Bank Holidays Approaching

WE WILL BE CLOSED ON FRIDAY 22nd TO MONDAY 25th APRIL AND FRIDAY 29th APRIL TO MONDAY 2nd MAY.

Please order your repeat prescription so that you do not run out of medication over the bank holiday period.

WHEN WE ARE CLOSED

If you have a life threatening emergency please dial 999. If you have an urgent medical problem that cannot wait until we are open, the emergency duty doctor on cal can be contacted by telephoning the surgery number on 01404 814447. Your call will automatically be transfer to the out of hours service. Alternatively Devon Doctors on Call can be contacted directly on 08456 710 270. Please note that for your safety Devon Doctors record all calls. Medical advice can be obtained from NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or from your local pharmacy.

If you require a routine appointment or have a general enquiry please contact us during our usual opening hours.

Appointments

We are currently experiencing a huge demand for appointments and at the same time there are quite a few occasions when patients have not kept their appointment. If you no longer need your appointment or you are unable to attend, please telephone to let us know so that we can then offer the appointment to someone else. Missed appointments waste valuable clinical time and delay others being seen.

Login to our site and order your medication online

Sign up for online access by coming to the reception desk with your photo ID. You will be issued with a username and password.

Login via the login tab on our homepage.

Currently this only allows you to order medication securely and rapidly online but we have plans for other facilities in the future!

Website back online

After a stormy few days switching web hosts our web site is back up and running. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

You will find a new format and revised content. We hope you like it!

Celebrating succes for the Carers project!

Congratulations to the Carers Team and all staff and GP's on a tremendous achievement in the second phase of the Devon Carers Project. This has been a tremendous team effort and every member of the Practice has played a part in some way.

• Final number of checks achieved 200(201?) exceeding our target of 194 and achieving a bonus payment for reaching target.


• PK's weekly drop-in sessions since January have been well received.


• Number of recorded Carers has risen from 192 last November to a final total of 303.


• Many of our patients have benefited significantly from being identified as Carers, and have taken advantage of the support and guidance that has been offered.

We have been very fortunate here in Ottery to have been supported and inspired by one of our GP's who is lead GP for the Devon Carers Project. This has had a huge impact on the acceptance and support for Carers amongst GP's and staff in East Devon, and particularly in this Practice.

Newton Poppleford Surgery

Unfortunately our Newton Poppleford Branch Surgery will be closed on Friday 1st April due to unforseen circumstances. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.
The Coleridge Medical Centre, Ottery St Mary will be open as usual.

Join our team?

We are currently looking for a PA to our Practice Manager / Medical Secretary.

25 hours per week

Salary negotiable

Suitable candidates will have excellent organisational and communication skills. You will be asked to demonstrate good touch and audio typing & IT skills including use of Microsoft Office suite. An understanding of medical terminology is desirable.

Please ring 01404 814447 or download an application pack.

 

Closing date for completed applications is 13^th April 2011

Spring gardening time

On Monday 28th March our boundary shrubs will be trimmed. There will be a wood chipper on site and as a result there will be reduced access to our car park. We ask able bodied patients and visitors to please park in the public car park next door to the surgery. We would prefer that our car park is used only by those with limited mobility.

Carers Project

The Carers Project in its current form is due to end on the 31st March 2011. We joined this Pilot Project in the first stage in July 2008 providing support and advice appointments for Carers. In the second phase starting in March 2010 the appointments became more structured, with a preparatory workbook for Caers to complete, and the option of a vascular check when indicated. Both pilots have been subject to an evaluation study carried out by the University of Plymouth, and direct feedback to the NHS, to support the development of new policies focusing on the welfare of all Carers and provided 194 of them with Carers check appointments and ongoing support and advice.

All our planned appointments for Carers checks for this project have now been booked, but we can still offer some short appointments for support and advice until the end of March. If there are any Carers who feel they have missed out on a Carers check appointment do let us know and we will do our best to accomodate you.

For the future we await details of the new specification for Carers Support in Devon. More details on this when available, will be posted on our website and included in the next Practice Newsletter.

Messages to patients using email and Text (SMS)

We have had a good response so far from patients who would be happy to receive electronic messages from us, but we would like to encourage more of you to consider this option. If you have any questions or concerns our Receptionists should be able to help you.

With your consent we can now arrange to contact you via email or Text Message (SMS) we will only text or email you with messages that are relevant to your ongoing health care e.g. appointment confirmation and reminders, test results, health screening opportunities etc.

We respect your privacy and will only contact you in this way if you give us your permission. If you would like to receive messages from us via email or text (SMS) you will need to complete a consent from so that we can record your agreement on your patient record.

To take advantage of this service, please contact the surgery to complete a consent form. Forms are available on the Reception & Prescription desks, in the Branch Surgeries and also on our website.