PRACTICE NEWS

Change in Partnership

Dr Will Elson

We are very sorry to inform patients that Dr Will Elson has decided to retire, he first joined the practice in January 1996 and will be retiring on the 31st October 2023. However Dr Elson has very kindly agreed to carry on working at the practice as a locum when ever required. We would like to wish him a long and happy retirement.

A very warm welcome to Dr Jordan Nye!

We are very pleased to introduce Dr Jordan Nye who will be joining the practice as a full time partner in No-vember this year and will be taking over Dr Elson’s full patient list.

Dr Nye was born and brought up in Suffolk, he re-turned following 10 years training in 2010 and for the last 10 years has been working as a GP in a busy prac-tice in Ipswich but has always wanted to work in a more rural setting and is very much looking forward to working with the team at Wickham Market.

Annual GP survey results for Suffolk practices revealed

We are very pleased to share The National GP Patient Survey Results.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank our dedicated, caring and professional staff.

We welcome all feedback and we will continue to review all the services we provide to our patients.

Online Appointments

you are now able to book the following appointments using your systm one online account

Asthma reviews
COPD reviews
B12 injections
Cervical Screening

If you do not have access to systm one online please contact reception.

Evening and Weekend Appointments

Evening and weekend appointments are available at Wickham Market Medical Centre GP practice or at an NHS service nearby. Appointments can be made until 8pm on weekdays and between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays. You will be able to discuss your health concern with a GP, nurse or other health professional and also make routine appointments for vaccinations, health checks and screenings. Book with the reception team.

Visit the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex website to learn more about the different health care professionals working in GP surgeries.

New Monday Hours at Rendlesham

From March 2023, Rendlesham Monday new hours are 8:30am to 12:30pm. See our Opening hours page for details.

National Data Opt Out

You can opt out of your GP record be shared with NHS Digital for planning and research before September 21. For more information please see this advice sheet or our Privacy Policy.

Change Of Appointments

Please note the practice will be returning to the pre-bookable appointment system from the 1st July 2021. Patients will be able to book telephone consultations and face-to-face appointments in advance. Same day appointments will be for urgent matters only.

Research Study - Germ Defence

We are letting you know about a very useful website called Germ Defence which was created by a team of doctors and scientists to give you advice that has been proven to reduce the spread of viruses in the home. It can help you plan how to protect yourself and members of your family from infection by COVID-19 and ‘flu.

Please see this article for details

Face to Face Appointments

Face to face appointments are still available, but you may be asked to discuss your conditions over the phone or online first to assess what would be most appropriate for you.

Monitor Your Blood Pressure at Home

We are requesting patients to supply us with home blood pressure readings wherever possible instead of coming into the surgery for a blood pressure check. It would be extremely helpful if you would purchase a blood pressure monitor if you are able to do so. These machines can be purchased for £20 to £50. We realise not everyone may be able to afford a monitor but if as many patients as possible are able to do so, it will allow us to maximise patient and staff safety in the building.

Examples of blood pressure monitors approved for home monitoring

The Kinetik Wellbeing monitor is available to purchase from Wickham Market & Rendlesham Surgeries for £20 whilst stocks last. Please contact the Pharmacy or Dispensary if you wish to purchase one.

Once you have your blood pressure monitor, we suggest you take 3 readings a few minutes apart and record the lowest reading, then repeat this at different times of the day. If you could let the surgery know the average of the results by email, eConsult or phone, we will record the result and contact you if any action is needed.

How we use Information to Manage the Health of Local Population

For further details see our How we use Information to Manage the Health of Local Population document.

My Care Record

My Care Record enables health and care professionals, directly involved in your care, to access information about you.

Contact your Doctor Online

We've added eConsult to our website. This enables you to contact your Doctor online. For further information on how eConsult works why not watch this short video.

Pharmacy2U

Pharmacy2U is NOT your local pharmacy and has nothing to do with us.

Further advice regarding Pharmacy2U

Patient Online Services

You can now book your appointment and order your repeat prescription online using our patient online access service. Available 24 hours a day, it's especially useful when the practice is closed or telephone lines are busy.

If you have not already registered for this service please pop into the surgery for details.

Book an Appointment or Order Repeat Prescriptions

Telephone Support Line for Over 65’s

Thanks to the support of Suffolk Community Foundation, Aspire Together in BSE will be launching a new support service for older people in Suffolk on Monday 8th February 2021. Later Life Community Connect is a single point of access telephone support line with a “real” person at the end of the phone, between 10am and 2pm, seven days a week. Please see poster for more information.

On Line Research Study - Psychological impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Psychological impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and experience: An international survey

Following a highly successful first phase which saw over 41,000 participants, researchers from Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust are leading a collaboration group are launching the second phase of their global study into the psychological impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. The study is linked to the Medical Research Council global health research programme led by the Portsmouth-Brawijaya Centre for Global Health, Population, and Policy, University of Portsmouth.

Phase one results gave valuable insights in to how different people, genders and communities were coping with the global pandemic and the second phase enables more people to take part and ensures an even greater range and comparison between the two phases.

You can take part by completing the short questionnaire exploring the psychological impact of the coronavirus, its effect on our emotions, behaviour and wellbeing. The aim of the survey is to better understand how the coronavirus and the impact the current lockdown is having on our day to day lifestyle, what is helpful and what may be causing some people to be affected more than others in terms of their wellbeing.

The survey is open to anyone over the age of 16 and able to complete the online questionnaire. If you completed the survey in the first phase, you can take it again this time as it is important to understand how people have adapted and changed. We would encourage everyone, including staff, patients, friends and family to take part.

