As from Monday 30^th March 2009 we will have a community bus available to patients who live in outlying areas. Initially, the community bus will serve St Newlyn East and surrounding areas. The scheme is being administered by Age Concern Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly.

The service will be available for patients to travel to Perranporth for appointments on Monday afternoons, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The community bus will operate as a dial a ride and will be available from 2pm to 5pm in the afternoon and from 9.30-12.30 in the morning.

The surgery appointment system will reserve a small number of appointments between 3-3.30pm or 10.30-11.00am for patients to book in advance if they need to arrange transport with the community bus.

Anyone who wishes to use the service needs to register for the scheme (a quick and easy process to be completed at the surgery or by the bus driver). Once an appointment has been made at the surgery the booking details will be passed onto the transport co-ordinator who will then contact the patient to make travel arrangements.

To recap and celebrate our achievements read our full newsletter here.

We have been working hard to try and find ways of wrapping up this project and what seemed most fitting was a small soirée on one late surgery to invite you all in to say a big thankyou. We are in the process of putting together some kind of leaflet and poster which will be full of images and a summary of what we did, why we did it and what happens next. So please do come along and help us celebrate when you see the date announced or if you have a letter. Apart from anything else, I would like to thank you all personally and say goodbye to you all.

So its time to hand you back over to Perranporth Surgery now, Lisa Fogg who is the surgery manager will be trying to continue to develop the arts at the surgery, and will be continuing to look at creative ways to engage clients from the surgery. She will still be linking up with Arts for Health Cornwall and so if we can help with anything or if you have any ideas then do please contact her via reception and I am sure she will be happy to help.

A huge thankyou to all the staff, artists, volunteers and of course patients. Thankyou for making my stay here so pleasurable and worthwhile, my job was made a lot easier because of you!

Lollie X

Requirements:

• Clean Driving License
• D1 on Driving License
• CRB Checked (surgery will arrange)

Hello there folks I’m back, three quarters of the way through and starting to evaluate the project, shocked at just how much we have done! During the last 5 months we will be wrapping a few groups up and leading them into new things; some are finding their own way and just one brand new one…..and also sadly thinking about finishing. Enjoy your summer and Thankyou for your support all of you.

Art group – ‘life’s a Beach’ This group has finished now, but not over. You will by now have seen our magnificent painting from this group in the waiting room. Some of the group have begun a N.C.F.E ( National Certificate in Further Education) with Cornwall College Adult Advisory Group, and some meet regularly still with Kate to work on other pieces. I am currently trying to find more funding to pay an artist to work with both patients from this group and from Diane’s group…..watch this space!

Knitting the sea (Previously the Craft/ Embroidery Group) The Crafting group had its ups and downs but finally settled in its new location at Perran Bay Home. Residents who are all registered patients at the surgery worked with volunteers to create a wall hanging based on the theme of the bay. The result Was an amazing two meter long bejewelled spectacle complete with cuttle fish, octopus and starfish! This will be hung in the waiting room very soon.

Perran Bay had also asked for help from us with running a cookery group for their clients. One of the hardest things for many of the ladies is not having the facilities to cook them selves. We contacted Health Promotion who fun a group called ‘Eat-some’ and now they are running weekly baking sessions with clients.

Women’s body image Val Stagg, who is a voice and reiki and shiatsu therapist, and has been working with a number of women in a group session called ‘SoundWaves’ since April. The women have been working with healing voice and relaxation techniques. They have been so popular that we extended them and are currently trying to find ways of funding it so that it can carry on…watch this space!

Gardening group – ‘Ugrow’ This group is designed as outreach for our clients with learning disabilities. The plan is to link them up with Glencarne Nurseries in Barkla Shop, where they can join together in a programme of learning and make new friends. These sessions have been a long time in the planning and now have the backing of The Duchy who will be tutoring the sessions and Adult Social Care. The plan is that they will be 6 sessions run as a pilot, for three hours on a Thursday morning beginning in September. With pick up and drop off at the surgery by minibus. If you have a letter sent to you or would like to join the project then please do contact the surgery for more information.

3D art group This was run as a spin off from Kate’s’ group. We wanted to lure more men into the groups and as a result we invited multi-media artist Diane Spiers for 14 sessions. They were working on themes of networks and have created a might sculpture for the surgery which will be a visual wonder…..This piece will be installed by the middle of July. You won’t believe your eyes. Many thanks to Diane and all her group, and as mentioned earlier, we are working with Cornwall College to find ways of continuing with our art groups.

