Yelverton Surgery – Important Update – 14^th February 2023 

Our Appointment System is Changing 

Dear Patients, 

Over the past three years we have had to work very differently due to the Covid pandemic. As a Practice we are always looking for the best way to manage our workload and to ensure our patients have good access to our services.  

What is the current situation?

The doctors spend a large proportion of their day on the phone to patients with less face-to-face contact than before Covid. We realise that this may not be ideal for you as patients and Doctors miss seeing their patients. 

Our workload has significantly increased compared to pre-pandemic levels, so we have decided to make some changes to the way in which we work.  

What is changing?

During the Spring we will be changing from our current total triage system, where you need to speak to a doctor first to be given an appointment, to a system where you can book routine telephone or face to face appointments directly with our friendly reception team. 

How will the new system work?

As we introduce this new appointment system, doctor call back (between 8am and 10am) will be for new onset of a medical problem which cannot wait until the next available routine appointment. 

It is not to discuss:

• test results,
• requests for fit notes for an ongoing problem,
• routine symptoms that could wait, or
• to discuss more than one problem. 

The duty doctor service will run from 10am to 6pm for matters which are medically urgent on the day and cannot wait until the following days call back or next available routine appointment. 

You will be able to continue to use our e consult system as normal.  

How do I book an urgent appointment?

If you have a clinical problem you are concerned about, especially if new, please call between 0800-1000 for same day doctor call back. The doctor will speak to you and arrange for you to be seen the same day if this is felt appropriate. 

What if I have an urgent problem outside of 0800-1000?

We have a duty doctor on call between 1000-1800 for urgent problems. We do ask if this problem is known about before 1000 that you ring then for a doctor call back as we have more capacity to offer you an urgent appointment in the morning. 

What if this is not urgent?

Please speak to a receptionist who will ask for an outline of your problem and direct you to the most appropriate appointment either by telephone, face to face or another service. They work closely with the duty doctor to ensure you are offered a timely appointment for your problem.  

How do I request test results?

You can see your results on the NHS app. Alternatively you can speak to a receptionist if you call in the afternoon. If you have concerns about your results, please book a routine telephone appointment with a doctor. Should the doctor be concerned about any result, you will be contacted for a more urgent appointment.  

How do I request a fit note?

If this is an ongoing problem, please submit an online form via our website or submit a written request. 

If you need a fit note for a new problem, you will need to discuss this with one of the doctors in a routine call. Fit notes can be backdated so they are not prioritised as urgent.

How do I request medication?

To improve your access to urgent care, we will no longer be accepting medication requests over the phone. We ask that you make these requests in writing, e consult or via the NHS app. This is to ensure safe prescribing. We ask that you request medication at least 5 working days before they are due. We will no longer process urgent same day requests for medication.  

What are we asking reception to do?

Our receptionists are skilled members of the team who maintain confidentiality at all times. They will continue to ask for a brief description when booking an appointment to ensure the correct service is chosen. They will be signposting you to the most suitable services for your problem. This also ensures that we have the capacity to deal with any urgent problem in a timely matter. You may be signposted to the local pharmacy, our practice based first contact physio or mental health nurse. We still ask you to contact an optician for minor eye conditions and to speak to a dentist for any dental issues. We cannot manage minor injuries as we do not have the required equipment. 

Your patience is appreciated!

Our reception team will be learning how to work in a new way, and we would ask for your patience and understanding whilst we move to a system which we hope you will find more efficient. We would ask that you treat members of our team as you would wish to be treated. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

Drs Beth Lynch, Matt Best, Lisa Kelly, Laura Burring, Evyatar Avivi, Paul Giles, Claire Fox and all the Yelverton Surgery Staff. 

As a member practice of West Devon Primary Care Network Yelverton Surgery are offering services to patients outside of normal working hours.

You can now book early morning appointments with our Health Care Assistant on Mondays and Fridays between 7.30am – 8.00am. This will primarily be for blood tests which have been requested by a doctor and these appointments can be booked by contacting our reception team.

Our doctors will undertake online consultations between 6.30pm and 8pm from Monday to Thursday. This service will be available for non-urgent medical matters and can be accessed through the e-consult form above.

