Kings Medical Practice News www.kingmedicalpractice.co.uk

The surgery is only closed on the statutory bank holidays - we are otherwise open as normal. If you need a doctor when we are closed ring our normal number - 0844 815 1340 - and your call will automatically be transferred to the out of hours service. We normally need two working days notice for repeat prescriptions but if you are going to run out over the holidays then let our staff know and we will be able to run it off quicker. Our opening times over the forthcoming holiday period are: Thursday 21 April - 8.00 am - 6.30 pm (and extended access surgery 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm) Good Friday 22 April - closed Easter Saturday 23 April - Extended access surgery 8.00 am - 11.00 am (pre booked only) Easter Sunday 24 April - closed Easter Monday 25 April - closed Tuesday 26 April - 8.00 am - 6.30 pm (and extended access surgery 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm) Wednesday 27 April - 8.00 am - 6.30 pm Thursday 28 April - 8.00 am - 6.30 pm (and extended access surgery 7.00 am - 8.00 am) Royal Wedding Bank Holiday Fr...

The practice has had a Patient Participation Group for a number of years. It meets about once every six to eight weeks a year. The group is an opportunity for patients to feedback to the practice about our performance, services we offer and suggestions to how we can improve. The group has made many suggestions to the way we can change and improve things. A list of some of the things that have changed following it being raised by the group include; name of new building, two people on reception, website tweaking, leaflets in the waiting room and many more. But the group would like some new bloods and extends a warm invitation to any patients who might wish to join. If you would like to join or would just like some more information about the group and what it does then contact Christine Sanderson, Practice Managing Partner - either by email click here , or by ringing the practice 0844 815 1340 option 2. Your Surgery Needs YOU!

In the last week we have had more statistics about the practices performance in the last 12 months. About a quarter of practice income is performance related and comes via the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) targets - to read more about QOF click here. Last year the practice achieved 957 out of 1000 points in total. In 2009/10 in the clinical domains we achieved 685 our of 697. This year we have achieved 693.1 out of 694 points in total. Achieving high points in QOF is mainly about making sure that patients with chronic disease are called and recalled for assessment and treatment. Our performance improved this year for two main reasons, firstly we have not had the distractions of moving premises (this was a big influence last year) and we have finally got to grips with how our new (July 2009) computer system codes diseases. The other statistic that has come out is the National GP Patient Survey results. Survey results for Jan-Mar 2011 will feed into our total QOF performance - bu...

We had some good news about our prescribing today. Keeping our prescribing costs under control and changing what we prescribe to more cost effective preparations is something that the practice can and does do. Over the last 12 months the practice has, with the help of a Community Pharmacist from Wakefield NHS, done several things to reduce our prescribing and ensure cost effective prescribing Extensively used Script Switch - this is a computer programme linked to our clinical system that suggests more cost effective drugs. I have previously blogged about this. Click here to read how it works Script Switch - in the quarter ending 31/12/10 we accepted 37% of Script Switch suggestions. Stopping prescribing glucosamine - we have reduced our prescribing of glucosamine from £456.26 per 1000 patients to £26.10 per 1000 patients in the quarter ending 31/12/10 Continuing to prescribe low cost PPIs (to stop stomach acid) - 94% of our prescriptions for PPIs in quarter ending 31/12/10 were for l...

We had our annual practice basic life support update on our training afternoon on Wednesday. All practice staff attended - doctors, nurses and admin staff and we were all updated and drilled in what to do if a person suddenly collapses in the practice (and indeed outside the surgery as well). We practiced on adults, children's and babies. The trainers had brought a super training vest for dealing with patients who are choking (click here for details) . The procedure is to bend the patient over and give them five back slaps to help relieve the choking, if that does not work you give five abdominal thrusts. The vest has a little gadget on the front that if you do the abdominal thrusts correctly you relieve the obstruction and a polystyrene bung goes floating across the room! Doing it together as a practice teams embeds what you have to do very deeply so that all members of staff know what they have to do, have practiced it and are confident that they can do it. Of course the resuscit...

The practice provides a full travel advice service to our registered patients including travel vaccinations, travel health advice, advice about malaria prophylaxis and Yellow Fever vaccination. Most travel vaccination are free - the exceptions are generally if you are going to unusual places or doing unusual things e.g. back packing trips or staying somewhere for longer than three months. The commonest vaccinations patients have to pay for are Yellow Fever, Hepatitis B and Rabies vaccinations. You will also have to pay for malaria prophylaxis but the practice doesnot charge if you need a private prescription for malaria prophylaxis. The practice is a registered Yellow Fever Vaccination centre. We are able to provide just Yellow Fever vaccinations and advice to patients who are not registered with the practice. Our travel advice service is run by our nursing team and they would like patients to fill in a Pre Travel Questionnaire before you attend...

At our regular Wednesday practice education meeting last week we met our local NHS Health Trainers and they told us about the new 'Get Active! Exercise on Prescription Scheme'. This is a scheme whereby health professionals (doctors and nurses) can refer patients to a local leisure centre for an individualised exercise programme. Suitable patients include patients with asthma, high blood pressure, depression, COPD and many more conditions. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise, five time a week, reduces you blood pressure, risk of heart disease, weight and stress levels. The scheme is a joint initiative between NHS Wakefield District and Wakefield Council and it is funded until December 2012. If you are referred into instructed exercise the costs of each session is £2.60. However, you may be able to access other options that are lower cost or free. All the doctors and nurses in the practice have referral forms so if you think that exercise might help your health then just ask!