Nightingale Surgery

Contacting the practice questionnaire results

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Contacting the practice questionnaire results (.doc, 374.5 KB)

Last updated on 28 March 2012.

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The Patients Participation Group.

 

Report from Chair, Jean Pushman

 Events in the past year have included our Open Meetings, covering topics such as:

the work of a surgery registrar by Dr Kim Connor;

the treatment of depression with cognitive behavioural therapy by Practice Nurse, Philippa Young;

a presentation on the new duty system by Dr Peace.

We have also held various social events, chief among these being the recent ‘Coffee in the Garden’, held in the lovely sunny garden of Carol and Brian Lamb.  Wonderful prizes were donated by surgery staff and PPG members for the tombola, which was run with great success by Dr Peter White.

Events planned for the rest of this year include:

· Christmas lunch for surgery staff 11^th December

If you are on our mailing list you will be sent further details by post.

PPG members have also been asked to assist once again with refreshments for the Flu Jab Day, which will be held on                  23^rd October at the Crosfield Hall.  We would be delighted to hear of any volunteers for this task.

The PPG is in regular contact with the National Association for Patient Participation Groups, which consults its members on any new developments which may affect patients in the field of general practice.  We have been invited, in the past year, to participate in various consultative events, such as on the Pharmacy White Paper and on the work of the Healthcare Commission.

All patients of the surgery are considered to be members of the PPG but your committee can only contact you direct if you register your details and join our mailing list, for which there is currently a charge of £3 per household, to cover administration costs.  In order to be able to offer a representative selection of patients’ views, both to the Nightingale partners and further afield, we need more patients of varying age groups to make their interest known.  We are also looking for more volunteers to join the committee, and are particularly anxious to identify some secretarial help.

For further details of the PPG and its activities please contact me by leaving a note at the surgery or by email to the PPG Secretary, Carolyn Nixson (cnixson@hotmail.com)

 

 

 

 

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Your Comments and Suggestions

 

It has been a year now since we refurbished the waiting rooms and the redecoration has been received very   positively with comments such as “light and airy”, and “very relaxing”.

The lack of television has displeased some patients, but the majority have been shown to prefer light music and the relaxing atmosphere. We try to also mix the style of music and not have the radio on too often.

Some of you have also commented on the lack of flowers in the waiting room. I’m sorry but the recession has now hit the surgery! Donations of flowers from your garden are always appreciated.

We have had comments about the loss of the children’s play house. We have now introduced another activity toy for children, plus an extensive range of children’s books. In considering the style of toy required, great thought went into the choice of toy, as any toy had to be safe and easily cleaned.

A comment has been made about the cleanliness of the patient check-in touch screen, and a comparison with a hospital. The screen is wiped regularly, and we have provided a bottle of antibacterial hand gel for you to use after checking in. If you feel it is not suitable for you then please check in with the receptionist.

The patients’ car park has proved to be one topic for comments - this includes several occasions when staff, and I,  have had to remove some very unpleasant items of rubbish from the car park. A periodic check of the car park is now carried out by the receptionists. During the winter months we had a problem with the drainage of the car park. This should now have been solved. We are currently also looking at marking out a slot for disabled      patients, so more improvements are planned for the future.

 

Jackie Russell

Practice Manager

 

 

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Research Update

  RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Research in general practice received a huge boost in 2006, with the establishment of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Primary Care Research Network (PCRN). Additional funding has been made available through these structures, recognising the value that high-quality general practice represents to people who use the NHS. As a result, Nightingale Surgery, which has long been at the forefront in conducting healthcare research in the region, has been busier than ever!

Dr Little was one of the first applicants to be awarded a grant by the NIHR and some of the trials within this programme have now started. One of the first to begin recruitment is PRIMIT. This study is examining whether a website offering information on simple hygiene measures can reduce the transmission of infection within households. Some other aspects of this major programme include a study to determine the most effective way to manage symptoms in coughs, colds and flu (PIPS). There are also studies into treatments which may prevent recurrent sore throats (TASTE) and sinusitis (SNIFS).

