There is
more information on measles on the NHS choices website.www.nhs.uk
What is NHS 111?
NHS 111 is a
new telephone service being introduced nationally to make it easier for
people to access local health services when they have an urgent need. In
Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire (BNSSG), this service
will be provided by Harmoni. It will replace NHS Direct, the local Out
of hours call handling, currently provided by BrisDoc, Frendoc and
Harmoni. It will also provide a general number for people to call when
their need is urgent and they do not think it is a life threatening
emergency (999) or that it is an in hours primary care problem.
It will be
available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls from mobiles and
landlines are free.
The Harmoni
call centre will be staffed by fully trained health advisors who are
supported by experienced clinicians. The health advisors will use a
clinical assessment system which enables them to assess a caller’s needs
safely and effectively and direct them to the right local NHS service
using our local electronic Directory of Services.
The service
will not provide a diagnosis but will direct callers to the best place
to deal with their level of need in the required timeframe.
Further
information can be found on the national NHS 111 website,
www.nhs.uk/111.
Whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy
There is a large
outbreak of whooping cough in the UK at the moment, with three times more
cases in the general population than there were last year. In the first
seven months of this year, 235 babies under 12 weeks old had whooping
cough. Sadly, ten babies have died from whooping cough so far this year.
Babies are not
vaccinated against whooping cough until they are two months old. Babies
who are too young to be vaccinated are at greatest risk.
Getting vaccinated while you’re pregnant may help to
protect your baby from developing whooping cough in his or her first few
weeks of life. The immunity you get from the vaccine will pass to your
baby through the placenta.
For more information see
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/
Flu vaccination
– delayed clinics
As usual we are offering many of
our patients a free NHS flu vaccination this year. Those over 65 or
suffering from long term conditions such as asthma or diabetes are
particularly at risk of complications should they catch flu and if this
applies to you, please contact the practice to book an appointment in one
of our flu clinics. You can read more about flu here:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu-jab/pages/introduction.aspx
However, we are very disappointed
to learn that our vaccine supplier has encountered problems manufacturing
this year and has been unable to supply. We have been able to acquire a
limited quantity of vaccine for our clinics in October and will have more
in November. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and are working
hard to ensure we can vaccinate patients entitled to and requiring a flu
vaccination in November.
If you haven’t
already, please call reception to book an appointment for a flu
vaccination at one of our clinics in November!
Press Release: Move to Bristol North Baths 22/08/12
The Spence
Group Practice and Nevil Road Surgery
Announcement to Patients - Monday 30th July
We are very pleased to confirm that the agreement to
lease the Bristol North Baths was signed by the partners of both practices
last week on Thursday 26th July, 2012.
This comes after a lengthy development phase and, after
protracted negotiations, we believe we have achieved a deal that provides
a good basis for the future of our practices and location where we can
develop the services we offer our patients. Getting this far has been
something of a marathon relay race with members of both practices
contributing at different times to this achievement.
Now the developer, Chatsworth Homes, can begin the
process of redeveloping the site into The Bishopston Community Health
Centre as well as constructing a library for the council on the same site
(on the other side of the car park). To begin with this will entail a
period of detailed preparation prior to physical work commencing on the
site. Completion, and our relocation, is expected during autumn 2013.
The practices too will commence a period of more
detailed preparation for our merger beginning with the preparation of a
detailed project plan. For the time being of course it’s “business as
usual” for both our practices but we anticipate there will be increased
cooperation between us and opportunities to learn from one another, share
skills and experience to ensure we adopt the best practices in our new
combined practice.
We know you will want to know how the project is
progressing and may have questions or concerns about our pans to move and
merge. We will keep our staff up to date s that they can answer your
questions, for example in reception (we would prefer not to use GP or
nurse consultation time for this!). Practice websites will be updated with
the latest news and we will produce newsletters periodically throughout
the project which will be available in our surgeries and on our websites.
We will of course also keep our Patient Groups informed.
We are delighted to have reached this milestone and
excited at the opportunities it offers for our practices and patients.
Mark Allen - The Spence Group Practice
Linda Buczek - Nevil Road Surgery
13.08.2012
Flu
Vaccination
NHS flu vaccinations are now available –
please
follow this link to read about this important form of health
protection. Updated: 13.11.2011
Patient Records Network
The Spence Group
Practice will soon be a member of a local Patient Records Network, which
has recently been introduced to Bristol. This will enable important parts
of your medical record to be securely accessed by local, NHS teams in an
emergency or when the surgery is closed.
We believe that
sharing this information will improve the quality of healthcare you will
receive. However, patients will be able to opt-out. 11.11.10
Volunteer
Driver Scheme
For patients who are genuinely unable to get to the
surgery we run a volunteer driver service. This is to help patients who
would otherwise be unable to do so, to attend GP or nurse appointments on
a Monday or Wednesday morning. If you believe you need to use this
service, please speak to reception. We ask patients using the service to
make a donation to cover the driver’s expenses; this should be put in the
drivers’ service collection box at reception.
This service is
dependent on our volunteer drivers to whom we are very grateful. If you
could offer to do this on a rota basis, even offering one or two mornings
per month, that would be very helpful. We are obliged to have volunteer
drivers “CRB checked” and will meet mileage and telephone cots. Please
speak to our reception if you would consider joining this team.
11.11.10
Social Club
at The Spence Group Practice
The Patient Participation Group (PPG) is planning to
develop a social club, based at the practice, for those for whom the
weekend can be a lonely or isolated time.
Would you like to get together on an occasional
Saturday morning here at The Practice?
The idea would be a social gathering/coffee morning
where people who would normally be occupied during weekdays could meet for
a sit down and a chat and a beverage.
No doctors or nurses would be involved, but it would be
a place where you could meet fellow patients in a social setting.
If you would be interested
either in attending or helping to run these events, please contact
reception.
11.11.10
Why we do not use email for
contact
Although email is very
convenient, as it passes over the public internet there is a risk that it
may be intercepted. This is only a slight risk but it does mean that
information sent by email may not be secure. Whilst we will respond to
emails you send to us, in order to maintain the confidentiality of your
medical record, we will not include any personal information (other than
your name and email address, of course) in a reply by email unless you
give us explicit consent to do so. In most cases we will contact you by
letter or telephone. 11.11.10
