You Said, We Did

YOU SAID:

 We have long waiting times to answer the phone.

WE DID:

We are awaiting confirmation from NHSE that we can go ahead with an upgrade to our existing telephone system. This will bring new and improved features, and we hope will be installed during the late Spring.

YOU SAID:

You are having to wait to obtain an appointment.

WE DID:

We have increased the number and range of clinicians that now provide services to our patients, you can access appointments with:

Advanced Nurse Practitioners

Pharmacist - in house and via Pharmacy First

First Contact Physiotherapist

Social Prescriber Link Worker

Mental Health Practitioners

Please inform or staff when you contact us what your needs are so they will be able to co-ordinate your care and help direct you to the service that is most appropriate for your needs (or if not urgent use the online consultation facility to register your request online). These clinicians are part of our team and are working to ensure your needs are being met by the most appropriate service.

Friends and Family Test Results

We encourage patients to complete the Friends and Family Test when they have had an appointment at the surgery. By listening to your results and feedback we aim to continue to review and improve access to our services. 

January 2024

February 2024

Requests for Diazepam for Fear of Flying

At Anstey Surgery, we will not prescribe Diazepam for patients who wish to use this for a fear of flying. This is for many reasons:

1. Diazepam is a sedative. This means, the medication makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there would be an emergency during the flight, this could impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions, or react to the situation. This could seriously affect the safety of you and the people around you.

2. Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however, when you sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means, your movements during sleep are reduced and this can place you at an increased risk of developing blood clots (DVT). These blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk further increases if your flight is over 4 hours long.

3. Although most people respond to benzodiazepines like Diazepam with sedation, a small proportion experience the opposite effect and can become aggressive. They can also lead to disinhibition and make you behave in ways you normally wouldn’t. This could also impact on your safety and the safety of your fellow passengers or could lead you to get in trouble with the law.

4. National prescribing guidelines followed by doctors also don’t allow the use of benzodiazepines in cases or phobia. Any doctor prescribing diazepam for a fear of flying would be taking a significant legal risk as this goes against these guidelines. Benzodiazepines are only licensed for short-term use in a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the problem you suffer with, you should seek proper care and support for your mental health, and it would not be advisable to go on a flight.

5. In several countries, diazepam and similar drugs are illegal. They would be confiscated, and you might find yourself in trouble with the police for being in control of an illegal substance.

6. Diazepam has a long half-life. This means it stays in your system for a significant time and you may fail random drug testing if you are subjected to such testing as is required in some jobs.

We appreciate a fear of flying is very real and very frightening and can be debilitating. However, there are much better and effective ways of tackling the problem. We recommend you tackle your problem with a Fear of Flying Course, which is run by several airlines. These courses are far more effective than diazepam, they have none of the undesirable effects and the positive effects of the courses continue after the courses have been completed.

Fear of Flying Courses

Easy Jet www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com Tel: 0203 8131644

British Airways https://www.flyingwithconfidence.com/ Tel: 01252 793 250

Virgin Atlantic Tips For Nervous Flyers | Advice For Nervous Flyers | Virgin Atlantic Tel: 01423 714900 1252250

Advice from the NHS.uk website Treatment - Phobias - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

New Staff

During April & May we welcomed the following new staff to the team:

Emma Ritchie - Health Care Assistant

Georgina Trigg - Health Care Assistant

Jade - Care Coordinator

Venessa - Patient Advisor

Laura Golding - Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Farewell 

Dr Helen Hughes retired on the 30th April 2023  after 29 years working at Anstey Surgery. We all wish her a very happy retirement.

Social Prescriber

The surgery has a dedicated Social Prescriber Fiona French working alongside the practice team. If you would like to be referred please contact the reception team. For further information about the Social Prescriber role please click here Social Prescribing Patient Leaflet

Local Activities :-

Anstey Musical Memory Box starting Tuesday 16th May 2023Anstey Musical memory Box Flyer May 2023

Love to Move Anstey starting Feb 2023

Love to Move Anstey Feb 2023

Anstey Wellbeing walks starting January 2023

Anstey Wellbeing Walks 2023

Out-Patient Appointment Waiting Times

My Planned Care gives you advice and support while you wait and helps you to prepare for your hospital consultation, treatment, or surgery. This includes giving you information about waiting times at your hospital and other supporting and local services while you wait.

