What we are doing at JSP to make as many GP appointments available to you as possible
Dear patients of The Jubilee Street Practice,
We would love to update you on what we are doing at JSP to make as many GP appointments available to you as possible.
At JSP, we offer a wide range of face-to-face, telephone and video consultations. Over the years, and prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have found that many patient queries and consultations can be managed safely, quickly and effectively over the phone or a video consultation, meaning more flexibility for our patients and greater capacity for GP appointments, as our doctors will be able to treat more patients in a day. Of course, there are many situations in which a telephone appointment would not be appropriate – for example, if you required a physical examination. In this case, the doctor speaking with you over the phone will offer you a face-to-face appointment as soon as possible, often on the same day.
Our latest figures from Edenbridge show that in the month of October 2022, we held 4,886 GP consultations for our patients. This is in addition to the thousands of monthly appointments delivered by our practice nurses, specialist nurses, healthcare assistants, physician associate, practice pharmacist, mental health practitioner and midwives, many of which are conducted face-to-face.
Here is the breakdown of the 4,886 GP consultations last month:
• Telephone consultations: 3,479
• GP surgery (face-to-face): 1,149
• Remote consultation: 154
• Home visits: 57
• Discussion with a colleague: 10
• Video consultation: 9
• Home visit note: 8
In 2016, we were rated “Outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), after implementing our “tele triage” model, which sees all patient calls, eConsults, walk-ins and email requests personally triaged by a GP, who will then book the patient the quickest and most appropriate appointment type to ensure we treat as many patients as possible each week and that patients are able to speak to the right person.
As a practice, we are constantly evaluating our systems and seeking ways to improve patient care. Our current quality improvement projects include looking at ways in which we can increase our capacity of telephone answering with the number of administrative staff we have, and improving our patient registration system.
All feedback we receive from our patients, be this written or verbal, positive or negative, is carefully considered by all members of the team. As always, we would encourage as many of our patients as possible to connect with our Patient Participation Group (click here for more details on our patient participation group), where you will be the first to hear about any proposed changes to the way we work and given an opportunity to give your opinion and feedback.
Finally, we would like to thank our patients for supporting us, especially over the past couple of years. Your kind words of encouragement have been truly humbling, and serve as a reminder of why we do what we do every day.
We will be looking to update you more frequently on our appointment offerings, so please watch this space!
The Jubilee Street Practice joins the GP Care Group
The GP Care Group and The Jubilee Street Practice are delighted to announce a new partnership from 1 October 2022.
The Jubilee Street Practice enters an arrangement to protect its long-term future as an independent practice by joining the GP Care Group. It hopes to maximize opportunities of scale within an organization that holds a growing track record of understanding and valuing primary care.
Under the new arrangement the Jubilee Street partners retain responsibility, and have managerial freedom, for running the practice and are joined by Dr Joe Hall, Vice Chair of the Care Group, who has a non-operational role representing the Care Group’s interests. Joint hopes for the future of the practice include moving towards arrangements to become a company limited by shares, and working together to harness and scale both learning, and new, sustainable models for the delivery of care.
The Care Group Joint Chief Executive, Chris Banks, said: “We were delighted to be approached for support by the Partners at Jubilee Street. The Practice has a well-deserved reputation for innovation and excellence, and the Care Group is keen to work alongside them to develop new models of best practice both in general practice and across the health and care system. As the GP Federation for Tower Hamlets we are determined to support Jubilee Street, Island Health and other Tower Hamlets practices to thrive and grow.”
The Jubilee Street partners said “Moving towards new organizational models that spread risk whilst still allowing us opportunities to innovate and test different models of general practice is something we have been considering for several years. We feel committed to playing our part in designing the future models of general practice, and partnering with the GPCG felt like the best choice for our practice. We share a similar ethos and appetite for innovation, and feel that this decision will open opportunities for our staff, our patients, and general practice more broadly.”
