Reeth Medical Centre

Dispensary Angels

The expression: ‘The impossible we can do immediately, but miracles take a little longer’ might be used to describe the service provided by our Dispensers:  Christine, Amanda and Marie.

As you know, we ask for 2 working days’ notice to process prescriptions, but on many occasions the Dispensary has your medication ready far in advance of that time.

The reason we ask for 2 days is because it is impossible to hold a stock of every item of medication. It would take up most of the building! We can only keep a limited supply of drugs in stock, and we place orders every day.  We receive two deliveries a day, as well as special deliveries if an item is urgently required.

When there is a public holiday, this causes extra strain on the Dispensary to ensure you have your vital medication during the time the surgery is closed.  If you are going on holiday, we need advanced notice if you have to ‘double up’ on your medication. Please also remember that there may be a ‘queue’ of requests ahead of you.

Dispensary Facts Just to give you a bit of insight, we thought we’d give you a few facts about the Dispensary process. 

At Reeth Medical Centre we dispense 3,500 prescriptions a month.

The Dispensers are highly qualified to do their job. Christine has an NVQ Level 3 in Dispensing Services and Amanda and Marie have NVQ Level 2.  Their knowledge and experience is vital. If patients are issued with the wrong drugs it could potentially be very dangerous, and this is the reason why only the Dispensers, Doctors or Nurse may issue you with your prescription. Our Receptionists are not qualified, so if there are no Dispensers available at the time you call to collect your prescription, please be patient until they arrive.

To process your prescription the Dispensers have to check the order is correct and whether you need to see the doctor or nurse before it can be issued. The doctor signs them off before they are made up and checked twice.

Orders are placed with the pharmaceutical companies and when they arrive the stock is checked and put away, or issued in prescriptions.

When you collect your medication, the Dispensers check whether they need to be paid for or are exempt; the correct boxes are ticked and signed for by the patient or their representative.  These are checked by the doctor and sent to the Health Authority.

So, please be patient patients and allow our Dispensary Angels to continue to do what they are already brilliant at, and give them plenty of time to give you the best service.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Reeth Medical Centre Newsletter Sept/Oct

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Reeth Medical Centre Newsletter Sept/Oct (.doc, 452.5 KB)

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Health Visitor Services at Reeth Medical Centre

Those of you with young babies and children will value the support of a Health Visitor during the formative years.

We are fortunate here to have regular Health Visitor clinics on the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of every month from 11.00 am to 12.00 noon. In addition, you can contact the Health Visitors by telephone at any time, just by calling the Friary Clinic where they are based on 01748 822122.

Ann Metcalfe, Assistant Practitioner, will usually hold the Reeth clinics.  Ann is based at the Friary Clinic in Richmond, and works in liaison with Kath Wise and Pam Spear, both Health Visitors, who can also be contacted at the Friary.  In addition, their Team Leader is called Gill Common, who can be contacted on 01609 751333. All of these, of course, will work in close consultation with the doctors.

I know we are all keen to retain the services of the Health Visitor, so please make the most of their clinics in Reeth.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Reeth Medical Centre Newletter July/August

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Reeth Medical Centre Newletter July/August (.doc, 232 KB)

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Travel Vaccinations

It’s the time of year when many people dream of escaping the winter weather and taking off to far-flung exotic destinations. Who can blame them?  Before you jet off, however, it’s worth taking time to have a consultation with our nurse, Kim. 

It couldn’t be simpler. Just notify our Receptionists who will let you have a travel questionnaire either by email or post.  This will give us the opportunity to research in depth the relevant vaccinations you need for your trip.  Once this has been done a consultation will be arranged with the nurse to administer the vaccinations and explain why they are required.

Vaccinations are never given unnecessarily, and the questionnaire you are asked to complete will require you to state what activities you might be undertaking on your holiday.  Your exposure to disease will obviously be greater if you are trekking through the jungle than if you are going on a coach tour, so it’s important to let us have as much detail as you can.

Please leave plenty of time for these immunisations. Some require 2 or 3 visits to ensure you are properly protected, and some anti-malarials need to be taken well in advance of your trip.

Sadly, travel advice and vaccinations are not provided by the NHS. However, at Reeth Medical Centre we offer a travel consultation for £15.00 per person, with the benefit of certain vaccinations being free to patients registered here.

If you would like to receive your travel questionnaire by email to speed things up, just tell Janice or Vicki and they will let you have all the details.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Reeth Medical Centre Newsletter May/Jun 09

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Reeth Medical Centre Newsletter May/Jun 09 (.doc, 3 MB)

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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On line appointments - Contact by E-mail - 'Blogging' the Doctor

Some of you already order your prescriptions on-line.  This is proving to be mutually beneficial as prescriptions can be processed more effectively.