This site is updated weekly and can be viewed by anyone, which means you, your family or carer as well as your NHS team can all see the latest information.

Your hospital team will be in touch with you as soon as they can. If you are looking for an update, please check this website before contacting your hospital or GP.

For UHL:

https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/mids/leicester/

For other Acute Trusts in the Midlands:

https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/mids/

*New* Urgent Mental Health 24/7 Telephone Service

This new service has been launched so that people of all ages across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland can access urgent mental health support directly 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Telephone: 0116 295 3060

This service is not an emergency service. Where people have immediate, serious and life-threatening emergency mental and / or physical health needs please call 999 or attend A&E.

Help-and-support-for-mental-health-needs-Coronavirus-final-V4-April-2020

Extended Access Appointments

We are increasing the number of appointments available for you to speak with or see a GP / Advance Nurse Practitioner or Practice Nurse between 6.30pm - 8pm Monday - Friday and between 9am - 5pm on Saturdays

Depending on your individual circumstances and symptoms, we may offer you an "extended access" appointment. Please note however, that these appointments will not be in your usual GP practice and may not be with one of your usual GPs or Nurses.

Depending on the reason for your appointment, and if you are in agreement, it may be suitable for you to see and Advanced Nurse Practitioner, instead of a GP.

The clinician you see will be able to access relevant sections of your medical notes and will communicate what has happened during your appointment back to your usual GP practice.

Please see the appointment page for further details & surgery locations.

If you would like to know more please speak to a member of the practice reception team.

Group A streptococcus (GAS)

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is a bacteria that can cause common illnesses, including tonsillitis, impetigo and scarlet fever. These infections are usually mild and clear up after a course of antibiotics, but in some cases can lead to a more serious infection known as Invasive Group A streptococcus (iGAS)

Whilst iGAS infections are still uncommon, there has been an increase in cases this year, particularly in children under 10. You will no doubt have seen news cover age relating to this issue and the urgency in seeking medical attention early for a child displaying Strep A symptoms.

Local Childrens's Emergency Medicine Consultant Damian Rowland has produced a video to explain the symptoms what to look our for and what action to take if they are concerned: Parent & Carer advice on Group A Strep & Scarlet Fever - YouTube

More information is available by visiting: Group A Strep - What you need to know - UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk)

NHS APP - COVID VACCINATION 

Key Information for vaccine passports

* Access to the NHS App from May 17th 2021

* Register on the NHS App now (guide below)

* Contact 119 if you need a letter for foreign travel

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE SURGERY.

Quick guide to register for the NHS App: https://youtu.be/Q0SCcLtw8JA

You can access your COVD-19 vaccination status through the free NHS App from 17th May 2021. You can access the app through mobile devices such as a smartphone or by tablet. Proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status will be shown within the App. We recommend that you register with the app before booking international travel.

If you do not have access to a smartphone and know that the country you are travelling to requires COVID-19 vaccination status, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 (from 17th May) and ask for a letter to be posted to you. This must be at least 5 days after you've completed your course of the vaccine. We expect the letter to take upto 5 days to reach you.

Please do not contact the surgery about your COVID-19 vaccination status. We cannot provide letters showing your COVID-19 vaccination status.

For further information:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad

The NHS App can be downloaded from:

 https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nhs-app/id1388411277  for iPhone

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhs.online.nhsonline for android

Ordering Repeat Prescriptions

What is changing?

The way repeat prescriptions are ordered is changing. From 30th June 2019 you will have to order your repeat prescriptions directly through the surgery and not your high street or internet pharmacy or appliance contractor.

What is not changing?

If you already order repeat prescriptions directly through your GP practice this change will not affect you. When you order your repeat prescription from the surgery your pharmacy will continue to collect or receive your prescription as before. Pharmacies may also continue to deliver your prescription if they offer this service.

How do I order my prescription through my GP practice?

