Autumn Newsletter

Welcome to our Autumn Newsletter. We hope you find the articles of interest.

We are a team of seventy now and so there will always be some news of departures and arrivals. We are sorry to say farewell to Dr Emma Derbyshire after seven years with Westfield/Ryeland Surgery. She goes on to pastures new and we thank her for her care for so many patients during her time with us. We look forwarding to welcoming Dr Chuwunonso Nduka in her place in the coming weeks. At that point patients who have Dr Derbyshire as their "usual GP" will be
transferred to Dr Nduka. We also look forward to Dr Rebekah Hilton joining us soon, for just three sessions each week during which she will provide medical cover for some of our care homes and, in particular, our patients with learning difficulties. This will be a very positive development,
allowing more proactive and planned care for those patients.

A reminder that patients are registered with Ryeland Surgery, but allocated to a usual GP. This is the doctor we encourage you to ask to see for ongoing issues, but not necessarily for acute problems, when it may be more appropriate to see a different clinician. Your usual GP will see all your pathology results (such as blood and urine tests), X-ray and scan results and post from the hospital or other services. They sign your repeat prescriptions and perform medication reviews after your annual chronic disease reviews. We encourage "continuity of care" with the usual GP as far as possible. Should you wish to transfer to a different usual GP we will consider your request, but we do need to keep an even allocation of patients across our 15 GPs.

Many will be aware of the BMA's "collective action". The vast majority of GP practices in England are participating, including all those in Herefordshire. This is not industrial action or a strike and is NOT about pay. It is about the proportion of NHS funding that goes to Primary Care (General Practice) - that needs to increase so that practices can employ more doctors, nurses and staff to meet the needs of their communities. There are a number of actions that practices can take part in. We have chosen just one - "Safe Working". This limits the number of consultations a GP has each day to 25. For many years we have offered 15 minute appointments (not the 10 minutes that many surgeries offer) and have limited standard surgeries to 11 patients, so most days our GPs are already working within this safe limit. The doctor who may exceed the limit is our "duty GP" who covers our urgent duty list. This can be a very busy session and will, on occasions, exceed the limit of 25 contacts. If and when that happens, we will be diverting patients to 111 and alternative services locally. We very much hope this rarely happens but if it does, it will be in keeping with working safely.

Finally, we are delighted to have been nominated for "Practice of the Year" in the Hereford Times Health and Social Care Awards. We are grateful to the individual who took time to complete the nomination and to all those of you who support us in our work. Providing good primary care is a team effort, in which patients, families, carers and our whole team must work together.

Ryeland Surgery Patient Participation Group

The new Ryeland Surgery PPG had it’s first official meeting in June 2024, a very successful and productive meeting. The PPG members will be in attendance at our Autumn Flu and Covid clinics to promote the Group and to assist the surgery in identifying unpaid carers.

Members will be able to answer any questions patients may have about what a PPG is and what is involved in being a member and, we hope, gain interest from potential new members. They will also have forms available for patients to register as a new carer and for existing carers who would like additional information on support available. Please do have a chat with them on your way through the clinic.

Flu & Covid Vaccination Clinics

As in previous years these will be held at Earl Mortimer College, South St Leominster HR6 8JJ

The clinics will be held on

Saturday 12th October
Saturday 19th October
Saturday 26th October

Please do not attend if you have not booked an appointment slot.

Invites will be sent out by text or letter. If you think you are eligible and haven't heard from us by 1st October please contact the practice. Housebound patients will be vaccinated throughout October, if you are housebound and haven't heard from us by 31st October please contact the practice. (Housebound means you are completely unable to leave your home by any means other than ambulance).

RSV Vaccination from September 2024

This is a one time only vaccine to help protect against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) will be available on the NHS from September 2024. You'll be able to get the vaccine if:

you're aged 75 to 79: Please wait for the surgery to contact you, we will be offering the vaccination over the next few months and will be inviting eligible patients in stages.
you're 28 weeks pregnant or more: this will help protect your baby for the first few months after they're born. Please speak to your Maternity Department or the surgery if you are 28 weeks or more.

More information about the vaccine is available on the NHS website

Patient Triage

It is no secret that GP Practices face increasing pressure to help patients get the right advice and support as efficiently as possible.

At Ryeland Surgery we pride ourselves on continually looking at new ways to improve our service. Therefore, in order to ensure we meet the ever increasing demand and needs of our patients whilst ensuring resources are utilised appropriately, we continually review the way we deliver care and looking at new ways of supporting our patients.

What is Patient Triage?

Patient Triage is an evidence based online platform, which can be accessed via our website, that enables patients to request medical advice from the practice by simply completing an online consultation form. This service should not be used for urgent medical problems but is ideal for requesting advice for non-urgent issues. You will be able to describe your symptoms and attach photos if appropriate. You can also request sick notes or make administration enquiries through this service. It is quick and simple to use.

Following submission, you will receive contact from the practice within 2 working days with further advice or for an appointment to be arranged.

What are the benefits to patients?

Patients can send an online consult at a time convenient to them and not have to wait until the surgery is open
Patients have their enquiry remotely assessed and be contacted within two working days potentially without the need to visit the surgery in person, and no need to wait in the telephone queue as we will contact you.

We are confident that Patient Triage can significantly improve the patient experience at Ryeland Surgery. Patient Triage is used by over 6 million people throughout the UK and has demonstrated high patient satisfaction and excellent outcomes.

Ryeland Research Studies

Ryeland continues to support a number of NHS research studies and their success is thanks to our patients who take the time to participate. These cover a number of conditions such as high blood pressure in elderly patients, atrial fibrillation, asthma in children, diabetic screening and Parkinson’s disease. You can find out more about these and how to take part in the Research section of our website (www.ryelandsurgery.co.uk/research).

Patient Feedback

Friends and Family Test forms are offered to patients randomly as they attend the practice, and a random selection are also sent a text asking for their feedback. If you receive a feedback form please do complete and return it.

Results are as follows:

Very good/good 93.7%
Neither good nor poor 1.4%
Poor/very poor 4.9%

Blood pressure monitoring at home

Patients are encouraged to have a blood pressure monitor as part of their first aid box at home. They are widely available for about £10 and are very simple to use. Blood pressure readings taken over a few days at home are often more useful than a single reading taken at the practice, and results can be sent to us by text, email or in person.

Whilst we do have some monitors that we can loan to patients there is currently a 2 month waiting list, so we are asking for those patients who are able to purchase their own monitor, to please do so.

Foreign Travel

Please be aware we only offer a limited number of vaccinations for travel under the NHS which are tetanus, polio, diphtheria, typhoid and hepatitis A. All other vaccinations for travel purposes will have to be sourced privately.
It is our practice policy to not prescribe Diazepam for flying. If you feel you need medication for flying you will need to source this privately.

Please visit our website page for further information

Zero Tolerance

NHS Staff must be able to come to work without fear of violence, abuse or harrassment from patients or their relatives. The NHS has a zero tolerence attitude towards violence.

Violent, threatening or abusive behaviour including shouting and swearing will not be tolerated at this practice.

Patients who act in such a manner will be asked to leave the premises; the police may be called and you could be removed from our patient list.

The practice takes any bullying / threatening or undermining remarks about staff on social media very seriously and this will not be tolerated. Any such action may result in reporting the contributor to the police with regard to offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and Communications Act 2003.

Our staff are here to help you, please treat them with respect.

Published: Oct 17, 2024

Functional Cookies

3rd Party Cookies