From now on, you can also book Doctors appointments for the Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon clinics on-line.

As with on line prescription ordering, you will require your log-in and password to use this facility. Just ask Janice or Vicki, our Receptionists, who will organise this for you.

Whilst I’m in the technological vein, some of you have given us your email addresses for ease and speed of contact.  As with all other personal details, these are held in the strictest confidence and will not be divulged to any other party.

If you would like contact by email, just mention this to Janice or Vicki, and if you wish, we can send you the Reeth Gazette articles and the Reeth Medical Centre Newsletters by email. Just let us know.

You can also view our new blog on our website:  www.reeth.org.uk.  I’m keen to encourage discussion, tell you about new medical advances, answer questions, so please log on and join in the hot debates of the week!

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Model Publication Scheme 2009

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Model Publication Scheme 2009 (.doc, 184.5 KB)

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Emergency calls

A word about what to do in the case of an EMERGENCY.  

People are often confused as to what is and what isn’t an emergency; and when or if to call the emergency services. The simple answer is: IF IN DOUBT - CALL 999. We are concerned that sometimes patients call the surgery to alert the Doctors to a potential emergency before calling for an ambulance.

Remember:

999 first

Doctor second

One of the Doctors will come to you as soon as possible, but vital time can be lost waiting for one of us to arrive when an ambulance can already be on the way, carrying life-saving equipment.  The Doctors may be with another patient, out visiting, or out of mobile telephone range. Your message will reach us as soon as possible, but in a life-threatening situation, the emergency services are the first and best course of action.

Some of you may think ‘I don’t want to bother the emergency services’.  Please don’t worry.  The ambulance service will take all the details. Their staff are trained to assess the urgency of the situation.  An ambulance can always be cancelled if ultimately it is not required, but it is vital to be safe than sorry.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR? NOT REGISTERED YET?

There are people living in the area who are not yet registered with a doctor, for a variety of reasons - people who believe themselves to be in the rudest of health, or who simply haven’t had the time to come and fill a couple of forms.

Being registered with a doctor is now more important than ever before, as the threat of the Swine ‘flu pandemic increases, it could cause unnecessary delay in obtaining vital antiviral medication.  In addition, the National Health Screening Services use local GP Practice lists to create invitations to attend for breast, bowel and cervical cancer screening.  If you are not registered you may slip through the loop.  It is important to be part of these programmes to ensure that you are checked periodically and any problems picked up early.

Anyone living in the area who is not registered with a local GP is welcome to join our practice list, whether you’ve just moved into the area or felt you never needed to see a doctor. It’s is a very straight forward process. (The Receptionists are not dragons – honest!).

You can just ‘phone, call in, or email us to let us know (info@gp-b82622.nhs.uk), or check out our website: www.reeth.org.uk. Alternatively have a look at the NHS Choices website to locate your nearest GP practice.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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SWINE FLU

Sorry to put a damper on things but I do need to keep you up to date on the latest news regarding swine ‘flu.  So the message is quite a serious one.  Sadly, swine ‘flu is on the increase and the government has officially given it pandemic status.

The problem with swine ‘flu, and the reason it can spread so quickly, is that because it is a new virus, no-one has any natural immunity to it and everyone could be at risk of catching it.

Whilst many of us will experience the usual ‘flu like symptoms and be over it in a few days, it may affect others more seriously, particularly the very young, the elderly and those who suffer from chronic diseases.

There are, however, things we can do to try and contain it. You should have already received through your door, leaflets from the Department of Health with advice of what to do, and what not to do, but feel free to collect one from Reeth Medical Centre if you can’t place yours.

If you think you may be suffering from swine ‘flu the most important thing is to keep away from other people.  In other words STAY INDOORS!  Don’t hesitate to call us to speak to one of the doctors if you have two or more of the following symptoms: High fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, chills, body aches, fatigue or tiredness, but PLEASE, don’t come to the surgery.

If you are diagnosed with swine ‘flu by the doctor, you may need to take antiviral medication and it is important that you receive your medication as fast as possible. However, antiviral medication cannot be supplied from the Dispensary at Reeth Medical Centre.

Instead, the NHS has appointed designated collection points in the region. A prescription or voucher for the antiviral medication can be collected from Reeth Medical Centre by a friend and taken to one of these antiviral collection points.

Who can collect my voucher and where can I get the antiviral medication?