Our existing major studies into the management of sore throats and coughs will both continue to recruit this winter. PRISM is a study which aims to discover whether it is possible to target antibiotics more effectively by using a rapid test for streptococcal infection. GRACE is a groundbreaking collaboration between experts in respiratory disease and microbiologists across 12 European countries. Using a combination of research methods, including genomics, clinical trials and health economics, the goal is to define best practice in treating respiratory infection and reduce the spread of drug-resistant pathogens.

We have continued to work closely with colleagues at the University of Southampton School of Medicine, and have hosted a number of studies in the past year, which we hope have been of interest to our patients. At the moment we are taking part in ALDDES, a study which aims to determine whether a simple blood test can provide early information about liver disease, and enable people to make lifestyle changes, which can significantly reduce their risk of suffering liver damage. MIBS is a study looking at Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Currently we are looking for patients who are willing to help develop an educational website about IBS; later in the year we will invite patients to take part in a randomised study, which will compare the website with existing treatments.

Much of our research involves asking patients to participate when they attend at the surgery.  However some of our work can only be done by writing to you. If we do write to you about a study we hope that you will consider carefully whether you are able to help.  However you are under no obligation to take part. If you prefer that we do not write to you at all about research, please let us know.

All the research that we undertake here at Nightingale Surgery has been carefully chosen because of its potential to improve patient care, and we adhere to the strictest standards of confidentiality and ethical governance.

No identifiable information is ever released to researchers without your written consent.

 

Much more information about our work is available from our website: www.wrpc.nhs.uk. Alternatively please feel free to speak to a member of the team:

Dr Peter White, R&D Lead

Kate Martinson, Research Manager

Carolyn Bowen, Recruitment Manager

Sister Claire Hallett, Research Nurse

 

 

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Feedback on the Duty Team

In February this year we embarked on an enhanced appointment booking service, developed with the aim of improving your access to our doctors and nurses. This was carried out by setting up a dedicated team (The Duty Team) to deal with patients   requesting appointments within 24/48 hours.

The pilot service ran for 3 months and additional resources were available to help the system run smoothly. After 3 months we reviewed progress and felt that, although we had been extremely busy during the pilot stage, we had met many of our targets, with patients receiving advice and appointments within the hour.

The success of the system has been our downfall. Some days, particularly Monday, the workload increased 3 fold and the Duty Team found it difficult to meet the demand. The results of a patient questionnaire (distributed to the patients called and seen over a weeklong period) showed that although the majority found the system excellent, for a few it did not work. Staff also found the volume of work very stressful, spending hours telephoning patients.

So, where do we go from here? We are committed to offering our patients the best possible service we can:

Help and advice must be available each day with reception staff able to point you in the right direction;

Appointments will be available each day with a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner;

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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PBC Newsletter Autumn 2009

 

 

 

Practice Based Commissioning

Test Valley South Locality

Abbey Mead, Alma Road, Nightingale & North Baddesley GP surgeries

  For distribution to staff, patients and their carers

 

Autumn Newsletter

 

Over the summer months, the representatives of the GP surgeries have focused on a review of services at the Romsey Hospital site. The purpose of the review is to identify what works well for local patients, and where there are any gaps in medical services provision. We have received valuable contributions from patient representatives and organisations who provide these services. We have started to make changes, and we hope that patients will start to notice a wider variety of medical services provided locally and more appropriately.

 

Romsey Hospital

In-Patients (hospital beds). The locality has worked closely with NHS colleagues to ensure that there is a robust procedure for patients who need the in-patient beds at the Hospital. This process has allowed patients to be safely discharged back to their homes, freeing up beds for other patients who might have otherwise had to go to either Southampton or Winchester for their hospital care.

Out-Patients (clinics). The locality has reviewed the number and the type of out-patient clinics that are run from hospital. Some of these clinics have long waiting times, whilst others appear to be under-used. The locality is currently discussing with the visiting consultants how best to re-organise the out-patient clinics and it is hoped that by reducing the number of unnecessary clinics the hospital consultants will be able to offer a greater variety of clinics that match the needs of the local population.