Celebration Ideas As I mentioned earlier, we finish this project at the end of November which isn’t long. We have so many images, photographs, painting, feedbacks and creative writing pieces that we thought it would be a nice idea to create a book of the journey. We hope to publish a copy so that we have a great record of what we have achieved. We would like to launch this on a dark evening in November and invite all of you along to help us reflect on how far we have come as well as celebrate or achievements. If you have anything that you would like to suggest for the book or for the celebration then please do contact the surgery…be nice to leave with a bit of a do.

Lastly thank you to all my hard working volunteers, you know who you are…without you these projects wouldn’t happen! Have a good summer and wear lots of sun cream!!!!

Lollie X

This survey was conducted at the beginning of the year. Surveys were sent out to patients who had consulted within the last month. Replies were anonymous. Stamped addressed envelopes were included to encourage response.

Overall the results are very much the same as last year. With regard to opening hours , we had a slight increase in people expressing their wish for the practice to be open in the evenings, this increased from 14% to almost 17% this year. The number of people expressing their wish to have the surgery open at the weekends remained the same as last year, around 37%. As a result of this we are intending to offer extended surgeries one evening a week and also to hold a two hour surgery on Saturday mornings.

Patient satisfaction has increased around access to a doctor of their choice. We are pleased to see that almost 44% of patients see a doctor of their choice on the same day, as compared with 38% last year. We feel this is probably due to more stability within the team, now that Dr Davoren has been with us for a couple of years and Dr Huddy for a year. We have increased the number of sessions Dr Murdoch works from four to five a week, which patients have been very pleased about.

With regard to telephone access to the surgery we were pleased to see an improvement. Almost 34% of patients, compared with 28% last year, rated ‘fair’ telephone access. This is an area we constantly work on and over the years have implemented many improvements, including a new telephone system, increased staffing at peak times and purchase of patient check in software for the reception area. Last year we employed extra staff hours in order to load temporary patient details directly onto the computer system, and to assist at reception with bookings during the busy summer months. In January this year we conducted a capacity and demand audit to monitor the calls and requests on the appointments line. The doctors also audited their consultations by recording the number of new problems and review consultations. We are considering whether to implement some longer appointment times to deal with more complex medical needs and we are also considering whether to make a larger percentage of appointments pre-bookable. The current rate is less than 20%. Currently the appointments system is under review due to the implementation of extended hours from 1st April 2008.

The GPs all use the annual questionnaire within their appraisals. We find the section where patients write comments to be quite revealing, and also very touching to see the warmth and gratitude from many people. This is a useful tool for feeding back information to the entire team, from receptionists through to doctors and nurses. It ensures we constantly pay attention to systems, behaviour and attitudes.

This report will be shared with the entire team and will also be displayed in the waiting area for patients to read and comment on.

Remember that when considering these results, the framing of the questions often dictates the answers that you get. So with that health warning in mind, here they are:

ANALYSIS OF PATIENT QUESTIONNAIRE COMPLETED MARCH 2008

All Doctors (QOF PE3 and PE4)
Combined percentages for clinical team, as shown below:

How do you rate the way you are treated by receptionists at your practice?
0% Very Poor 0% Poor 5.59% Fair 20.97% Good 37.76% Very good 35.66% Excellent

How do you rate the hours that your practice is open for appointments? 
0% Very poor 2.15% Poor 17.98% Fair 34.53% Good 33.81% Very good 12.23% Excellent

What additional hours would you like the practice to be open? 
2.09% Early morning 7.69% Lunchtimes 16.78% Evenings 37.06% Weekends 36.36% None, I am satisfied.

Thinking of times when you want to see a particular doctor, how quickly do you usually get to see that doctor? 
43.57% Same day 14.28% Next working day 1.5% Within 2 working days 7.85% Within 3 working days 2.85%Within 4 working days 5% 5 or more working days 12.14% Does not apply

How do you rate this? 
2.20% Very poor 5.14% Poor 16.91% Fair 24.26% Good 19.85% Very good 22.05% Excellent 9.55% Does not apply

Thinking of times when you are willing to see any doctor, how quickly do you usually get seen?
77.03% Same day 10.37% Next working day 2.22% Within 2 working days 0.74% Within 3 working days 1.48 Within 4 working days 0% 5 or more working days 8.14% Does not apply .