The survey can be found at this website, which takes around 10 minutes to complete.

Please ensure you select Wickham Market Medical Centre when asked where you heard about the survey. You can find out more on the research pages on this website.

The survey is linked to the Medical Research Council global health research programme led by the Portsmouth-Brawijaya Centre for Global Health, Population, and Policy, University of Portsmouth. It has full Health Research Authority approval and is open to anyone over the age of 16 and able to complete the online questionnaire.

CLIMB Study

The study is open to anyone over 16 years of age (or under 16 with parental permission). Participants must reside in the UK. The average time taken to complete the online survey is approx. 15 minutes.

GP sites have been added to the survey so that when participants are asked where they heard about the survey, they should be asked to tick 'from a GP' and then further instructed to tick the name of the surgery in a drop-down list. Participants are advised to start typing the name of their surgery and drop-down boxes containing those words appear, so they don't have to scroll through a long list.

The survey is open to anyone; patients, relatives, friends, local groups, village social media sites etc. You can send the link to anyone.

See the CLIMB Study poster

Take the Survey Now!

Latest Newsletter

The Autumn 2023 Newsletter is out now.

Older Newsletters

Keep Calm And... the user guide to handling your new baby

When a baby is crying, there are different ways you can try to soothe it/’fix’ the problem
If baby won’t soothe, and if you feel stressed and overwhelmed, step away for a moment, take a moment to yourself and try to calm down
It is not unusual or shameful to feel overwhelmed by a baby crying

See this slideshow for more information

Babies are delicate and vulnerable, and it is dangerous to shake them
Help is available, and you are not alone

Social Prescribing: Connect for Health - What is Social Prescribing?

Connect for Health logo

Social prescribing enables GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services.

Locally, social prescribing is known as 'Connect for Health'.

NHS England describes social prescribing as “enabling all local agencies to refer people to a link worker”. Link workers - known locally as Community Connectors - give people time and focus on what matters to the person as identified through shared decision making or personalised care and support planning. They connect people to community groups and agencies for practical and emotional support.

Connect for Health particularly works for a wide range of people, including those:

with one or more long-term conditions,
who need support with their mental health,
who are lonely or isolated,
who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.

Take a look at our Special Edition Newsletter about Connect for Health and our A new way of working with you information sheet for more information.

New Support for Parents (Information for young children)

Good neighbourhood schemes / Support

Lost and Found

We have a few items in our lost and found drawer. If you have lost something or think you have left something behind at the surgery please contact us with the details.

Investors in People

We are pleased to announce that we have retained our Investors in People Accreditation. The Surgery has worked very hard to keep the standard for the award and would like to thanks all the staff for their hard work on the achievement.

For more information on Investors In People please follow the link: Investors in People Webpage

Healthwatch Suffolk

See our Healthwatch Suffolk page.

The Suffolk and North East Essex Digital Health and Care Survey

We are seeking to gather feedback from the public and also our local NHS and care workforce about the use of digital services (e.g. online consultations with clinicians, remote triage or visiting etc). The aim is to understand how the significant increase in the use of technology during the pandemic has impacted upon people’s experiences of receiving, or providing, both NHS or social care.

Hosting page with information about the work and links to various survey formats

News item, including statements from Andy Yacoub, Sam Glover and Dr. Ed Garratt

We are particularly keen to hear from people who may find it difficult to access online services, or who may be digitally excluded so that we can find out what is needed to help people access care or support. We would also appreciate any support to reach BAME communities and people for whom English is not their first language.

There is an opportunity for people to sign-up to participate in co-production of a second phase of this research that will explore people’s experiences in more depth. This second phase will be informed by people’s responses to this initial survey.

The pandemic has accelerated the use of digital service offers, which has been viewed as a positive development for people needing to access care or advice at this time. In many cases, these new ways of working will be here to stay, so we need to make sure they will work for those who need to access them now and in the future. The survey, which has been commissioned by the SNEE ICS, is an opportunity for our local health and care system to reflect upon this and to take forward any learning into future digital strategies and practice across services.

We would be very grateful for any support from system leaders to distribute this survey widely across the ICS footprint and to encourage responses from both the public and also NHS or social care staff. Please contact research@healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk if you have any questions about this work or call 01449 703949 to speak with a member of the team.

GP training afternoons

We are still open to collect pre-made prescriptions and make appointments in person but there are no clinicians on site. Telephones are diverted to 111 from 13.00 on these days to allow staff training.

The next GP training afternoons, for 2021, are on:

11th October 2023
9th November 2023
6th December 2023
8th February 2024
6th March 2024

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. For urgent assistance please contact NHS out of hours service on 111.

Please note: These dates are subject to change.

We are also closed all day on all Bank Holidays.

GP online, saving you time

Did you know that GP online services can save you time?

Did you know that you can book and cancel appointments online, order repeat prescriptions and, view some of your health records by simply signing up for GP online services? All you have to do is take two forms of ID into your GP practice and register your details.

You can find out more about GP online services on the NHS.uk website.

conditions- costs to NHS

Friends and Family

The Friends and Family Test is a way of gathering your feedback, so we can continually review our service.

It is one simple question:

"How likely are you to recommend our GP practice to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?"

Your feedback will help us learn more about what you think of your experience - what you like and what you think we could improve. Ultimately, you're helping us to make changes that will ensure we can offer the best possible care.

It is completely anonymous. Please collect a form from your Doctor or Reception.

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