Diagnostics (tests). The locality has worked with Southampton General Hospital to open Romsey Hospital for walk-in blood test (phlebotomy) clinics. These clinics are run when GP surgeries are closed, but when many patients would like to access them – early mornings on 3 days of the working week from 7.30am and on Saturday mornings. Patients will need a ‘blood form’ from their GP practice, but the clinics are open access, with no need to book an appointment. We are working also to ensure smoother access to the X-ray facility during the week, which is currently open 3 days a week, but with some clinics offering fewer appointments than others. We are also reviewing the possibility of getting a comprehensive ultrasound service based at the Hospital.

 

Other Healthcare Services

As well as continuing our involvement with patient services provide at the Romsey Hospital site, a principle focus of the PBC locality group will be on how health services are accessed by patients in Nursing Homes. National & local evidence suggests that admissions to hospitals from nursing homes are more frequent and lengthier than from anywhere else (including similarly aged patients outside nursing homes). The Locality GPs are therefore looking to work with homes, and the NHS organisations involved in their residents’ healthcare, to ensure a more co-ordinated delivery of services in the local area. We recognise that this is a big challenge for all involved – patients, carers, nursing home staff, GPs & other health and social services professionals - but one that we feel is important.

 

In addition to nursing homes, we recognise that mental health problems contribute significantly to a wide range of age groups, and can be very damaging, particularly for children and teenagers as well as their parents. We have begun investigating what services exist, how they are used and what they cost, as well as where any gaps in the service are. We are keen to work with the organisations to ensure that the local population benefits from an impending Hampshire-wide change in the provision of Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) services.

 

 

Latest Developments

Dermatology (skin conditions).

The locality is taking part in a pilot Tele-dermatology project. This will involve staff at GP surgeries being trained to take photographs of patients’ skin complaints. These will then be sent securely to a team of dermatology consultants who will advise the GP of the diagnosis and management plan, or recommendation for a referral within 48hrs of receiving the details. It is hoped that this will reduce the need for patients to wait several weeks, and a time-consuming trip to either Southampton or Winchester hospitals to see a consultant in this speciality. The pilot is expected

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Romsey Hospital Blood Clinic

A new clini is being piloted at Romsey Hospital offering an alternative to have you bloods tests being taken at the surgery.

More details to follow-

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Late Treatment Room appointments offered by our Nurses.

To improving flexibility for patients we are now booking later appointments with the Practice Nurses for basis treatment room proceedures. Appointmnets are available form 6.00pm to 7.30pm and can be boked by telephoning reception on 01794 517878. Monthly we are also offering later appointments with our Diabetic Nurse forr patient who find it difficult to attend for diabetic checks during working hours.

 

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Extended Opening Hours

 

Extract form the Patient Information sheet February 2009

Over several years the government has prioritised the requirements for GP Practice to improve

access to clinicians.

In July 2008 we extended our opening hours on a Tuesday evening and Saturday morning. This improvement offers additional pre-booked appointments with our Doctors. To enhance this service, once a month our Diabetic Nurse runs an evening clinic for our Diabetic patients.

We are always looking for innovative and realistic ways to improve the quality of care and access we offer our patients.

Your feedback in the numerous patient questionnaires conducted over the past years has

highlighted some of your concerns.

 

Given our limited resources we will never be able to satisfy all of our patient requests for access but by altering the way we receive and process your requests we believe we can try to reach the best possible service for our patients.

 

Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Last updated on 29 April 2012.

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Patient Report 2013

Please contact the Surgery for full report - or go to our Website.  This site unable to upload full details of report.

Last updated on 28 March 2013.

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Patient report 2013 P3

Current Situation

Nightingale Surgery introduced a Patient Participation group in the early 1990’s.

All patients of Nightingale Surgery are considered to be members of the PPG, which was set up to enhance communication between the patients and all partners and staff of the practice.  Through a committee, the PPG is involved in reviewing patient, consulted on matters such as extended opening hours and flu day.

 

Another of the PPG’s objects is to promote health education and awareness on topics of interest and value to the patients and to co-operate with medical activities, where appropriate.  With this in mind, regular open meetings are arranged and topics of interest to patients.

 

The PPG is in regular contact with the National Association for Patient Participation Groups, which consults its members on any new developments which may affect patients in the field of general practice. 

