Carolside Medical Centre

Current Newsletter: JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

TRAINING UPDATE
At Carolside we are a GP Training Practice. This means that we train qualified doctors to be the GPs of the future.
Over the last few years GP training has changed a lot so here is an update.
After an initial 2 years in hospital following graduation, doctors go on to specialist training. Currently GP specialist training is 4 years, during which the doctors or registrars, as they are known, spend 6 months in the practice during their second year of training, and the whole of their fourth year of training.
The registrars are assessed continuously throughout the four years and finally they have to pass a three part examination. Firstly, a test of medical knowledge and practical business knowledge about General Practice. Secondly, an assessment which examines them consulting with actors as patients, and lastly a workplace based assessment which is done by us in the practice, and covers everything relevant to General Practice.
In order for us to do this properly we need the registrars to be exposed to as much General Practice as possible and this includes consulting with patients. We also record some of these consultations to ensure they are developing good communication skills and good clinical skills. We are, therefore, dependent on our patients helping with this and if you have already taken part in this we thank you for your help.
Confidentiality is a priority in this exercise. After the registrar has recorded the consultation it is then watched by the registrar together with one of the trainers in the practice (Drs Campbell. Pickard and Boyd). It is assessed, recommendations made and then the recording is deleted.
If you are asked to take part in a training video appointment, PLEASE consider it, as you will be helping us to train good GPs for the future.

EXTENDED HOURS
The practice GPs commenced participation in the ‘Extended Hours’ service from 4th April 2011 (for a trial period).

On a Tuesday and Thursday morning we will have a few, pre-bookable appointments available between 7 and 8 am. These must be booked by 6pm the previous evening.
The practice will not be open for normal business until 8.30 am and phones will not be switched on until 8.30 am. Any patients who require to be seen urgently the same day should contact the surgery after 8.30 am.

The early morning appointments are purely for routine matters and must be pre-booked - they should not be used for urgent medical matters or intimate medical examinations.

These appointments may be suitable to you if you cannot attend the practice during usual working hours (8.30 am – 6.00 pm).

Please ask at reception if you would like to book one of these appointments.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS
If you change your address, please fill in a change of address form and hand this into reception. Please make sure you fill in all sections and include a post code and telephone number.

If you have moved outwith the area and we have no forwarding address for you, we may require to remove you from our list, as per Health Board regulations.

CHECKING IN AT RECEPTION
Please note a recent system change – we are now asking every patient to check in at reception when they attend for appointments. This helps with the smooth running of surgeries.

SAMPLES
Please ensure all samples are handed to a staff member (not left on reception) so that they can check that the appropriate paperwork is filled in. Thank you.

SAMPLES LEFT WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE PAPERWORK WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

RESULTS
Lab results are usually received at lunchtime, therefore, if you are phoning for results, please do so after 2pm.

Also - we receive a very high volume of telephone calls on a Monday, it would be helpful to us if you could refrain from telephoning for results on a Monday.

NEW PATIENTS
Please ensure you have filled in a new patient health form and registration form (or handed in your medical card). You can also make a 'new patient medical' nurse appointment if you wish.

OUT OF HOURS COVER
The practice is open from 8.30 am – 6.00 pm, Mon to Fri (excluding public holidays). If you require urgent medical advice/attention when the practice is closed, please telephone NHS24 on 08454 242424.

ETHNICITY RECORDING
We are now recording patients’ ethnic origin and whether or not they need interpreter services. This is for purely statistical reasons, and so that required interpreter services can be assessed. Please do not be offended if you are asked to supply this information. You can refuse to do so, if you would rather not.

PRIVATE FEES
Doctors are often asked to fill in forms/write reports or letters for patients, ie for insurance forms, holiday cancellations etc. This is non-NHS work and a fee is charged (fee list displayed at reception).

We have noticed that a small number of patients have had private letters/reports issued, but have failed to pay fees. We feel this is discourteous to the doctors/nurses who have spent time reviewing patient records and undertaking the work. It also has an impact on our secretarial and admin time, which is an added cost to the practice.

Patients who have failed to pay fees in the past may be refused any future requests. We would appreciate your co-operation.

DEFIBRILLATOR
The practice now own a defibrillator. This was purchased using a very kind donation from Mrs Moir in memory of her late husband, Mr James Moir, and a grant from the Bristish Heart Foundation. Their generosity is very much appreciated.

TRAVEL VACCINATIONS
If you require travel vaccinations, please ask for a ‘travel form’ (available from reception or our website: carolsidemc.co.uk). Please fill in and return form to reception. A practice nurse will go through your form, obtain information and contact you to arrange an appointment for vaccinations, if necessary.

We require 6 weeks’ notice. If you cannot provide adequate notice, we cannot provide travel advice/vaccinations for you. Contact numbers for alternative clinics are available on our ‘travel form’.

NEW EAR IRRIGATION GUIDELINES
There are new ear irrigation (formerly syringing) guidelines. Ear irrigation is not always recommended. Guidelines regarding procedures to follow can be issued from reception on request.