How do you rate this?
0.77% Very poor 0% Poor 6.20% Fair 22.48% Good 34.10% Very good 28.68% Excellent 8.52% Does not apply

If you need to see a GP urgently, can you normally get seen on the same day?
73.28% Yes 3.81% No 22.90% Don’t know/never needed to

How long do you usually have to wait at the practice for your consultation to begin?
2.94% 5 minutes or less 40.44% 6-10 minutes 46.32% 11-20 minutes 8.08 21-30 minutes 2.20% More than 30 minutes

How do you rate this?
0% Very poor 7.46% Poor 2.98% Fair 35.82% Good 20.14% Very good 5.22% Excellent

Thinking of times you have phoned the practice, how do you rate the following:

Ability to get through on the phone?
6.42% Very poor 17.14% Poor 33.57% Fair 20% Good 14.28% Very good 3.57% Excellent 5% Don’t know/never tried

Ability to speak to a doctor on the phone when you have a question or need medical advice?
0.75%Very poor 2.27% Poor 13.63% Fair 18.93% Good 12.87% Very good 9.09% Excellent 42.42% Don’t know/never tried

This question is about your usual doctor. If you don’t have a usual doctor, answer about the one doctor at your practice who you know best. If you don’t know any of the doctors go straight to next question.

In general how often do you see your usual doctor?
14.70% Always 40.44% Almost always 18.38% A lot of the time 22.05% Some of the time 2.94% Almost never 0% Never 

How do you rate this?
0% Very poor 5.10% Poor 13.74% Fair 29.77% Good 32.06% Very good 17.55% Excellent

Thinking about your consultation with the doctor today, how do you rate the following:

How thoroughly the doctor asked about your symptoms and how you are feeling?
0% Very poor 0% Poor 5.18% Fair 23.70% Good 30.37%Very good 40.74% Excellent 0% Does not apply

How well the doctor listened to what you had to say?
0% Very poor 0% Poor 4.37% Fair 18.97% Good 32.11% Very good 44.52% Excellent 0% Does not apply

How well the doctor put you at ease during your physical examination?
0% Very poor 0% Poor 3.81% Fair 12.97% Good 31.29% Very good 47.32% Excellent 4.58% Does not apply

How much the doctor involved you in decisions about your care?
0% Very poor 0% Poor 4.44% Fair 20% Good 34.07% Very good 39.25% Excellent 2.22% Does not apply

How well the doctor explained your problems or any treatment that you need?
0% Very poor 0.74% Poor 2.96% Fair 22.22% Good 29.62% Very good 44.44% Excellent 0% Does not apply

The amount of time your doctor spent with you today?
0% Very poor 0% Poor 8.33% Fair 21.21% Good 31.06% Very good 39.39% Excellent 0% Does not apply

The doctors patience with your questions or worries?
0% Very poor 0.77Poor 3.87% Fair 15.50% Good 31.78% Very good 45.73Excellent 2.32% Does not apply

Given this and many other concerns many people are opting out of their records being centrally held The government will assume that you opt in unless you opt out. Further information can be found here.

Lollie

Hello there folks, I’ve certainly enjoyed working with you all!

Art group

Well the group has gone from strength to strength and is about to finish after 4 months. They have worked so hard and have formed some great friendships as a result. In the next month the finished work will be displayed in the surgery. It will consist of 12 painted panels that together make one spectacular view of the bay. I have seen some of the finished panels and I am so impressed.

Coming from different background, a lot of the group said that said they couldn’t draw or paint,…its not true; they have come a long way with the help of artist and facilitator Kate Cocksedge. I well let you form your own opinions, but I think they should be really proud of their achievements

We are starting a 3D art group after Easter, if you are interested or have had a letter from your GP, then please do leave your name at reception. 

Walking group.

The walks are fortnightly on a Wednesday. These have proved to be really popular. Leslie Hallsworth and her colleagues who are both covered by public liability and are qualified first aider’s. To help her cover this expense we are asking members to donate £1 for each week they attend. Please contact her direct on 01872 573629 to book a place after you have registered your interest with the surgery.

We would like to some kind of display or booklet for the walking group, and are seeing if we can in some way combine it with art. When you arrive and register for the walk at the desk, Cassie (our Charming receptionist) will give you some information about collecting stories, pictures , photos and poems. If you feel able to contribute to this then it would be greatly appreciated. Please leave any submissions at reception. 

Crafting and embroidery group

We have been running this group for sometime, and although its only small its thriving and has produced some fine work. We started off the group in November with the help of Beryl Curnow from the W.I.

What are you doing now I hear you cry?! We are knitting the sea…using anything we can get our hands on ‘plastic wrap’, where we made bookmarks and coasters. For Christmas we made decorations for the surgery. We had the message tree tags and the present offerings on the boat. It was a nice way for visitors to make a promise to themselves or to write an anonymous prayer or message on our tree. Some of the responses were very touching.

