West Street Surgery. Patient Participation Group. Minutes

Transcription

1 West Street Surgery Patient Participation Group Minutes Tuesday 6 th January start time of: 18:00hrs to 19:30hrs Item Action Present: Trevor Evans TE (Chair) Jean Butler JB Lizzy Smith LS (Secretary) Sylvia Johns SJ Diane Beaven DB Kenneth Johns KJ Joong Chin JC Lorraine Nuttall LN Carole Cook CC Chris Jenkins CJ Bev Lewry BL Rosemary Jenkins RJ Jacky Hockey JH 1. Apologies: No apologies all members present. Introductions: TE welcomed everyone and introduced Jacky who was attending their her first meeting. 2. Conflict of Interest: No member present declared any potential conflict of interest that undermined their impartiality. 3. Previous Meeting Minutes: These were agreed and signed as a true record. 4. Core Update: Resources GP s and Nurses: LS informed the group that we have two new salaried doctors joined the Practice, so the doctors we currently have working here at West Street are: Dr Chris Quartly Mon, Tue, Wed (am), Thur, Fri Partner Dr Janet Berry Mon (am), Thur, Fri (am) Partner Dr Stephen Price Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur (am), Fri Partner Dr Bruce Ella Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur (am), Fri Partner West Street Surgery Patient Participation Group Meeting Minutes 06/01/2015 Page 1

2 Dr Sabrina Scott Mon (am), Wed, Fri (am) Salaried Dr Zoe Houston Mon, Tue, Wed Salaried Dr Geraldine Mulligan Wed (pm), Thur, Fri Salaried LS also explained that we are finally up to full doctor capacity, until Dr Scott leaves for maternity leave in June Practice Nurses are now back to full strength. Reception Rota / Call Waiting: TE gave an explanation of the agenda item Call wait meaning; the length of time patients are waiting to get through on the telephone to book appointments or make general enquiries. LS explained that there is six staff members currently assigned to answering the telephones. Unfortunately, it is not financially viable to employ any further staff for this purpose, as during slacker periods, two thirds of their time would be potentially wasted in sitting around and anticipating patients to ring! Irrespective of delays experienced in answering calls at peak times, patients would still have to wait during very intense periods, whatever the staffing levels. The group had a discussion regarding booking appointments on- line, CJ and RJ were unaware of this possibility Action: LS to send registration forms to CJ and RJ. for this purpose LS Regarding services offered and appointment availability. JH had made comparisons with numerous friends that reside in neighboring towns, regarding their GP Practice experiences. West Street Surgery was most definitely one of finest, for many miles around. Did Not Attend (DNA) Policy: LS informed the group that she has implemented a new DNA Policy, applicable to patients who fail to attend four times in any six month period, without valid and acceptable reasons. Throughout this process, after each absence, they are informed of the next step. The surgery makes every endeavor to ensure that patients on a Risk Register or whose DNA appeared to be uncharacteristic, (Particularly the elderly) are promptly contacted, to verify all is well and their failure to appear was just an oversight or otherwise? Phlebotomy Services: LS reported the former restrictions are still in place. This is mainly due to the demand on nursing time for more significant services. West Street Surgery Patient Participation Group Meeting Minutes 06/01/2015 Page 2

3 DB stated that when requested to obtain a blood test, went to the L&D waited two hours, paid for parking and travel time/cost then was forced to leave without a sample being taken. Further waiting time was deplorable!. TE stated that in these circumstances unacceptably long waiting times should be reported to PALS Patient Advice and Liaison Services at the reception area of the hospital and/or to the BCCG headquarters at Wrest Park in Silsoe. A number of the group had similar if not worse experiences when they attended Secondary Care for their blood tests. It was also noted that a number of the nurses in the Phlebotomy Department at the L&D, are not just assigned to take the bloods for walk in patients, they are also employed to visit the wards to take blood samples from inpatients throughout the hospital. TE outlined The BCCG plan for phlebotomy: to redesign all the services across the county from scratch and put them out to procurement, as it is aware that there as many and varied arrangements across different localities, practices and providers, many of which have been in place for a long time, may no longer be meeting the need they were originally intended to cater for. There is a BCCG project looking at this currently. While originally it was hoped to have something in place by the beginning of April 2015, this might be a bit ambitious, so the final timescale is uncertain. It is likely to be sooner rather than later Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG): TE gave a brief overview of the following documents 1. Healthcare Review Chiltern Vale Locality Update and asked members to provide any comments to him within the next 7days, for onward transmission to the BCCG Communication Team 2. Is A&E for me? leaflet. This is being distributed by the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group via the GP Practices. Patient Education: TE gave an overview of previous discussions that had taken place regarding the proposed Preventative Measure Advice Seminars for the education of patients and carer s on how to manage long-term conditions better. These sessions would eventually be held at the CV Locality Matthew House, as the necessary facilities to cater for larger number of people. Suggested subjects are to be prioritised and promoted by the CCG. It was also mentioned that the L&D Hospital already provided similar West Street Surgery Patient Participation Group Meeting Minutes 06/01/2015 Page 3

4 sessions for the general public. A number of the group had previously attended these JC wanted it noted that NHS Choices on the web provides very comprehensive and helpful advice, but can also be a little dangerous in some cases. 5. Merger of Caddington & West Street Surgeries: LS explained that it is still proceeding, and she is currently in the process of writing Job Descriptions in preparation for the back office restructure of the two Practices. She also explained that the proposed merger could encounter difficulties when it comes to finances, etc. Such hurdles could not be surmounted until the previous financial year s accounts of both parties are available for examination. These year-end statements are still awaited. 6. Information Leaflet Surgery: LS explained that she had received an from Paul Twenby, of Neighborhood Direct, which is the company adept at compiling Practice Information Leaflets, stating that he had received some negative feedback from local companies they had approached for advertising space. Such sources had said they we are merging and didn t know how long they intend to remain in the area? LS responded to Paul and gave him total reassurance on the areas of concern raised. Time constraints had prevented LS progressing further negotiations and work on the draft website prepared for West Street Surgery. 7. Length of GP Appointments: In response to questions LS explained that a doctor s standard appointment duration is ten minutes. Longer times may be requested from Reception staff on the advice and discretion of a GP during a previous consultation. Nurses appointments, are allocated standard pre-set times according to the nature of the examination or treatment being provided. Emergencies :- The question was then raised; what if a patient presented themselves at Reception clearly feeling seriously unwell? Would they be seen? LS confirmed that patients manifesting serious symptoms would be seen West Street Surgery Patient Participation Group Meeting Minutes 06/01/2015 Page 4

5 immediately, particularly when it s a child presented at Reception. Similarly, a parent ringing up with concerns regarding their child s acute symptoms will also be accommodated straight away. 8. Service Changes: Covered earlier in Item 4 Core Updates. 9. Any Other Business: JH requested that a clock be put up in the waiting room when the refurbishment works have been completed. JH also observed that the cleanliness of patient s toilets often left much to be desired; particularly near the end of each day. The question was also raised regarding the continuation of the Physiotherapy service after Helen O Brien leaves? LS explained that this is a contracted service previously occupying our premises at mutually convenient times Circle Healthcare manage the service on behalf of the BCCG. CJ Thanked and complimented LS for her clear explanation of the Surgery s operations and service arrangements. 10. Meeting Dates : Tuesday 14 th April 2015 Tuesday 14 th July 2015 Tuesday 13 th October 2015 Tuesday 5 th January 2016 AGM West Street Surgery Patient Participation Group Meeting Minutes 06/01/2015 Page 5