APPOINTMENT BOOKING WILL BE CHANGING on 5th August

As a result of patient feedback, we will be changing the way we book in appointments from Monday 5th August to TOTAL TRIAGE. Please read our July & August newsletter for all the details.

Our team will be ready to guide you through the new way of booking in and try to make it as easy as possible. Although it will feel unfamiliar at first, we are confident that this new system will better serve the healthcare needs of all our Neetside Surgery patients. Thank you for your continued co-operation and kindness.

CONTACT PHYSIO SERVICE ENDS on Friday July 26th

The First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs), who have been with us as a service since 2020 will no longer be available through our PCN after July 26th 2024.

What does this mean to patients?

If, after 26th July, you have a sudden on-set musculoskeletal (MSK) pain (back, knee,  ankle, neck), which is not associated with any previously-diagnosed condition or injury, you will now need to be triaged by a member of your practice’s clinical team, so you can either be seen by at the practice for further assessment, or signposted or referred directly to another service.

What about on-going treatment?

If you require any on-going physiotherapy treatment, a member of your practice’s clinical team will refer you to the community physiotherapy service accordingly. Please be aware there may be a wait for non-urgent treatment. This will be decided by physiotherapy service and appropriate to the nature of the MSK condition.

First Contact Physiotherapists will still be available within hospital settings.

Our thanks go to the PCN FCP team for all their hard work over the last four years. It has been great working with them.

PRIMARY CARE HUB AT STRATTON HOSPITAL

A brand-new Primary Care Hub has been set up at Stratton Hospital to enable you to see a health professional more quickly. It will be available on some Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Although the Hub started as a pilot project through May and June, this has now been extended into July and August 2024. We are delighted to say it has proved very popular and feedback overwhelmingly positive.

The hubs are offering additional appointments for people with minor illness symptoms, and the staff who work in them will be local Advanced Practitioners and GPs.   

The hubs are conveniently located across Cornwall, providing additional health and care services locally. 

You can access the hub only through your own GP practice who will advise if the hub is appropriate for you, using a number of eligibility criteria, some of which are:

• You are aged between 2 and 70
• You have a single minor ailment: urinary tract infection, a simple skin infection, an acute Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) condition, for example
• You do not have any pre-existing chronic conditions
• You require a face-to-face consultation for medical reasons
• You are registered at any of the practices within the Coast & Country Primary Care Network (Bradworthy, Holsworthy, Hatherleigh, Neetside and Stratton Medical Centres)
• You are able to get to Stratton Hospital

We hope patients will find this a useful addition to services already being offered by the network practices. It does not replace existing services, so patients who are not eligible to attend by age or medical condition, may continue to use their own practice services as directed.

READ OUR JULY & AUGUST NEWSLETTER

We are delighted to have a monthly newsletter, keeping our patients as up to date as possible with national and local healthcare initiatives and services.

For our latest newsletter please click JULY & AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Our next combined July and August newsletter will be available at the end of July.

VISITING THE AREA?

If you are visiting our lovely area and find you need medical advice and/or direction, you will find all the options on our Visitors Information page HERE

NEW SURGERY DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL 

To read the April 2023 statement about the very early stages of the proposed new surgery development please click HERE

USE NHS 111

Did you know you know you can get help and advice by calling 111 or go online at 111.nhs.uk? You may not need to go and wait in the busy emergency departments and could be directed to a minor injury unit which will be quicker and closer to home.

Only dial 999 for an ambulance in a genuine, life-threatening emergency, for example:

• Chest pain / breathing difficulties / heart attack
• Stroke
• Severe bleeding
• Severe allergic reactions
• Severe burns or scalds
• Serious head injuries
• Major trauma such as a road traffic accident or a fall from height

 If you have called for an ambulance, please do not ring again asking for a time of arrival. Only call again if:

• The patient’s condition worsens
• You no longer need our help

The call handlers must prioritise speaking to the most seriously injured and unwell patients.

ACCURX EXPLAINED

Our accuRx tool allows you to fill out a quick form online to give details of any symptoms. When submitted you will get a response to your accuRx by the end of the next working day (but usually before this).

If you have access to the internet and can use accuRx it will help free up the phone lines for patients who do not have online access. The doctors have asked that anyone who is able to use this service to do so.

Each phone call and accuRx is triaged in the same way, so this gives everyone the same level of care and access, whether you use accuRx or the phone.

You can also use this service for administrative queries, as well as appointment requests and updating your doctor. You can also use this for self-help advice. The phone lines are often extremely busy, so why not go online and use accuRx immediately and for free?