Who can Opt-Out? Anyone aged 13 and above

Act now if you want your and your children(s) names to be removed from NHS Data Sharing with third parties.

Please follow the link below to complete both  processes.

 https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/

If you are prescribed a Ventolin (Salbutamol) inhaler you will shortly receive a letter from us as we are in the process of switching the brand of your salbutamol (reliever) inhaler to an equally effective brand containing the same amount of active ingredient.

The NHS are working toward reducing the Carbon Footprint by reviewing their prescribing, the document ‘Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service’ highlights the long term plan to reduce carbon emissions.

Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) use hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA) propellants which are potent greenhouse gases, 1000 – 3000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. MDIs account for almost 25% of a GP’s prescribing Carbon Footprint.

Salbutamol (Ventolin) inhalers have more than double the carbon footprint of other Salbutamol MDIs, so we have switched your inhaler to Salamol which delivers the same amount of the active ingredient and works in the same way. The container is slightly smaller, but contains the same amount of doses. Your pharmacy may have already given you this brand in the past.

Please always ensure that you take any used or unwanted inhalers back to your local Pharmacy for appropriate disposal. Inhalers should not be put into household waste as this allows release of remaining HFAs into the atmosphere.

For safety reasons we may close our call back service earlier than 10am and ask you to call back the following day. If, however, your problem is medically urgent you will be added to our call back and duty doctor clinic.

To help us to help you access care in the best way possible we have asked our receptionists to ask a few more questions than they normally would. This is not a barrier to you accessing care but we may, for example, direct you to a pharmacist for advice before speaking to a doctor.

We realise this situation can be frustrating but we need to work at safe levels and being abusive to our receptionists will not be tolerated.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sadly and disappointingly members of our team have been experiencing a higher level than usual of verbal and written abuse, aggression and derogatory comments from patients and their relatives. We appreciate that you may be upset, worried or distressed but it is not acceptable to shout, swear, threaten or otherwise abuse our hard working team.

We will not tolerate this behaviour and you may be asked to register elsewhere. In some circumstances we may also contact the police.

Thankfully the majority of our patients appreciate our efforts in challenging circumstances.

If you have a complaint this should be put in writing addressed to our Practice Manager, Mrs Sue Edwards.

Introduction

Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. They are primarily for surveillance and security purposes.

CCTV is installed at the Practice premises for the purposes of staff, patient, and premises security. Cameras are located at various places on the premises, and images from the cameras are recorded.

Why we have installed CCTV

• Ensure the safety of patients, personnel and property
• Reduce costs of vandalism
• Reduce costs of theft or damage to expensive medical equipment and other valuable asset
• Protect staff and patients by deterring and resolving disruptive and violent behaviour in reception and other public access zone
• Reduce risk and cost of theft of drugs from surgery
• Deter and protect against the threat of patient abductions or abuse

The Practice's CCTV policy

CCTV is in place on the outer premises of the surgery and the front entrance and CCTV has been installed solely for the safety and security of our patients and staff. Images are recorded 24 hours a day, seven days a week and stored locally on hard drives of the recording devices. The recording device is situated in a locked room, the recording device is protected by password and only the manager and owners of the practice have access to the recordings. The managers and the IT lead regularly check that the CCTV devices are working as intended.

All CCTV recordings are stored on our recording devices/ hard-drives for 4 weeks before being deleted.

If you require a copy of our policy, please ask at Reception.

Yelverton Surgery covers a large rural area extending from the north of Plymouth across to Dartmeet and Hexworthy in the east and Grenofen to the west.

We have a branch surgery at Princetown which is held Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays between 3pm to 4.10pm. The surgery at Princetown is only available to patients who live in Princetown. We dispense prescriptions for patients living in the Princetown area.

We are a training practice and have doctors training to become General Practitioners working in the Surgery. They work with us for up to a year at a time. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Please be aware that Yelverton Surgery  will never ask for any of your bank details over the telephone. If you are ever concerned about the validity of a call made by us please ring us back on our telephone number and report any suspicious calls to the police on 101.

• For many people things are difficult right now, and that’s why we’re supporting the @NSPCC who are still here for children who need their support now more than ever. If you’re worried about a child, please call their helpline on 0808 800 5000 or you can email help@nspcc.org.uk.