We meet as from Monday the 11th Feb, we are collaborating with Perran Bay Care Home. We will be meeting at 10:30 – 12pm to continue the project. We are knitting ‘sea coloured’ strips with plastic, wool and fabric. We will attach them all together to form a wall hanging for the surgery.

If you would like to come please do, but please ring the Care home before hand on: 572275

Women’s body image

Ladies who have had body changing surgery have been asking about support groups at the surgery. There are a number of clients who might benefit form something tailor made to help them adjust to their change in body image.

Val Stagg, who is a voice and reiki and shiatsu therapist, works on helping women to express themselves and their womanhood. Val designed workshops for a small number of clients which will be movement and voice based.

The group will be small, no more than 10 and will be attended by myself and perhaps a counsellor from the surgery so that the group had someone they could identify with after the sessions. Val also talked about a group of follow up sessions of two hours or so on 2-4 consecutive fortnights to ensure that the group had a forum to discuss anything that had come up.

Over 70 patients from the surgery have been contacted to attend the taster session on the afternoon of 26th Feb. If you have had a letter, please do come if you can.

Gardening group

This group is designed as outreach for our clients with learning disabilities. The plan is to link them up with Glencarne Nurseries in Barkla Shop, where they can join together in a programme of learning and make new friends. If you have a learning disability or have a member of your family does, please contact for more information.

Writing Group

This is another possibility for the new year as many of the patients that are currently attending groups have asked for it. I do have some writers in mind, and will give it some more thoughts and get back to you.

Other News

Our thanks to Kate Cocksedge for running the art group. She has worked so hard to keep it going and has made it such fun for all involved. She has nurtured them and now with her guidance, the group is about to go onto other things.

Also another thank you, this time for Leslie and Katy for running the walking groups…whatever the weather! Hats off to them, rain, shine and loads of wind, they have been there. Leslie puts in so much effort to make the walks interesting, informative and varied and thanks to all the hard work they are a great and popular success.

Lastly thank you to all my hard working volunteers, you know who you are…without you these projects wouldn’t happen!

Have a good spring and enjoy the artwork and groups.

Lollie X

Proposals to turn our highly valued general practices into healthcare hypermarkets would mean a poorer quality of service, particularly for those in most need, says Dr Kailash Chand. This article written by a normal GP is well worth a read.

Read article »

bma.org.uk Newsletter January 2008 British Medical Association, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP © British Medical Association, 2008

Your general practice and the family doctor service in general is under threat. The government is taking steps which doctors believe will harm patient services. It is encouraging commercial companies to set up and provide GP services, but many family doctors are concerned that if this happens, company profits will come before your needs. The services you get from your local doctor’spractice are some of the best in the world. Many other countries are looking to copy our local health services because they set high standards and are good value for money.Doctors are always trying to improve patient care. Every year a nationwide survey tells doctors how you feel about the work they do and helps them to plan and improve the care they can offer. The great majority of people value their local doctor’s practice and the role it plays in their local community, and most are very happy with the services that they receive. High quality care: – Providing you with the best care possible is your doctor’s priority. In the last few years all GPs have been working especially hard to achieve new standards of care for a wide range of illnesses. It means your care keeps improving and that long-term health conditions like asthma and diabetes are better controlled and treated. GPs have provided better care than the government ever expected them to do. 

Lifelong care: – Your doctor’s practice looks after you and your family from the time you enter the world to the moment you leave it. They hold a record of every injury, illness, appointment and referral you have throughout your life and act as the central point of contact for all your health care. Every doctor’s practice aims to help you build a long lasting and consistent relationship with your doctor. This is especially important if you have a long term health problem. Your doctor is also there to speak on your behalf and to make sure you get joinedup care. It is difficult to put a price on having a doctor whom you trust and who knows you. 

Out-of-hours: – The out-of-hours service in some areas has got worse. The media and some politicians have blamed GPs for this. It is your local primary care organisation that has responsibility for out-of-hours care. GPs work for these organisations to make sure you will always be able to see a doctor if you need to.

Value for money: – Did you know that on average your doctor’s practice gets just 20 pence a day for each patient to provide all their services and care? Or that in total each appointment with your doctor costs the NHS just £20? That’s compared to up to £300 for an outpatient appointment at your local hospital or £75 for a visit to accident and emergency. Your doctor’s practice is great value for money. Your local practice is vitally important to the community. It isn’t always perfect but is striving to get better. We want to improve the care we provide. This is your practice and we value your support.

Produced by the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association.