Kings Medical Practice News www.kingmedicalpractice.co.uk

On the news this morning there was a report from the Health Protection Agency that a quarter of people wrong believe that antibiotics work on most coughs and colds. To read more about the story click here for a link to the BBC Health Website. I am not sure that is completely accurate for our patients though. The practice has always been a low prescriber of antibiotics for coughs and cold and I think that one of the 'cultural norms' of our patients is that they are not expecting a prescription for antibiotics, they just want to be checked that it is not our their chest. Anyway the Health Protection Authority has produced a list of helpful tips: Most coughs and colds get better on their own - antibiotics will not speed recovery Coughing up phlegm on its own is not a reason to need an antibiotic - even if it is yellow A sore throat plus runny nose with phlegm suggests the infection is less likely to respond to antibiotics A high temperature, red throat and feeling really ill ...

Mid Yorks Hospital Trust, which is the organisation that runs our local hospitals has recently announced that Pontefract Accident and Emergency Unit is to temporarily close overnight from 10 pm. To read the full story click here . But essentially it is because there are not enough junior doctors to work in all three Accident and Emergency Departments to maintain a safe level of service to patients. The Trust denies that it is accelerating the closure of Pontefract A&E. But a week later at the Trusts Public Board meeting it announced that it is considering proposals to change the way it provides services to patients in Dewsbury, Wakefield and Pontefract. To read the full briefing paper click here . In order to become a Foundation Trust, Mid Yorks needs to demonstrate that its services are financially and clinically viable. In a nutshell that means that it can live within its financial means (ie save £30 million a year) and make sure that its clinical services are safe and effective...

I have always kept a sharp eye on the number of patients that are registered with us and this morning we have passed a milestone - we now have over 12,000 patients. Yesterday we had 11,997 patients and this morning when I looked we had 12,007 to be precise! I don't very often indulge in looking back but since we have passed such a huge milestone I think I can be afforded such an indulgence. When I first joined the practice in 1984 we had 4,500 patients and there were two full time GPs and Dr Ellis worked part-time. Oh how things have changed - there are now 8 fully qualified doctors, 5 doctors in training and we are open from 8.00 am to 6.30 pm every day with extra opening on some early mornings, some early evenings and Saturday mornings! We are very pleased that patients have chosen to register with us and I extend a warm welcome to all our new patients!

We have been reviewing our Repeat Prescription System and one of the issues that has come up is how do we ensure that Repeat Prescriptions are collected from Reception by the person who is authorised to collect it. If you order a Repeat Prescription then you can collect it in person but we will also allow your representative to collect and even a pharmacy to collect if for you. The issue we have identified is how can we ensure that the person collecting it is who they say they are and that they have your permission to collect it on your behalf. Some practices in our local area want proof of identity and a signature for every repeat prescription that is collected from Reception. We discussed this at length and concluded that this would impose a large workload on Reception for little benefit. We did however identify a subgroup of Repeat Prescriptions where we thought that we should implement such a system namely when people come to collect Repeat Prescriptions that are for Controlled Dru...

We have started to look at the reasons why our patients visit our local Accident and Emergency departments. In the course of an average week about 90 of our patients will visit A&E and half of these visits will occur between 8 am and 6.30 pm when the surgery is open. When we look at the letters we get back following patients attendances it looks to us as if a lot of patients could have come and been treated at the surgery instead. It costs our commissioning budget at least £80 per each A&E attendance whereas if the patients had come to the surgery instead if would not have cost anything at all. We are about to start contacting patients and asking them why they went to A&E? What could the surgery have offered so that they could have seen us rather than A&E? Do our patients know about other NHS Choices instead of A&E? We are just at the start of this process and are going to use the data we collect to help decide if we need to change our opening times. For example w...

We are getting closer and closer to that time of year when the leafs start to fall, birds emigrate, Santa's grotto appears in the shops and of course our flu jabs arrive. This year we have flu jab clinics on three Saturdays in October - the 8th, 15th and 22nd. We have nearly filled all our appointment slots on Saturday the 8th but still have plenty of availability on the 15th and 22nd. We recommend a flu jab to everyone over 65 years of age and those people with conditions that flu would make more dangerous for example people with diabetes, asthma or other long term conditions. To book an appointment dial 0844 815 1340 option 1 or click here to make an appointment view our online booking system. You know it makes sense!

We are very pleased to welcome Dr Harding back from maternity leave. Today was her first day and despite not being able to get her SmartCard to work first thing got on very well. Dr Harding will be working 3 full days a week. As with most doctors starting or returning from a break; the computer system can be problematic but patients are easy!