 

The Practice Profile

 

The practice makes every effort to gain as much information about our patients as possible so that we can understand their needs to the best of our ability. Information is requested when registering a new patient, on booking appointments as well as through feedback requests via patient surveys, comments box and website feedback page.

 

Demographic and patient profile information as at November 2011

 

Review of current practice population taken from the age sex register supplied by the Emis clinical system.

 

Total Practice Population 9608

 

Under 16	17-24	25 – 34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65-74	75-84	Over 84
19.10%	9.93%	9.60%	12.20%	18.20%	15.10%	8.60%	4.70%	2.70%

 

 

Gender of the practice population:

 

Males	48.65%
Females	51.35%

 

 

Recorded ethnicity of the practice population:

 

Practice population with ethnicity recorded 56%

Other than White and White British 1.13%

 

 

The methods used to invite members to join the PRG

 

• Emailing patients: We invited the patients who have an email address in their registration details. Also patients requesting repeat prescriptions via email were invited to join our PRG. The aim of this was to invite those patients currently using email.
• Practice Newsletter: in August our PPG delivered to each household a newsletter contain an article and application form for joining the VPRG Over 3000 copies were delivered directly to patient homes..
• The practice website contained details of how to register as a VPRG member together with an application form.
• Rolling message on our Jayex board in the waiting room invited patients to complete a membership form and questionnaire available on the reception desk.
• To target various age groups patients were invited to join by the clinicians after a consultation.
• We also did a mail shot to attract patients in the none white british ethnic origin group.
• Finally our website contained a link to the application form and questionnaire with also a facebook link to enable younger patients to contribute.

 

 

Size and establishment of the PRG

 

50 patients signed up to the reference group.

 

	17-24	25 – 34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65-74	75-84	Over 84
No of pts.	3	2	8	9	12	13	2	1
%of VPRG	6.00%	4.00%	16.00%	18.00%	24.00%	26.00%	4.00%	2.00%

 

 

Gender of the reference group:

 

Males	50%
Females	50%

 

 

Recorded ethnicity of the practice population:

 

Practice population with ethnicity recorded 56%

Other than British 4%

 

The response has been disappointing. We are continuing to target the age groups needing more patients to match the practice population. All new patients who register are asked if they would like to join. We continue to publicise for more members.

 

IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE MEMBERSHIP, WE CONTINUE TO PUBLICISE TO ALL PATIENTS.  OUR PATIENT GROUP ALSO SIT IN THE RECEPTION FROM TIME TO TIME TO HELP – FOR EXAMPLE WITH OUR SURVEY THEY SAT IN SURGERY AND ASKED PEOPLE TO COMPLETE, AND ENCOURAGING MEMBERSHIP OF THE GROUP.  THEY HAVE A HIGH PROFILE IN THE SURGERY THROUGH THE YEAR.

 

Last updated on 28 March 2013.

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Patient report 2013

Nightingale Surgery

Patient Participation Report

March 2013

 

The Practice is participating in a two year project to collate information and feedback from our patients. The practice has set up a Patient Reference Group (PRG – virtual group) and we also have a Patient Participation Group (PPG - face to face group).

 

All of our patients are welcome to give feedback via this group and therefore we consider you to all be members of the PRG already. Simply complete a membership form either via our surgery website at www.nightingalesurgery.com or complete a form in main reception to ensure you are contacted directly each time a survey is ready for you to complete. Alternatively all patients can take part in the surveys at any time as you will see them published on our website as well as in the waiting room.

 

The PPG meets about once every six to eight weeks at the practice while the PRG receive annual surveys from the practice via email, post or copies in the waiting room and a link that can be accessed via our website.

 

The results of the surveys are shared with all of our patients using a variety of media including our practice website, newsletters and email updates.

 

It is important to be clear at this stage of the structure of the groups which are as follows:

 

The Patient Reference Group (VPRG) is a virtual group. The VPRG responds to practice surveys and actively helps us with two-way communication on ideas about how to improve our services and understand patient priorities and issues.

