PPG - Latest News

Social Prescribing Event

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:28:44 GMT

Social Prescribing Event - Mount Road Practice surgery

To celebrate Social Prescribing Day, there will be an event held at the Mount Road Practice Surgery on Wednesday, March 25th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

There will be Social Prescribers present on the day, along with representatives from several organisations who will be able to offer help and support to those who need it.

Several members of the PPG will also be present, offering refreshments and supporting the event.

Look out for a Podcast episode dropping shortly that explains more about Social Prescribing and how to access the service.

Click the image above to find out more about the event and which organisations will be present.

Christmas Parties update

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:11:38 GMT

Christmas Parties - 2025

As you may have seen in earlier editions of the PPG newsletter, the PPG and the staff at Mount Road Practice organised a Christmas party to bring some holiday cheer to patients who might feel lonely or socially isolated during the Christmas period. The event took place on Wednesday, 17 December, at Whitehill Methodist Community Church.

Everyone attending had a wonderful time, enjoying entertainment from a children's choir from Dove Bank School and a special visit from Santa, who handed out gifts donated by generous donors. Any remaining presents will be delivered to their intended recipients by Mandie, our Practice Care Facilitator, during her home visits. We sincerely thank everyone who contributed, whether through gifts or refreshments, for helping to make this celebration special.

We also had a wonderful Christmas Party for the Weekly Dementia Social Group on Thursday, 18 December, in partnership with Dougie Mac Dementia Services. There was a children's choir from Castle Primary School who entertained the guests with Christmas carols. Check out the full gallery of pictures from both parties by clicking on this link: 2025 Christmas Parties .

Weight Loss Management Podcast Launch

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 15:11:41 GMT

Beyond the scales - Weight Loss management

Carrie Eckersley, the PCN Dietitian for patients in our Primary Care Network has created a podcast series to help people who are living with excess weight. There are 8 episodes available, along with a Bonus Episode.

All episodes are available, free of charge, on all the main podcast provider sites. If you don't already follow the PPG poscast show simply go to your podcast provider and search for Mount Road Practice PPG. You'll find us there.

Once there just look for Series 2 - Beyond the scales.

If you don't have a way of listening to podcasts never fear, you can listen to all episodes on the Podcast page of our PPG website by clicking here .

The resources referred to in the podcasts can be found here: -

NN-PCN Weight Management page - https://www.newcastlenorthpcn.nhs.uk/clinical-topics/weight-management/

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System (ICS) Weight Management information and practical resources - https://staffsstokeics.org.uk/local-weight-management-services/

New Community Defibrillator available

Tue, 13 May 2025 17:45:06 GMT

The PPG have facilitated the installation of a new Community Defibrillator outside Bargain Booze in the Rookery.

During our PPG meeting in April 2024, we discussed the availability of 24-hour accessible defibrillators in the Kidsgrove area. Our preliminary investigations revealed that the availability of defibrillators in Kidsgrove was limited, and not all defibrillators are accessible 24 hours a day. At the time, there were only two defibrillators that we could identify as available 24 hours a day, located at Whitehill Methodist Community Church and outside the One Sure Insurance building in Butt Lane.

As a PPG, we decided to improve this situation and facilitate the installation of a centrally located 24-hour accessible defibrillator in Kidsgrove town centre. We sought funding sources and were delighted to receive £1,000 from the Staffordshire County Council - Community Fund for 2024. (£500 each from councillors Gill Burnett-Faulkner and Jill Waring).

Additional funding was also secured by a donation of £500 from Kidsgrove and District Rotary Club, £300 from the Chair of Mount Road Practice PPG and a contribution of £200 from AED donate, who are the providers of the defibrillator equipment.

Our original idea for the best location for the defibrillator was Kidsgrove Town Hall, so we reached out to Kidsgrove Town Council to see if we could install the defibrillator cabinet there. When we contacted the Town Council, they had just received a defibrillator unit from the British Heart Foundation as part of a nationwide initiative they were implementing. We have engaged in numerous discussions with Kidsgrove Town Council. The current status is that they have returned the original defibrillator unit supplied by the British Heart Foundation, as one of the stipulations stated it must be housed in an unlocked cabinet. The Town Council has agreed to purchase and install a lockable unit outside the Town Hall and is exploring the possibility of adding a second unit in the town centre at the junction of Liverpool Road and Heathcote Street.

