Don’t call us, we’ll text you
Wyndham House has again scored in the very top percentile in the annual government
General Practice patient survey. A random 5% of adult patients in every GP surgery in England
receive a questionnaire asking them to rate their GP practice in a multitude of areas. An
enormous thank you to those who completed the questionnaires this year for rating our team
and our service so highly.
We are one of the approximately 1000 GP practices that can dispense medication to their
patients. This privilege comes with a lot of work but also enables us to solve problems with
medication quickly. Getting the correct medication in the required timeframe is often the
weakest link in medical care outside of hospital. Recently we have had some changes in our
dispensary team but we are now back to full strength with Caroline and Polly joining us over
the summer. We have also started to use an automated system that will let patients know
when their medications have been dispensed and are ready for collection. At the same time
as your bag of medication is placed on the shelf for pick up a text will be sent to your mobile
phone. This means you will no longer have to pop in to see if medication is ready; just wait for
the text.
We have always asked patients to leave 3 – 5 working days between requesting and collecting
their repeat medication. This needs to remain the expected time frame as occasionally
common drugs can be difficult to source due to manufacturing hiccoughs. This is the most
common reason for longer waits as we try to source then from elsewhere. However, since we
both prescribe and dispense there is always the option of prescribing an alternative and this
is what we do when required. Please do not ring the surgery asking about medication until
after the 5-day window. We are predicting that almost everyone will receive a text well within,
and sometimes a lot earlier, than the expected time. We hope patients will welcome the new
system.
This is an example of increasing the use of mobile phone communication alongside
development of the NHS App that is central to Government planning for the NHS. You can now
use the NHS App to see your clinical records and test results. You can also use it to order your
repeat prescriptions and book appointments. In the Autumn we are planning to pilot a new
system for booking flu vaccinations on-line. All these changes mean the benefits of using a
mobile phone continue to increase. Joan Povey, our Digital Social Prescriber, continues to run
sessions from RoomForU as well as being available for one-to-one assistance if you need help
setting up a device or you are new to the digital world. If you would like to meet with Joan, let
the Wyndham reception team know and we will put you in touch.
Anthony O’Brien
Wyndham House Surgery