the Health Centre;
• All patients can ring either Church Street on 01235 770245 or Newbury Street on 01235 763451 to book an appointment or for advice;
• Receptionists will triage calls into flu and non-flu, nurses will triage the flu calls and doctors will triage the non-flu calls;
• Appointments and visits will not normally be offered without a doctor triaging the call;
• Patients from all 3 practices who need to be seen in surgery will be divided so that:
  • Anyone with respiratory symptoms or possible flu will be seen in the Newbury Street premises,
  • Antenatal appointments and children for immunisations will be seen at Grove Surgery, and
  • All others will be seen in the Church Street premises;
• Routine appointments will be postponed until after the emergency unless really necessary – in general this decision will be made by the doctor triaging the call;
• Arrangements have been made so that all doctors should have access to all patient records though this period only, to ensure the service is safe and efficient.

You do not need to worry about how you will know when the emergency arrangements will be introduced as you can just ring the Practice as and when you need but be prepared for the possibility that your call and request may be handled as indicated above.

We hope these arrangements will allow us to be able to deliver essential services no matter how bad the pandemic becomes. Thank you for your cooperation and tolerance.

Sheila Dearman
Practice Manager

I am of course thrilled to have finally joined such a wonderful practice as a partner. I say ‘finally’ as it feels that I have been around a long time in different guises! Over the past 2 yrs I have introduced myself as a registrar, a locum for Cheryl Fairly a ‘2 day a week-er’ with a part time job across at Newbury Street! Anyway, I have ended up in the right place! I think Church Street is a great practice with the same ideals regarding medicine and patient care that I warmly share. It is the sort of place that I wish I could be registered at; with a friendly, welcoming staff and intelligent, compassionate nurses and doctors.

I am also glad that I have found a lovely town like Wantage with beautiful surrounding countryside. Slightly different than growing up in North London- less hustle and bustle but that suits me fine! I just hope that I can move closer sooner rather than later! I have never enjoyed commuting and have always envisaged a family doctor being part of the community and living close to their practice.

For those who don’t know I am a London boy who not only grew up there but also studied medicine at University College London. I am the first ever doctor in my family. I have done many different hospital jobs working as far as Jersey and as close as the JR. Out of the specialties I have experienced I developed a passion for paediatrics and have the most experience in that area of medicine. I wanted to become a GP to have the continuity that primary care offers- of being able to get to know patients over time not just looking a snapshot of a problem. I feel that it is a great privilege to be part of people’s lives in this way.

I hope that I bring something new to Church Street other than lowering the average age! On a more serious note I think I will be a good fit here not only continuing the values which are firmly established but also developing different ways of doing things. I hope for example over the next few months to reinvigorate our practice website.

In my time outside medicine I am a keen film buff (if you want to stay longer than 10mins just mention Akira Kirosawa or Pedro Almodovar!) I enjoy climbing and walking, and have a love of modern art and photography. I play tennis badly and support QPR (I know someone has to!).

I look forward to seeing any of you inside and outside the practice whether you need a doctor or not!

Matthew Gaw

GPs in the Vale have identified isolation and loneliness as a health risk to older people and have teamed up with Age Concern Oxfordshire in a new project to try to do something about it. There are many reasons why people may become isolated as they age – a fall, an illness, mobility difficulties, financial worries, bereavement can all bring loss of confidence which can too easily lead to isolation and the real danger that this turns into a vicious circle. We want to break that vicious circle.

Age Concern already offers a range of well-used services for people over the age of 50 in the Vale – including specialist information and advice. This project is about working with communities and groups to reach the people who are not currently well plugged into the services and support on offer and re-connect them – either by linking them with existing resources, information and activities or, where there are gaps, by developing new activities and opportunities for people.

In Grove a new group - ‘Coffee, Cake and Chat’ - will be starting 1st October at the Cornerstone Coffee shop from 2 - 4pm and continue every Thursday thereafter. We invite all over 50s to come along and enjoy the social event, meet up with friends and make new ones – they are guaranteed a friendly welcome.. On the first Thursday of every month, an Age Concern Information & Advice worker will be available to chat to and we will organise guests to visit the group to provide people with more specific information in response to what people say they want e.g. preventing falls, nutrition, fire safety in the home, benefits etc. But the starting point is simply bringing people together for coffee and a chat - and who knows where that might lead? Once people come together, the possibilities are endless.