As a result, we expanded our search and approached East Midlands Railway to see if it was possible to install the unit at Kidsgrove Railway Station.

Speaking to the area manager, he informed us that all stations on the Crewe to Derby line should have had a 24-hour accessible defibrillator installed. However, when we informed him that there wasn’t one installed at Kidsgrove, he investigated and found that, for some unknown reason, the unit hadn't been installed. As a result of our discussions, East Midlands Railway has agreed to install a 24-hour accessible defibrillator at the station.

While we have been working on the project, another defibrillator unit has been installed on the outside of the Red Bull Public House, and another unit is also available on the outside of the Rifleman Public House. As a result of more defibrillators being available in the Town Centre, we looked at other areas in the vicinity and thought that the Pump Track on Newchapel Road would be a good location. Unfortunately, there is no suitable fixing location, with a power supply and our approach to the Staffordshire Highways Department to see if we could utilise a street lighting post, was unsuccessful.

We identified the most suitable nearby location and contacted the owners of Bargain Booze in Rookery High Street. They have been very accommodating and agreed to have the unit installed outside their shop, allowing the use of their electricity supply for the cabinet.

As you can see, the PPG have managed to significantly improve the availability of 24-hour accessible defibrillators in the Kidsgrove area, both directly and indirectly.

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the organisations and individuals who have supported this initiative and their commitment to enhancing community safety, namely: -

Staffordshire County Council Community Fund and Councillors Jill Waring and Gill Burnett-Faulkner

Kidsgrove and District Rotary Club

Bargain Booze (Rookery)

Their support has helped us bring essential this life-saving equipment to Kidsgrove.

You can see the defibrillator closest to you by using the Defibrillator Finder site at https://www.defibfinder.uk

The PPG have facilitated the installation of a new Community Defibrillator outside Bargain Booze in the Rookery.

As a result, we expanded our search and approached East Midlands Railway to see if it was possible to install the unit at Kidsgrove Railway Station.

As you can see, the PPG have managed to significantly improve the availability of 24-hour accessible defibrillators in the Kidsgrove area, both directly and indirectly.

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the organisations and individuals who have supported this initiative and their commitment to enhancing community safety, namely: -

Staffordshire County Council Community Fund and Councillors Jill Waring and Gill Burnett-Faulkner

Kidsgrove and District Rotary Club

Bargain Booze (Rookery)

Their support has helped us bring essential this life-saving equipment to Kidsgrove.

You can see the defibrillator closest to you by using the Defibrillator Finder site at https://www.defibfinder.uk

Thursfield School visit to Mount Road Practice

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 12:13:03 GMT

Thursfield School Visit Mount Road Practice Surgery

Two reception classes from Thursfield Primary School recently visited the surgery as part of their education where they are learning about jobs in the community. The children learnt about the various roles of staff at the surgery. Not only did the visit

help them understand more about the jobs at the surgery but it will also hopefully help them feel less anxious when they have to visit the surgery to see the doctor or the nurse in future.

They had a great time Role-playing alongside the staff. You can see the pictures by clicking here .

NHS App Workshop - 15th January 2025

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 11:12:37 GMT

NHS App Workshop - 15th January 2025

Please note that if you want to attend this NHS App Workshop or any future sessions you must contact reception to book a place, as the sessions are by appointment only.

Approach Dementia Support Group Christmas Party

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 10:32:13 GMT

The Weekly Dementia group enjoyed their Christmas party on the 12th December

The PPG and Approach organised a Christmas party for attendees of the weekly dementia support group that meets every Thursday at Whitehill Methodist Community Church between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. We were also fortunate to have a visit from a choir from Dove Bank Primary School. You can see some pictures from the party with background music from the choir by clicking here .

Christmas and New Year opening times

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:22:47 GMT

Surgery opening hours

These are the Christmas and New Year opening times for 2024

Patients Christmas Party - 2024

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 10:06:13 GMT

Christmas Party for socially isolated patients of the practice

The PPG hosted the Christmas Party for socially isolated patients of the practice at Whitehill Methodist Community Church on Wednesday, 11th December 2024. We had a great time, with a visit from Santa who gave presents to the guests that had been donated for the event. You can find pictures of the party on the website by clicking here , or on the image above.

The PPG would like to thank everybody who donated gifts or refreshments. We would also like to thank Whitehill Methodist Community Church for the use of the Hall, the CO-OP at Whitehill for the donation of party refreshments, and of course to Santa for sparing the time in his busy schedule.