Your can order repeat prescriptions online, by post or in person by using the tick slip, which is the right-hand side of your prescription which lists your current repeat medication. For your convenience there is a post box inside the surgery entrance or when we are closed a post box next to the small side gate. To avoid wastage please only order the items you require.

General Dental Services (Routine & Urgent Care)

One of 5 new dental practices has opened in Loughborough which deliver services between 8am to 8pm, 365 days a year and will provide access to urgent and routine dental care services:

JDRM Dental Care Ltd: 40 Leicester Road, Loughborough, LE11 2AG.

The practice will provide urgent dental care to anyone living in or visiting Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland with an urgent dental need.  The new service can be contacted on Freephone 03300 417 062 between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week, or NHS 111 outside of these hours.

Try the new NHS App

If you're a patient at our practice you can now use the new NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms, book and manage appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record and more.

If you already use SystmOnline you can continue to use it and use the NHS App as well. For more information go to https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/the-nhs-app/ 

Over the Counter Medicines

Earlier this year our local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – NHS West Leicestershire CCG reviewed how people accessed over the counter medicines for the short term treatment of minor ailments. The sorts of conditions they reviewed included headaches, indigestion, head lice, travel sickness, hay fever, diarrhoea and insect bites and stings. They also reviewed Vitamin D supplements and specialised infant formula which can be prescribed for babies with reflux or lactose intolerance. The review helped them to understand how people would be affected if they had to buy these types of medicines, that are easily bought over the counter, instead of requesting a prescription.

The review revealed that the majority of people do already buy their own medicines to treat minor ailments and most people are willing or very willing to buy medicines for minor ailments.

There were some people who did have concerns about different aspects of medicines and managing their use of them.

The CCG thinks that the NHS belongs to everybody and that resources need to be used wisely and the results of our review show that most patients feel the same way. Therefore GPs are being asked to no longer prescribe medicines on prescription for the short term treatment of minor ailments, low dose vitamin D supplements for prevention of deficiency and some specialised infant formulas. Patients will be asked to purchase them over the counter instead. The CCG is also asking patients not to request these items on their prescription.

The review also revealed that many people already feel that their community pharmacist is their first point of contact. They support them with a range of ailments and they prefer to talk to them about minor conditions savings GP appointment time for more urgent problems.

Community Pharmacists are best placed to help and advise you regarding suitable treatments for common ailments. The pharmacist will check the medicine is appropriate for you and your health problem. They will ask questions to ensure there is no reason why you should not use the medicine.

By asking people to self-care in this way, and we know that most people already do, is a fair way of utilising resources wisely as most of these items can be purchased in pharmacies and supermarkets at a low cost, but cost the NHS more to provide on a prescription. It will also free up valuable GP and nurse time, which can be used to deal with more complex or serious health needs.

However if you are worried or your symptoms get worse or persist you can still make an appointment to see your GP.

For further information visit NHS Choices:

 http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Medicinesinfo/Pages/Introduction.aspx

For any queries contact: WLCCG, Corporate Affairs Team, 55 Woodgate, Loughborough, Leicestershire. LE11 2TZ.

Extension to our Online Services

The practice is live with an extension to our online services. You can apply for online access to a summary of your medical record that includes: a summary of your medical record, a list of your current medications, a list of any allergies/adverse reactions and a list of all immunisations that we have recorded.

You can also apply for online access to your Detailed Coded Record, this might help you to manage your medical conditions. It also means you can access it from anywhere in the world should you require medical treatment on holiday.

These are in addition to being able to book/cancel appointments and order repeat prescriptions.

For further details please see our Patient Information Leaflet

To access these services please download and complete the relevant application form and return it to the surgery with 2 forms of ID, (1 x photo and 1 x proof of address).

Application for Online Access to my DCR

Application for Proxy Online Acess to a DCR

Alternatively forms are available to collect at reception.

Named GP for patients aged 75 and over

You may be aware that  from April 2014, all practices are required to provide a named GP to all their patients aged 75 years and over. This named GP will have overall responsibility for your care and support.

This does not prevent you from seeing any GP in the Practice.

They will also work with other relevant health and care professionals who are involved in your care, to ensure that your care package meets your individual needs.