Once your diagnosis has been confirmed by the Doctor, please appoint your own ‘Flu Friend’ and ask them to come to the surgery to collect your prescription or voucher. Do not under any circumstances come to collect it yourself.

The staff at here will tell your ‘Flu Friend’ where the nearest antiviral collection point is – and will also give directions. The authorised voucher can only be taken to one of the named pharmacies or collection points.

Won’t my ‘flu friend’ need medication as well?

No.  People who are in contact with (or who think they might have been in contact with), someone who has swine ‘flu, do not need antiviral treatment unless they themselves are unwell.

Above all, the message is: Protect yourself. Protect others. Call us on 884396 or the Out of Hours number is:  0845 056 8060.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Prepayment Certificates for Prescriptions

I’m sure many of you will be aware that you are entitled to free prescriptions or even some assistance with the cost of prescriptions, but some of you may not.

If you are over 60 you already qualify for free prescriptions and many others are exempt from payment for a variety of reasons, but a large percentage of people are not, and this is where it becomes expensive for people who require a lot of medication.

In the current economic climate many of us are having to tighten our belts, so it is worth being aware that it may be better to buy a Prescription Pre-payment Certificate or PPC as it is known.

A PPC is worth while if:

• you need more than 4 prescription items in 3 months
• you need more than 14 prescription items in 12 months

On 1^st April 2009 the cost of a single prescription item increased to £7.20.  A 3 month PPC will cost you £28.25 and a 12 month PPC will cost £104.  So you can see there is a saving if you need quite a few medications. Once you have a PPC, there is no extra charge if you need other medication, for example, courses of antibiotics or pain-killers for unexpected problems.

You can obtain an application form for a PPC from our Dispensers, Christine and Amanda, or you can telephone: 0845 850 0030; or apply online at www.ppa.org.uk/ppc.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Hi Tech Consultations with the Doctor!

Two Dales Live!

The waiting is over.  We are pleased to announce our new arrival: ‘Two Dales Live!’ - a secure, internet based service, which allows patients face to face access to their doctor from an external location, as well as to a wide range of medical services.

We believe Two Dales Live will be of greatest benefit to those who live and work in remote locations, or who find it difficult to come in to the medical centre. It won’t, of course, replace a face to face consultation should you wish to see the doctor in person, although through the wonders of the ‘web-cam’, both doctor and patient can see each other throughout the consultation.

Suitable consultations include advice, medication reviews or the sending of information to/from the doctor.

This is probably the first scheme in the country where patients can access their GP via the internet, and an exciting step forward in patient care. There is already a lot of interest from the wider NHS – so you can see that the two Dales are really leading the way!

How can I access this service?

At the moment Two Dales Live can only be accessed from the booths in the village halls or from Hudson House in Reeth. (It will not work from a home computer), and it is currently a pilot project, as we try to assess what the demand will be.

We are asking patients to pre-book a consultation as they would normally arrange a face to face consultation.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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Why am I having this test?

Some of you might have had a ‘phone call from Vicki or Janice, our Receptionists, asking you to have a blood test or blood pressure check.

I realise that getting a call to ‘come in and see the doctor or nurse’ can sound a bit daunting, so I thought I’d try and explain.

Reeth Medical Centre has recently overhauled the way it monitors long-term conditions.  Using national recommendations for good medical practice, we have set up a system for monitoring people with conditions such as blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and asthma. 

The check ups are designed to pick up problems early, perhaps before there are symptoms, so that preventative steps can be taken.  For example, high blood pressure does not normally have symptoms, yet can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.  Monitoring and treating blood pressure can significantly reduce this risk. 

Some of the check-ups require a blood test. This is because some conditions, such as heart disease and high blood pressure can be associated with other problems such as diabetes and kidney disease. Again, there may be no symptoms in the early stages of disease, and these tests help us to detect if there are any early signs.

Most of the blood tests are done as fasting samples – this is because eating/drinking before can affect the results of the tests and give high sugar and cholesterol readings, so some of you will be asked to go without breakfast.  Early appointments with Kim our Practice Nurse, are recommended!

The administration staff are working to keep the monitoring checks to a minimum – they are synchronising the checks for people with more than one long term condition so that our patients are inconvenienced as little as possible.

To try and make life easier for our patients, we are reminding you by telephone when the checks are due, and if possible, arranging an appointment for you there and then, to save you having to call back later.  If you would prefer a written reminder, please let us know.

The nurse will be able to discuss the tests with you at the time.  The results are normally reviewed by the doctors, who will contact you if there is any need to change your current treatment plan.  If you do have any concerns or further questions, please speak to either Dr Anderson or myself.

Last updated on 10 May 2010.

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