Last but not least, we plan to host an Information Fair in Wantage in March 2010. A while off yet - but if you would like more information about the project, if you know an older person or people who might benefit, if you know of a group who would like a talk about e.g. benefits or keeping warm in winter, if you know of a neighbourhood where there is not much going on or if you would like to help in some way you can contact Ali Burzynska on 01235 849400.

Age Concern

We are starting "Singing for Fun" in St John's Church, Grove on Tuesday, 29th September at 2pm and fortnightly thereafter. The purpose of the group is to excercise the brain through singing. People with dementia and memory problems, and their carers are invited to join the group to experience the stimulation and fun that singing can bring.

For more information please ring Anna on 01235 810575,or Sue on 07833 952514

Sue Smith, Carer Support Worker
The Alzheimer's Society, Vale of White Horse.

Next meetings: All meetings are held in the Health Education Room on the first Tuesday in the month at 2.00pm

Oct 6th: A question & answer session. We have some questions already for the staff but would welcome more; you may of course ask questions on the afternoon which members of the practice diabetic team will answer.

Dec 1st: We hope to have a District Specialist Diabetic Nurse with us. Any patient of the practice who has diabetes is very welcome (and/or their families/carers).

For further details of the group please contact jean@jcsutherland.wanadoo.co.uk or 868396.

Dr Matthew Gaw as a new Partner;

Dr Barbara Alberts qualified as a doctor in 2001 and is in her final year of her GP training, she will be with the practice until August 2010;

Dr Shoba Subramanian qualified as a doctor in 2007 and is in her first year of the 3 year GP training course, she will be with us until February 2010;

Emma Grant who has joined the district nursing team from Didcot;

Kathy Davies who has joined the case management team, she has been working most recently at the Eye Hospital but has a very varied background including midwifery and district nursing; and

Christina Mallet who replaces Dee Sculley and will provide counselling services.

In the last few months we have said a sad farewell to:

Dr Mark Coghlan who has moved on to the next stage of his GP training, and we wish him every success in his chosen career;

Dee Sculley who had been our counsellor for over 10 years; we congratulate her on her promotion and wish her every success in her new post in Oxford;

Agnes Stanmore our health visitor who has left to take up a post in Oxford; and

Tina Campion who we congratulate on her promotion as she has taken on the role of team leader for the Newbury Street district nursing team.

Sheila Dearman

At a recent committee meeting the future of PIG was discussed at some length. It has been running now for 14 years.

• It’s certainly time to take stock.
• Is PIG stuck in its ways?
• Where should it be going?
• How does it move on?
• Are we on the right lines?
• What about succession planning?
• These are questions which only you, the patients of the Practice can answer.

So - Can YOU be the new blood with fresh ideas to help PIG to continue to grow. Please think about it carefully. The future of PIG depends on you.

Please come to the AGM, speak with May 762613, or Jean 868396 or make contact via our Feedback form.

Thank you

May Paul

SATURDAY 3rd & SATURDAY 10th OCTOBER 2009 - 9.00am to 3pm

• No appointments needed, just come to the surgery
• These clinics are not offering Swine flu vaccinations
• Vaccinations are only available for patients on our usual Flu Registers, i.e. patients with a chronic disease or who are over 65 or who are primary carers
• If you are a primary career you can still notify the Practice to ensure that you are included on the Flu Register

PIG would like to thank the Midcounties Co-operative who have awarded us £250 from their Co-operative Membership Community Fund. This will enable more copies of 'A Day in the Life...' to be printed. For more details, see their web-site www.midcounties.coop.

We would also like to let you know that a copy has now been lodged with the British Library.

Sue Hannon

The PIG Committee would like to publicly thank Sue Hannon for all the work and time she put into the production of this booklet.

Dear Editor
"We are most impressed with the Appointments On-line service both for appointments and repeat prescriptions. It would be interesting to learn more about the system. Was this developed "in-house" or a bought-in commercial package? How many other surgeries have this facility? It seems remarkable that we have a simple, useful system that really works and yet the NHS is spending millions on a country wide system which has taken years to develop and is still not working. Our surgery always seems to be at the forefront of useful ideas and long may it be so. Congratulations to all concerned."
Olive and John Price

I regret we cannot claim any credit for the on-line booking system as it is a package developed by the company that provides our appointment system, Frontdesk. We are very pleased that the system is so simple to use. We will be extending the number of appointments that can be booked on-line and hope many more patients will take advantage of this quick and simple way of booking and cancelling appointments and requesting repeat medication.
Sheila Dearman
Practice Manager

