Practice Newsletter: January 2025

 

Happy New Year!

We wish you a joyous and healthy 2025. We would like to thank you for the Christmas cards, gifts, chocolates and biscuits we received from you this Christmas.  

This is appreciated.  May the New Year bring you happiness, peace, and prosperity.  

At the beginning of each year, people tend to make decisions about lifestyle changes. We are always looking for ways to help our patients to stay healthy, as well as helping them when they get ill. One of the best ways to protect your health, as you are probably aware, is to stop smoking.  

We offer support to help you quit smoking.  Please contact the Practice for support or visit Smoke Free Lewisham.

Also if you are trying to lose weight, we provide a weight management programme, which can support you in making positive sustainable lifestyle changes.  Please book an appointment with Stanly the Health and wellbeing Coach. 

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Notice of Building Works

The building works are progressing well, and we are excited to share some recent updates. The new automatic doors are now fully installed, and the two additional consulting rooms are ready for use. Work is still underway on two more rooms, as well as the paving of the exterior surgery area, all of which are expected to be completed soon.

We are looking forward to the final stages of the project, which will significantly enhance the atmosphere and functionality of the building, providing you with an even better experience during your visits.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding during this time

 

Facts and Figures

Here are some facts and figures about our activities in December:

  • 4069 incoming calls
  • 3515 calls answered (86.4%)
  • 554 telephone appointments
  • 6840 appointments offered
  • 469 Blood tests
  • 3041 prescriptions issued
  • 35 Home Visits
  • Friends and Family Test: 95.2% of patients surveyed rated our services as very good or good.
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Wasted Appointments 

It is important that you cancel if you are unable to attend your GP or nurse appointment.  We have made it very easy for you to cancel your appointments.  You can cancel by calling the surgery and, when prompted, enter your date of birth or by following the prompt on our reminder text. We are only able to offer your unwanted appointment if you cancel.

If you were not able to get the appointment you wanted in December, that could be that  of the 6840 appointments we offered,312 (4.56%) people who booked, did not show up and failed to cancel.  

 

GP Patient Survey 2025

In the next couple of weeks, around 2.4 million randomly selected people registered with GP practices will be invited to answer a GP Patient Survey questionnaire about their experiences. The survey will be live for 3 months, with fieldwork closing in early April. 
The findings help to show what is working and what needs to improve. The survey is carried out securely and information published does not identify individuals. 

If you receive an invitation, please fill out the questionnaire and have your say so we can deliver the best possible service to patients. If you need support completing the survey or need it made available in another language or format, you can call the free helpline number 0800 819 9135.

Find more information on the GP Patient Survey website.

 

Our Processes

We thought we should remind you of some of our processes:

How to Book an Appointment: 

All requests for appointments will be processed through the online process:

  • Online via our website
  • The completed form will be processed by our trained navigation team and you will be contacted with the outcome.
  • This could be a link sent to your phone to book an appointment, a direct telephone call, self-care advice, or navigation to a service that is more appropriate to help and support you.

If your request is deemed clinically appropriate for a GP appointment, this will be categorised under three levels of urgency:

  1. Same day
  2. Within 3 working days
  3. Within 10 working days

If you do not have a phone or you are less able to use the online form, please contact the Practice and inform staff who will be willing to support you in completing the online form.

If you require an appointment outside the surgery’s opening hours please contact 111 or visit NHS 111 online.

Telephones

  • Our telephone system offers an option to request a call back which saves your place in the queue, and as you approach the top of the queue we call you back so you will not need to hang on the phone the whole time
  • We proactively telephone some of our vulnerable patients to check in with them
  • Your requested GP will return your call within a given time frame if appropriate to do so

We remain grateful for your support and constructive feedback. 

Regards,

Antonia

Published: Jan 3, 2025