Jubilee Lines Newsletter, October – December 2022
Jubilee Street Practice 2022 Annual Report
Vision Statement – ‘A healthy and well-cared-for population with a healthy and fulfilled workforce.’
Jubilee Lines Newsletter, May – July 2022
Requesting Repeat Prescriptions
The quickest and easiest way to order your repeat prescription is via the NHS App – search your app store or go to https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/the-nhs-app/. Using the app, you can order medications, view your medication records and book telephone call backs.
Remember to nominate your chosen pharmacy so that we can send your prescription electronically. During the coronavirus pandemic this is especially important for reducing non-essential visits to the practice, helping us to ensure social distancing can be maintained.
Other ways you can order your repeats:
- Ask reception for your PIN number for patientaccess.com
- Request through your regular pharmacy
- Place your repeat slip in the box in the entrance area
PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR SAFETY REASONS AND TO KEEP OUR PHONE LINES FREE, WE ARE UNABLE TO TAKE REPEAT PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS OVER THE PHONE.
Medicines Available ‘Over the Counter’
General Practices in England will generally not be able to give you an NHS prescription for medicines that are available to buy in pharmacies and supermarkets.
NHS England changed the rules on treatments for minor and self-limiting conditions in 2018 with the aim of prioritising prescriptions for more serious or long-term health problems. Prior to this the NHS was spending around £136 million a year on prescriptions for treatments that can be purchased over the counter.
Please ask your local pharmacy for advice if you may need treatment for conditions such as:
• coughs, colds & sore throats • mild to moderate hay fever • conjunctivitis • dry eyes • dandruff • nappy rash • cradle cap • teething • travel sickness • head lice • indigestion • dry skin • warts and verrucae • insect bites • ear wax • mouth ulcers • threadworms • athlete’s foot
Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the treating practitioner, for example where over the counter treatments have not worked, in more severe forms of the illness, or where the licence does not allow the product to be sold to certain groups e.g. women who are pregnant or children under a certain age. Please speak to the practice if you need further information.
Practice Policies on Prescribing
Jubilee Street Practice has a comprehensive repeat prescribing policy to ensure the safety of our patients and to make sure we are using medicines appropriately. Our policy is regularly reviewed to ensure we keep up to date with the latest guidance.
Key information for our patients:
- Our standard repeat prescription duration is up to two months (usually this will be 56 days). In exceptional circumstances, NHS England allows us to issue up to a 12 week maximum supply.
- We aim to review all prescription requests within two working days but if your request is straightforward they will often be issued earlier than this.
- If you request a medicine that is not on your repeat list, or order it earlier than it appears to be due, your request may be rejected and you may be contacted by the practice and asked to provide more information. This will usually be via text message.
- For safety reasons, some medications may not appear on your repeat list. This may be because we need to review how well they are working for you with regular monitoring, or because they are a higher risk or ‘controlled’ medication.
- Please be aware that ‘Repeat dispensing’ refers to a batch prescription that you do not need to order each time. Normal ‘repeat’ medications will need to be requested each time you require them.
- It is best practice for ALL repeat medications to be reviewed on at least an annual basis. Sometimes your GP or pharmacist will be able to do this from your notes but we may also call you to discuss or ask you to attend an appointment if you take more than 10 medicines regularly or take medicines that require blood tests or other monitoring. This is an opportunity to ask questions about your medicines and to discuss how well they are working for you.
Why am I being advised to reduce or stop my stomach acid medication?
Proton Pump Inhibitors (or PPIs) are a group of medicines used to reduce stomach acid and include omeprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole and pantoprazole. These medicines are very commonly prescribed but many patients continue taking them for longer than they may need. Usually a course of two to three months is sufficient to help heartburn or indigestion to settle.
As with any prescription medication, PPIs can cause side effects which are more likely if you take a high dose or use them for a long period of time. More and more evidence is coming out that suggests this group of medications may be linked to more problems than we knew about previously. We are therefore re-assessing which of our patients these medicines remain the best choice for.