Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS published this month used many powerful words – ‘critical’ and ‘catastrophe’ amongst others, adding to our Prime Minister’s evaluation of the service that it is ‘broken’. Lord Darzi highlighted: long waiting lists; difficulty in accessing services, including GP services; alongside a deterioration in the nation’s underlying health. These are all frustrations that many of us will have experienced especially in the last few years, post-pandemic. The scale of change has already been monumental, and there is much more to come if the health of the nation is to be protected. We recognise that this is difficult for many of us, especially when we have grown up with a system which appeared to be more patient focused, and where access to what we needed was quick and guaranteed.
We have been delighted to see that the appointment system in the surgery has been changed. The Managing Partner recognised within a very short time of his appointment that the ‘Wednesday’ system just didn’t work, and was certainly not patient-centred. We have worked alongside the surgery to highlight the difficulties patients have experienced. We are aware there are still difficulties in routine appointments and these appear to be within the context of overall NHS staffing difficulties. Appointments are a constant item on our FPS agenda with the surgery.
I have personally had the misfortune (or maybe good fortune as an observer!) of experiencing many different parts of NHS provision within a very short period of time this month. These included visits to all three West Herts Hospitals, as well as the GP and 111. My reflections are that the triage system worked efficiently in all the settings, including the surgery on the two occasions I contacted them, and that the clinicians, not necessarily doctors, left me feeling safe and cared for. There were waits, but some of these were about diagnostic and decision-making issues involving different clinicians. I think I was more concerned about the car parking charges at the hospitals, and felt a sense of overwhelming joy when the machine was out of order at one of them! What I did note though was the pressure on staff in A&E. Staff were literally running at speed and I was left wondering if the foundation doctor – as new doctors are now referred to – I saw, had ever thought a career in Starbucks might have been preferable.
We have continued in the FPS committee to forge connections with the new management team at the surgery. We will continue to highlight the appointment system, taking on board the feedback we receive from patients. However, the comments on the Health Watch website following Lord Darzi’s report highlight the need for improvement in communication, a better listening culture within the NHS, and for services to be measured against patient experience; this is very much part of our agenda as representatives of all patients of Parkwood Surgery.
Do read our minutes – they are published on our website every month – and remember we are always pleased to hear from you.
As your committee, we regularly put forward your queries, concerns and feedback to the surgery management. Here are some of the top concerns you’ve raised with us, and the responses we’ve received from the surgery.
Appointments
The surgery has been aware of issues with the Wednesday schedule following our feedback from patients. The decision was therefore made in August to move to a different system, with appointments released each day. You can find out more about how to book appointments, both routine and urgent, on the surgery website.
Flu clinics
Dates for the ‘flu clinics will shortly be communicated to eligible patients by the surgery. Administering vaccines like these provides vital funding for the surgery and so, if you are able to, please consider using the surgery instead of your local pharmacy; it makes a difference!
And the annual plea: if you can walk to the surgery on ‘flu clinic days, please do! The car park and Parkwood Drive itself can become very congested on these days so the more we can avoid parking in these areas (unless mobility needs prevent this), the better.
Meeting with the partners of Parkwood Surgery
The FPS committee met with the partners in August, where updates on issues such as appointment availability were shared and discussed. It was a valuable insight into the complexity of all the issues faced by GPs; patients’ perceptions are often just the tip of the iceberg, with many decisions stemming from NHS directives, rather than individuals in the surgery. We found the meeting and their plans very positive and we’re keen to continue the dialogue so we can provide support of mutual benefit.
One of the aspects we have raised repeatedly is the need for consistent and effective communication. The surgery has committed to resuming its regular newsletters to update patients on changes; the first is available on the surgery website.
Updates to our guide to the surgery
We’ve updated our Guide to Parkwood Surgery. This includes key information on how to use the surgery’s appointments systems as well as PatientAccess. We’ve also included a guide to the different kinds of clinical staff you may encounter at the surgery, and suggestions over how to make the most of the appointment you have.
Check out the minutes of our meetings
The minutes from FPS’ monthly meetings, including our more recent August and September meetings, are available here. We hope this will improve the transparency for patients so you can see your concerns and queries are being raised.
Knit and Natter Group
The Knit and Natter group continues to meet on Tuesdays from 2-4pm at the Community Hall on Great Sturgess Road. If you’d like to come along to it, or know someone who would like a chat and some company, please contact Val on 01442 255449.
Want to stay up to date?
One easy way to keep up to date with FPS’ events is to follow us on our Facebook page. Every time we update the website, we’ll post a link there!
Unsubscribe from FPS communications
If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving communications about FPS, you will need to contact the surgery to ask for this note to be placed on your file. FPS does not hold any data on patients other than that provided directly by them, such as emails sent to the FPS mailbox.
13th September is Word Sepsis Day, dedicated to raising awareness of this life-threatening condition.
It is the number one cause of preventable deaths worldwide, and can affect anybody, very swiftly.
Knowing the key symptoms is one way of ensuring quick treatment is received. The 5 key symptoms are:
Find out more from the NHS website or Sepsis Research.
23rd-29th September is Organ Donation Week. The NHS is desperately in need of donors of all kinds, including blood, as you may have seen in the news recently.
In England, the law changed in 2020 into an opt-out system, assuming that those who haven’t said otherwise are happy to donate after they have died.
However, you can choose to opt out, or give clear instructions over which organs you would or would not like to donate.
Find out more and register your decisions at www.organdonation.nhs.uk.
You can also find out about blood donation and being a living donor.