NURSE APPOINTMENTS
Our nursing staff offer different types of appointment, eg:"Treatment Room",
Bloods -
Nurse Brenda Thomson-Mon/Wed/Fri PM
Chronic disease clinic appointments, ie asthma, heart disease etc, well woman appointments – Srs Anne MacDonald/Jenny Reekie. Anne can also prescribe contraception. If you are unsure who to book with, please check at reception.

WHEELCHAIR RAMP
We now have a removable wheelchair ramp available for use (via the car park). If you require to use the ramp, please inform a member of staff prior to your appointment so that someone can be available to set-up/supervise the use of the ramp. Thank you.

NEW SERVICE – IMPLANON
Sister MacDonald now has appointments available for Implanon (long-term contraception) insertion and removal. If you would like an appointment, please make enquiries at reception. You may be asked to leave your telephone number so that Sister Macdonald can contact you to arrange a suitable time for you to attend.

TEMPORARY RESIDENTS
You can be treated at this practice as a temporary resident (T/R) if you require urgent medical attention while staying, for a short period, with a relative or friend who is registered with us. If you request a prescription, we may need to contact the doctor your are permanently registered and obtain authorisation from them before the prescription is issued.

It is important to note the following:
You should only be seen as a T/R if you require urgent medical attention. Any long-term conditions should be dealt with by the GP with whom you are registered. If you are registered with a GP in the near vicinity, we cannot treat you as a T/R, you should visit your own GP. NB: If hospital referral is required, you should consult the GP with whom you are registered – we can only refer patients registered with this practice. You can be treated as a T/R for a maximum of three months, after which time you will require to register fully with the practice, if you wish to continue to receive medical treatment here. If you do not wish to register with this practice after three months, your details will be removed.

TELEPHONE LINE PROBLEMS
The practice experienced telephone line problems for approximately one month from mid-December 2011. This resulted in unavailability of our telephone system and also affected our computer network (email/internet). This caused a great deal of disruption for patients and staff members.

The matter was outwith our control, however, we did write a formal letter of complaint to our telephone line provider. We would also like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by this disruption to our services and to thank you for your patience during these difficult few weeks.

APPOINTMENTS SYSTEM
We have participated in the Scottish Primary Care Collaborative (SPCC) Project, and have achieved/sustained 'advanced access', ie routine appointments can be offered within one day. When you ask for an appointment, you will be offered a range of different types of appointment. We offer face-to-face appointments with doctors/nurses, telephone consultation appointments with doctors/nurses and phone advice calls.

Appropriate telephone consultations:
medication review, discussion of results, continuation sick line (not first line).

Inappropriate telephone consultations:
anything which requires examination, ie, rashes, chest infections, repeat prescription requests - these must be submitted in writing either over the counter, by post, fax or email (see section about Website).

LATE FOR AN APPOINTMENT?
If you are late for an appointment, we cannot guarantee that you will be seen – this will be a decision made by the doctor/nurse your appointment is with. You may be asked to re-appoint or wait until the end of the surgery. Please ensure you check in when you attend for an appointment.

Late attendance for GP/nurse appointments is becoming an increasing problem and is the commonest cause of our surgeries running late. We have also had one or two occasions recently when patients have been rude to reception staff when they have been asked to re-appoint or wait a while to see the GP/nurse. Staff are only carrying out duties they are asked to, please do not take your frustration out on them – this will not be tolerated. Please do not book an appointment if you know you might struggle to arrive on time. We appreciate that sometimes you may be kept waiting for an appointment – this may be because a surgery is running late due to patients attending prior to your appointment arriving late, or due to the fact that your GP/nurse has had to deal with a medical emergency. We do all we can to try to avoid this, and would appreciate your co-operation by making sure you arrive on time for your appointment. Thank you.

FAILURE TO KEEP APPOINTMENTS
If you find you no longer wish an appointment you have made, please inform us immediately. An appointment you no longer wish could be re-allocated to another patient.

DIABETIC CLINIC
The Diabetic Annual Review Clinic takes place on the second and third Thursday of the month. This clinic offers a review with our practice nurse, and the community podiatrist and dietician.
It is quite a task administratively to arrange these appointments, therefore, we would appreciate it if you avoid cancelling and attend at the time allocated.

PODIATRY SELF-REFERRAL
A Podiatry self -referral system is in place at Clarkston Clinic. Tel: 0141 636 8421.
NB: the Physio Self-referral Telephone line is no longer available. Self-referral forms can be obtained at reception and submitted by patients to Clarkston Clinic. Physiotherapy home visit requests still require GP referral.

PRACTICE WEBSITE
Our new practice website is now available at carolsidemc.co.uk

The website supplies useful information and allows patients to request repeat prescriptions. NB: please don't expect a reply to your requests for prescriptions. Processing time for repeats is 48 hrs.

The web-based prescription request system should only be used for requesting prescriptions. NB: we have noticed a problem with this system in that we don’t always receive requests made. Our IT maintenance team have been unable to identify why this is happening, so please use this service at your own risk!!!