Welcome to Dr Hussain

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:31:51 GMT

Welcome to our new GP - Dr Hussain

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to Dr Hussain who joined the practice on 10th June. We are hoping to do a podcast with Dr Hussian in the very near future where she can tell us a bit more about herself.

Certificate of Recognition from Support Staffordshire

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 11:50:26 GMT

Volunteer recognition

It’s the 40th Anniversary of Volunteers’ Week this year, and to celebrate Support Staffordshire wanted to recognise volunteers who had helped the community with their volunteer work.

Recognised volunteers were presented with their certificates at the VCSE Forum event held at Whitmore Village Hall on Monday the 10th of June.

Mount Road Practice PPG are proud to say that they received a certificate in recognition of their work, having been nominated by Mount Road Practice, which was presented to the Chair of the PPG at the event”.

PPG Awareness Week

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:39:37 GMT

PPG Awareness Week - 2024

The Week commencing 3rd June was PPG awareness week and to mark this occasion members of the. PPG were in the waiting area on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning and Friday morning. It was great to catch up with some of the patients, talk about their experiences and let them know about the PPG. The pictures above show some of our members at the event.

BBC Radio Stoke Broadcast

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 15:51:55 GMT

Radio Stoke to highlight our Weekly Demetia Activity Group

During our First-anniversary part we had Paula White from Radio Stoke come along and record a piece for inclusion on Radio Stoke promoting community events in the local area. The Interview will be broadcast on 7th June at 9:40 am and again at 3:30 pm. It will probably also be repeated on Paul's shows on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. If you missed it you can listen online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hx9gsb If you want to skip straight to the article it is about 3 hours and 48 minutes into the show.

PPG Awareness Week

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:39:23 GMT

This week is PPG Awareness Week

The week commencing 3 ^rd June 2024 has been designated as PPG Awareness Week. To mark this event members of the Mount Road Practice PPG will be holding awareness sessions in the waiting room of the surgery. We will be present on: -

Tuesday 4 ^th June from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Wednesday 5 ^th June from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday 7 ^th June from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

If you have a few minutes we’d love to see you and get your views on the surgery and see if there is anything that we can help you with. We are always open to suggestions for improvement. We will also be explaining what the PPG is, what we do, and sharing some of the things that we have achieved.

June Newsletter now available

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:33:58 GMT

The Mount Road Practice PPG newsletter, Issue 28 - June 2024 is now available.

The June edition of the Mount Road Practice PPG Newsletter is now available, both online, in print from the Surgery or in audio formats as the latest edition (Episode 39) of our podcast show.

The main Item of this edition is about the First-anniversary celebration of our weekly Dementia Activity Group.

It also contains: -

Details of PPG Awareness week.
Information about the upcoming Pensioners’ support fair.
A call from HealthWatch Staffordshire asking for people to share their experience of Dialysis services.
Details on a new Parent/Carer group run by Little Humans Staffordshire CIC.
Information on the next Monthly Digital Health Workshop.

These are the links referenced in the podcast: -

BBC Sounds (Lee Blakeman show episode selector) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016nj82/episodes/guide

HealtWatch Staffordshire Dialysis Service Survey - https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/QR2FUQ/

Mount Road Practice is registered as Safe Surgery

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 12:27:37 GMT

Mount Road Practice is proud to be registered under the Safe Surgery scheme meaning that a lack of identification or proof of address, immigration status or language does not prevent patient registration. Click here to see the full details

New Dementia Carers Support Group

Sat, 10 Feb 2024 11:39:17 GMT

A New support group has been set up to help carers of people suffering Dementia.

This new Dementia Friends group will provide a complete service for people living with dementia in both Talke and the wider North Newcastle Area. It is the only group of this type in Newcastle North and will provide practical help and advice to those who are caring for somebody suffering from dementia. Approach are experts in Dementia support and can advise people of the benefits available, signpost people to additional support services, give practical advice and much much more. There will be one session each month which will be on the 4th Tuesday of the month. The sessions will take place at Talke Pits Village Hall between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. There is no booking or appointment necessary, just come along and get the support you need.