Sheila, just read the booklet produced by your PIG and have to say how brilliant I think it is – best snapshot of life in practice I’ve ever seen. Should be sent far and wide as an educating tool.
Angie Eachus, Service Development Manager – GMS
Primary Care Team, NHS Oxfordshire

Dear Editor
Of recent months, as the yellow blocks in the health centre car park have become indistinct due to traffic grime, inconsiderate parking has become noticeable. Some cars park overlapping two spaces reducing the available spaces considerably at peak times.
As a suggestion, it would be a good idea if just the yellow blocks could be painted yellow or white. I have known this work very well in other establishments that have had the same problem.
Yours,
Bob Spong

This is a very sensible proposal and I will put it to the tenants' committee.
Sheila Dearman

May we take this opportunity as the subject of parking has arisen to remind people that parking in front of the building is for buses and emergency vehicles only.

There is very good disabled access at both sides of the building with dedicated spaces nearby. If all spaces have been used the person with disabilities may be dropped at the door and the car parked elsewhere.

Are you taking up our suggestion made in our last Newsletter of driving voluntarily at 30mph along Mably Way? We expect the petition re the speed limit to be presented to OCC shortly.

PIG

Question
From time to time, some patients fill in survey forms about the practice... These can be local forms or ones that come directly from the government. Do the answers affect the practice finances? If so ,how? Doug House

Response
The practice does occasionally carry out small surveys on specific issues but in recent years there have been national surveys on patient satisfaction that have generated income for the practice as part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) – the Department of Health sets certain clinical and administrative quality targets and the practice receives payments depending on how well it achieves in these areas.

Within QOF, the Patient Experience domain includes the patient surveys and last year there were four areas that generated income for the practice:

• The practice was required to carry out an approved survey - the practice chose the General Practice Assessment Questionnaire (GPAQ) survey which it has used since 2004. The survey looked at patient satisfaction with the practice as a whole and with the GP or nurse seen at the appointment on the day. Just doing the survey and submitting the results to the Primary Care Trust (PCT) generated income of £3115;
• The practice had then to analyse the results of the survey, compare them to previous results, discuss them within the practice team and with PIG, make plans for changes, implement the changes, monitor progress and submit evidence of all this to the PCT. We completed all this work and received the maximum income of £3,738;
• The third and fourth areas depended on patients responding to the national survey carried out by Ipsos MORI which covered whether or not the practice had systems in place so that patients could:
  • Obtain an appointment within 2 working days, and
  • Book an appointment more than 2 days ahead.
  The number of patients responding to the MORI survey was low and although the practice did achieve the maximum payment of £2,928 for the first criterion, getting an appointment within 2 days, it only achieved a payment of £3,813 out of the possible £4,361 for offering pre-bookable appointments.

Last year the practice earned £13,594 out of a possible £14,142 in relation to the patient surveys that were carried out. Failing on the fourth point of offering pre-bookable appointments was disappointing, as any patient can book an appointment up to a month ahead, but it seems we have still not managed to make everyone aware of this. We will continue to advertise this fact in leaflets and such. We have also introduced on-line booking to make it even easier to book appointments. Overall though it seems most patients are satisfied with how we are offering our services although we are very aware that there is still room for improvement. We are grateful for the constructive feedback we have received from patients and will continue to work with PIG on improving our systems and services.

This year the first two requirements relating to the GPAQ survey have been withdrawn and all income will be dependant on the results of the 2 questions about appointments in the Ipsos MORI survey. The maximum income available to the practice will be £7,416. We hope all patients who are sent a survey form will respond as it will show us how you feel about access to the practice.

Sheila Dearman

Recently one of our PIG Commiittee members has been visiting a relative who has been in the JR for a considerable period of time. She was made aware that in certain circumstances it is possible to obtain a parking permit for a week at a reduced rate. PIG intends to find out about the criteria for this.and we will let you know.

Are you aware that there is a very good bus service to the JR from both Abingdon and Oxford.

PIG

Frank Whear sent us some very funny typing blunders made by medical secretaries, here are a few; more next time there is room!

Rectal examination revealed a normal sized thyroid      (Ouch!)

Discharge status: alive but without my permission.

Between you and me we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.

PIG AGM

7.30 Thursday 12th November

at the Health Centre

"Moving forward in the Practice"

Speaker Dr Paul Bryan

Dr Bryan will talk with us about changes and new developments in the Practice.

So come along, join in the discussions, ask questions and meet other patients.

Questions in advance - contact, Jean, May, use the suggestion box or why not use the feedback form.

Everyone welcome