News/Help and Advice

We would like to say a big thank you to all of you that have had a go at using our eConsult service, through our website or via the NHS App. Overall, the feedback we have received on the system has been fantastic so far and it will continue to be under constant review with our patients in mind. Over 1,000 of our patients have successfully completed an eConsult so far.Some of the benefits of using eConsult include:

• Improved access – You are able to submit your request anytime during the week, even when the surgery is closed (excluding weekends and bank holidays).
• No queuing on the phones and efficient consultations as the clinician has accurate information in advance.
• Advice and guidance is available to help you manage your condition yourself.
• Shorter waiting times as you will receive a same day response if submitted before 2pm.
• Patient safety comes first as the system is built by GPs for GPs and their patients.

Please do remember that we are still seeing patients face to face when clinically necessary and are still available on the phones for those patients who do not have internet access.

Cessation of In-House Dressing Service

It is with regret that we have to inform you that from the 5 November 2018 we will be unable to provide an in-house dressings service, except in limited circumstances.

Dressings take up a large amount of valuable nursing time, and yet GP surgeries are not contracted or funded to do them. This means that time is taken away from our nurses looking after patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure.

There have been consultations with Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (SDCCG) for more than a year about this issue and we are aware that they are trying to come up with a long-term solution to the problem.

This decision has been arrived at very reluctantly at this Practice, but our Practice Nurse with the relevant expertise will be leaving us shortly, and we will no longer have the necessary skills in the Practice to safely continue this service.

Patients who currently receive this service will receive a letter explaining the new service.  Further information is available in the surgeries.

We apologise for any inconvenience to our patients.

AAA SCREENING PROGRAMME

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Men urged to avoid ‘Silent Killer’

Men are being urged to attend one of the newest NHS Screening Programmes. The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme is aimed solely at men who are aged 65 years and over. Men who are in their 65^th year will automatically be invited to a screening clinic near to them, but those who are aged 66 and over can self-refer onto the Programme. All that is involved is a free one-off, painless 10 minute ultrasound scan of the abdomen with the results given at the end of the scan.

The aorta is the main blood vessel that supplies blood to your body. It runs from your heart down through your chest and abdomen. In some people, as they get older, the wall of the aorta in the abdomen can become weak. It can then start to expand and form an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Large aneurysms can be serious. As the wall of the aorta stretches it becomes weaker and can burst (rupture) which can lead to death. The condition is most common in men aged 65 and over, with around 1 in 70 men who are screened having a AAA. Research has demonstrated that offering men ultrasound screening in their 65^th year could reduce the rate of premature death from ruptured AAA’s by up to 50%.The programme is based at the Royal Derby Hospital but all clinics are community-based and we hold clinics at 31 locations throughout the whole of Derbyshire mainly at GP practices, including the Ivy Grove Surgery and Health Centres. Last year we invited 5900 men in their 65^th year of which on average 87% attended.

Men who are born prior to the 1^st April 1947 and wishing to be screened can contact us 01332 789859 or email us at: dhft.AAAScreening@nhs.net