Totally Stoked Award - Result

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 12:00:30 GMT

We didn't win, but proud to be shortlisted

Mount Road Practice PPG were proud to be shortlisted in the Best Collaborative Project category of the Totally Stoked Awards which were held on the evening of 23rd January 2024. We were shortlisted for our work with Approach Dementia Support and Support Staffordshire. We didn't win, the award went to Destination Home who were worthy winners for their work helping the homeless. It was a great night and it was great to see the work done by volunteer groups in our community. Don't forget the Dementia Activity group runs every Thursday at Whitehill Methodist Community Church, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. No booking is necessary. If you would like to see more pictures from the Award ceremony you can find them here.

Access to Primary Care – Avoiding the 8:00 am Rush

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:14:27 GMT

Access to Primary Care – Avoiding the 8:00 am Rush

Heathwatch Staffordshire has now published its report on accessing Primary Care in the area. You can click on the link below to see the full report. It's quite lengthy but the Executive Summary gives a good overview of the detail contained within it.

Access the full report here

Shortlisted for Totally Stoked Award - Best Collaborative Project

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 11:38:09 GMT

We are proud to announce that we have been shortlisted!

We are proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Best Collaborative Project category in the Totally Stoked Awards, 2024. We submitted our nomination to reflect the work that we have done with Approach Dementia Support (Staffordshire) and Support Staffordshire to set up the weekly Dementia Activity sessions that are held at Whitehill Methodist Community Church every Thursday afternoon, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. The Awards Ceremony is at Stoke City Football Club on the 23rd of January. Fingers crossed! ��

Christmas party for the socially isolated patients of Mount Road Practice

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 09:54:51 GMT

Details of the party held at Whitehill Methodist Community Church on 13th December 2033

Mount Road Practice and the PPG worked together to put on a Christmas Party for the socially isolated patients of the practice at Whitehill Methodist Community Church on Wednesday 13th December. We would like to express our thanks to the following organisations who helped by donating items for the party: -

Whitehil CO-OP
Tesco
Lidl

We would also like to thank: -

Dove Bank Primary School for sending a children's choir to sing at the party.
Whitehill Methodist Community Church for the use of their church hall.
All the people who kindly donated gifts for the guests (Any remaining gifts will be given to socially isolated patients that couldn't make the party)
Staff at the practice who not only donated presents and baked cakes but also helped out at the party.

Some of the comments made by the patients attending included: -

“Thank you very much for inviting me, if I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have had a Christmas party”.
“It’s been really nice, thank you for inviting me”.
“I’ve had a lovely time, thank you so much, can we have another one next year?”.

A great time was had by all. You can find more pictures and videos of the party here - Pictures from the party.

Dementia Group Christmas party

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:28:24 GMT

We were pleased to put the Christmas party on for the group on Thursday 14th December

The PPG, in partnership with Approach and Support Staffordshire were very pleased that we were able to hold our first Christmas Party for the Dementia Activity group that meets every Thursday at Whitehill Methodist Community Church. A great time was had by all. You can find more pictures and videos of the party here - Pictures and videos from the party.

NAPP Corkill Award - Runner up

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:20:19 GMT

Corkill Award 2023 - Mount Road Practice PPG are Runners up!

We are pleased to say that we were joint runners-up in the Corkill Award 2023.

Our submission was based on 2 different areas of the work we have done over the last 12 months.: -

The work we have done to set up the Weekly Dementia Activity group at Whitehill Methodist Community Church
The use of podcasts to try and reach people with impaired vision and the younger generation.

You can find the submission for the award here - 2023 Corkill Award Submission

This is the criteria that was used for the award.

The Corkill Award 2023 presentation will take place on 18 November 2023, after the AGM (at approximately 11am). This is a teleconference, (via Zoom). To attend the seminar, please email community@napp.org.uk to book a place.

This Award was established by the N.A.P.P. Board in 2012 in recognition of a former Chairman, Joe Corkill, and his contribution to the promotion of patient participation for over twenty years.

This year the theme is celebrating PPGs working in their wider communities.

The winning PPG will receive a prize of £400.00.
The runner-up PPG will receive a prize of £100.00.

Short-listed PPGs will receive local and national recognition with special member bulletins featuring links to website updates.