 

 

 

Year 1		Date achieved	Date planned
Step 1	Establishment of a Patient Reference Group (VPRG)	Summer 2011
Step 2	Agreement of areas of priority with PRG (via pre-survey to current PRG group) and further meetings with PPG to collate results and agree subjects and questions for future surveys	Summer 2011
Step 3	Views collated through first local survey	February 2012
Step 4	Results of survey discussed with PRG	March 2012
Step 5	Action plan agreed with PRG & PRG agree to changes	March 2012
Step 6	Report publicised and copy sent to PCT	March 2012
Year 2
Step 1	Agreement of areas of priority with PRG	January 2013
Step 2	Views collated through second local survey	February 2013
Step 3	Results of survey discussed with PRG	March 2013
Step 4	Action plan agreed with PRG & PRG agreed to changes	March 2013
Step 5	Report publicised and copy sent to PCT	March 2013

 

We welcome as many patients as possible who wish to join either of our groups.

 

To express an interest in our patient participation group and meet periodically at the practice, please contact the practice manager. To join the patient reference group please complete a form which can be found in main reception or on our website at www.nightingalesurgery.com

 

The information gathered will be shared and the questions formulated with input from our PPG throughout this exercise.

Last updated on 28 March 2013.

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Patient Report 2013 - update

The suggested areas for change (if appropriate).

RESPONSES RELATED TO TELEPHONE/APPOINTMENTS

1)    Speed at which the telephone was answered initially.

N/K = 3   Poor = 7   Good = 40   Excellent = 8

2)    Speed at  which the telephone was answered if call transferred.

N/K = 21    Poor = 0    Good = 30   Excellent = 3

3)    Convenience of day and time of your appointment (variety offered).

N/K =2      Poor = 8   Good = 34     Excellent = 15

4)    Seeing the Doctor of your choice (were you offered a selection).

N/K = 12    Poor = 12  Good = 21    Excellent = 7

5)    Length of time waiting beyond your appointment time.

N/K = 4     Poor = 11   Good = 30  Excellent = 7

6)    Opportunity of speaking with the Doctor or Nurse on the telephone.

N/K = 17   Poor = 4   Good = 25   Excellent = 7

Excluding those that responded N/K (which would also mean not applicable) these results were better than expected and better than the previous replies when asked (in bold, most responses).  Considering this survey was undertaken at a time of great pressure, we are happy with these results.  However, we have implemented changes to our appointments to try to improve access (discussed with the Group at a meeting in February 2013 – too new to see if this has made any difference but plan to review in 3 months), we are planning to alter telephone access by remaining open over the lunch period – to see if this helps avoid particular difficult times – to evaluate this in 3 months and hope that the alterations we have made to the Doctors timetables will also reduce waiting beyond the set time. 

 

RESPONSES RELATED TO REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS

7)    Prescription ready on time.

N/K = 11  Poor = 5  Good = 18  Excellent = 18

8)    Prescriptions correctly issued, matching your request.

N/K = 8  Poor = 4  Good = 16  Excellent = 23

9)    Handling of any queries.

N/K = 11  Poor = 2  Good = 19  Excellent = 17

At an early Patient Group meeting, prescription problems were felt to be an issue, so this question was of particular interest to us.  These results would indicate that the majority of people are very happy with this service (in bold, most responses – excellent for 2 and good for 1 section).  We have rearranged our Dispensers timetable with Staff changes, which may help with workload, but this is an area that we identify that we need to work on.

We are very pleased with these results.

RESPONSES RELATED TO TEST RESULTS

10)   Were you told when to contact us for your results?

N/K = 11  Poor = 7  Good = 20  Excellent = 9

11) Results were available when you contacted us as advised.

N/K = 11  Poor = 7   Good = 22  Excellent = 7

12) Level of satisfaction with amount of information given.

N/K = 8  Poor = 4  Good = 26  Excellent = 6

Again a very positive set of results for this section.  Again undertaken at a busy time for the Practice, when our system was down for a time to upgrade and Staff were learning how to use it!  Patients have been very understanding during this time as well – so thank y 

This report was publicised on    both the NHS choices website and our own website www.nightingalesurgery.com Alternatively, you can view the report visiting the practice during the following opening times, a copy of the report can also be obtained from reception.

 

Last updated on 28 March 2013.

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