Award Conditions:

All PPGs that are members of N.A.P.P. on the 1st August 2023 are eligible.
The Award recognises outstanding work by a PPG in the preceding year (2022/3) which demonstrates an innovative approach to wider community engagement.
Outstanding achievement may relate to several activities, helping many people or may include a particular scheme that had a significant impact on relatively few people.
Entries are particularly encouraged where the PPG has managed to succeed in wider community engagement under challenging circumstances and where the PPG is striving to engage with those sections of the population that are ‘harder to reach’, seldom heard, isolated or lonely.
PPGs can nominate themselves, and they can also be nominated by a patient, a member of the primary health care team, or a community organisation.
PPGs entered for the Award must be willing to share their achievements with other PPGs, to foster the sharing of good practice, through local and national media as well as N.A.P.P.’s own communication channels.
The work of the project conducted should be something which can be replicated by other PPGs.
The closing date for applications was 31st October 2023.

Get INTO Walking and Cycling

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 11:02:57 GMT

INTO - Walking and Cycling

INTO - an initiative from Staffordshire County Council and Active Travel England to get people more active. Simply click to access their promotional leaflet with a timetable of events and links to access.

PPG AGM - 2023

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:05:17 GMT

The 2023 AGM is taking place on Thursday 27th April, 1:00 pm at the Mount Road Practice

Any patient, aged over 18, who is registered as a patient at the practice is welcome to attend.

GP Patient Satisfaction survey results

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 14:12:43 GMT

2022 Survey results

The GP Patient Satisfaction survey is an annual survey where a letter is sent registered patients, selected randomly, inviting them to complete the survey. The results from the 2022 survey are now available.

The overall survey result was above the National, and the Integrated Care System (ICS) average scores.

In the category “Accessing the practice” four of the six results were above the National & ICS averages, whilst all six results were above these averages for category “Appointment experience”.

To see he results for all the questions in the survey, please see the GP Patient Survey 2022 results page

Find out more about the survey at https://gp-patient.co.uk/PatientExperiences?practicecode=M83084

Are you struggling with Money worries?

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 13:33:42 GMT

Help is available for you, don't struggle on alone.

Do you feel like your money worries are hanging over you like a dark cloud, or are you struggling to make ends meet? Help is available, so click on the image above and see how you can get help.

Navigating the Menopause Sessions

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:06:59 GMT

Navigating the Menopause Sessions - Whitehill Methodist Community Church

Click on the play button above to hear Suzannah explain more about these sessions

PCN Services - Admiral Dementia Nurse & Health and Wellbeing Coach

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 15:25:37 GMT

The PCN now have their own Admiral Dementia Nurse

The PCN now have a full time Admiral Dementia Nurse (Sheridan Coker) who splits her across each of the PCN surgeries to ensure that they have at least one day a week at each. Find out more by clicking on the image above.

NN-PCN Podcast available (Episode 1)

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 15:15:26 GMT

PCN Services - Dementia Nurse and Health & Wellbeing coach

This episode is about two new services that are offered by the PCN: -

Admiral Dementia Nursing Health
Wellbeing coaching

Sheridan Coker is the Dementia Nurse and expl ains how she is able to support dementia sufferers as well as families and carers. This service is available via your surgery. Further details on how to access he services are included in the podcast. You can follow this link to find more detail on the PCN services page of the website - http:mountroadpracticeppg.nhs.uk/pcnservices

Suzannah Hollinshead is the Health & Wellbeing coach and explains more about what the role entails and how they can support you in improving or maintaining both your health and mental wellbeing during these challenging times.

I would like to thank both Sheridan and Suzannah for sparing the time to give an insight into the work they do.

Online Consultation

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 11:53:17 GMT

Online consultation and help now available

Head over to the mount Road Practice website & click on the Online Consultation link to access the system. You can also access the online system by clicking https://florey.accurx.com/p/M83084 Why not bookmark the page so you have it when needed?

You can request Admin updates, request a callback for a medical issue or look for online self help. Simply complete the details and the surgery will respond to your request. You can even upload pictures when reporting a medical issue. All the other options for requesting an appointment, such as calling the surgery, are still available as well. Once you access the system you will see the options displayed below.

Cl ick here to see the demonstration vid eo

COVID Vaccination Pass - NHS App

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 10:48:32 GMT

The NHS App - Your COVD-19 vaccination status and Pass

The NHS App is not only the place to access your COVD-19 Test results and vaccination status but also allows you to access your COVID pass. This may be required to access events trialling the NHS COVID Pass and also when travelling.

Please note that this is the NHS App, NOT the NHS COVID-19 App.

New - PPG Podcast service now available

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:40:45 GMT

The PPG is pleased to announce the launch of their new Podcast Service

The PPG is pleased to announce that we have launched the Mount Road Practice PPG Podcast service.
The reason for creating the Podcast service was to try and reach out to patients who may be unable to access the written information, and improve access for people on the go. Hopefully this will improve the audience and engage different demographics of the patients we represent.
The intention is to create an episode for each Newsletter, as well as news, information and interviews with staff from the Surgery and also from the Newcastle North Primary Care Network (NN-PCN).
Please take a look, and if you have any requests, or suggestions for topics that you would like to see covered please let us know.
The podcasts are available on a number of Podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, links below.

Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mount-road-practice-ppg/id1576517412

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7hIVWtEuaGGCS4revKyOYA?si=Y17kth69Q7iD2b6YOg5EIg&dl_branch=1

Practice Changes

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:27:11 GMT

Dr Robinson Retires

Dr Robinson announced that he will retire from the Practice, effective 4th July 2021.
As a result of this the Practice will be renamed to Mount Road Practice.
Dr Bradshaw will become a Partner in the practice and 2 new part-time doctors will be employed on a permanent basis. (More details to follow).
The practice has a new website https://www.mountroadpractice.nhs.uk
The telephone number will be unchanged

COVID-19 Vaccinations

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 09:10:12 GMT

This roll out has started!

The roll out of the vaccinations has stared with the first wave of those in the highest priority group having their first dose delivered on the weekend off 19th December 2020. Please note that the surgery will contact patients as they become eligible for their vaccination , in line with the prioritisation program, so please do not contact the surgery to arrange a vaccination appointment. They will contact you.

More information can be found on he COVID-19 vaccination page here

Breast Cancer Screening Awareness

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:25:47 GMT

Please feel free to join the online meeting, details below

Please click on Continue Reading to see full details of the event
To join the meeting use the Meeting ID 522248 9960
Password Breast

Flu Clinics

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:59:08 GMT

Challenges for Flu Clinic 2020

You may have heard the news about this year’s flu vaccine campaign. This year will be a TOUGH year for practices delivering flu vaccines.

Why?

We are still geared up for another wave of Covid-19. We will be doing vaccinations in PPE meaning changes between patients and cleaning of the environment between patients. All that PPE has to be ordered, stored, shared out, restocked and disposed of.
We need to maintain social distancing between patients, so no more crowded waiting rooms with a lovely catch up from others in your community.
Social distancing means we have to make innovative use of our building, with one way in, one way out. Where that’s not possible, practices may look to hold clinics in community centres, town halls, supermarket car parks.
A change of venue would mean notifying CQC, arranging cold chain (to keep the vaccines cold), and LOTS of planning.
The additional group of patients will mean lots more vaccines are needed: practices order the vaccine a year ahead, so we now need to rely on NHSE / Public Health England to supply additional stock.
Everything takes longer: PPE, cleaning, social distancing. So a clinic for 1000 people which used to be done in 3 hours could now take 8 hours or more.
The staff that deliver the vaccines and the administrators who support them during the clinics are already working flat out during the week, and now face the prospect of working additional long shifts at the weekends.
It is unlikely practices will be able to run open clinics this year where patients can just turn up, so practices need to set up some kind of appointment system.
The number of Housebound patients has increased with some patients still needing to shield, and home visits for them take much longer and are much riskier for the staff.
Many practices are running on reduced work force as they have shielding staff, or staff who cannot see patients face to face due to their own risks.

Thank you for reading this far. You may ask what is the point of this post?

The main point is we found out this information the same time as you did, and although we have lots of ideas, there is still lots we need to work out, so please don’t ask to book in yet!

We WILL let you know by text, Facebook, website or letter what the plan is.
It WILL be very different this year.
We WILL do our best as we always do.

We are grateful for your support - please do share as every practice is in the same position.

Social Prescribing for Patients

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 18:13:07 GMT

A New Service available for people in need

As part of the Newcastle North Primary Care Network, the surgery now have a social prescriber to help you.

Social Prescribing explained:
If you have a problem that is not medical, social prescribing a way of helping you to connect to support that will help you to find ways to do something about it and feel more in control and part your community.

What you can expect:
Your GP practice can refer you to your social prescriber for a range of support services. A face to face appointment for you to meet with your social prescriber will be made at a practice and time that is convenient to you. You will have time to discuss what is important and helpful to you.