All our health services are busy right now, especially our ambulance service and the emergency department team at Truro hospital.

You can play your part in supporting us to care for people with serious and life-threatening illnesses.

Did you know you know you can get help and advice by calling 111 or go online at 111.nhs.uk? You may not need to go and wait in our busy emergency department and could be directed to a minor injury unit which will be quicker and closer to home.

Only dial 999 for an ambulance in a genuine, life-threatening emergency, for example:

• Chest pain / breathing difficulties / heart attack
• Stroke
• Severe bleeding
• Severe allergic reactions
• Severe burns or scalds
• Serious head injuries
• Major trauma such as a road traffic accident or a fall from height

If you have called for an ambulance, please do not ring again asking for a time of arrival. Only call again if:

• The patient’s condition worsens
• You no longer need our help

The call handlers must prioritise speaking to the most seriously injured and unwell patients.

If you don’t think it’s a serious or life-threatening emergency:

• Call your own GP. Even if you are in Cornwall on holiday, you could get a phone or video consultation with your doctor at home.
• Go online at 111.nhs.uk or call 111 to get expert advice and be signposted to where you can get the best and nearest care for your needs.
• Ask a pharmacist for advice – they’re experts in treating minor health issues like colds, urinary infections, stomach upsets, aches and pains.

For further information please visit NHS Kernow CCG at https://www.kernowccg.nhs.uk/get-info/choose-well/

Dear patients

To keep our patients safe we would respectfully request that if you attend the surgery you continue to wear a face mask.
The GPs feel that in the surgery environment where we often have more vulnerable people, we need to ensure that we do our best to keep patients and staff alike as safe as possible.

Thank you

General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)

An important update about the sharing of your medical information has been announced by NHS Digital called GPDPR (replacing GPES). This has been developed in consultation with the BMA and RCGP over the past few years and recently a Data Provision Notice has been issued to GP surgeries meaning GP surgeries have a legal obligation to comply with this data sharing exercise.

However there has been criticism about the lack of information provided to the public and a very short timescale for patients to fully understand GPDPR. It is important that you are aware what sort of data is shared, why it is shared, and importantly how you can opt out of sharing your data should you wish to.

There is a very limited timeframe for registering your decision to opt out of data sharing (23rd June 2021) before the GPDPR comes into action on 1st July 2021. It will be presumed you are happy for your data to be shared unless you specifically opt out. As a partnership we will be doing further work around how we ensure patients are aware of this change.

To find out more please read this privacy notice about GPDPR, which includes information about opting out.

To opt out please complete a Type 1 Opt Out Form (available here) and return it to the practice. These can be returned to letters.meneagestreet@nhs.net

For our full policies, please see our policy page.

Our reception staff have been experiencing high levels of verbal abuse on the phone and in person, and sometimes have been physically threatened. This cannot be tolerated. At a time of unparalled pressure in General Practice when we have been delivering a far greater number of consultations through the use of additional modes of patient communication, alongside responding to vaccination, shielding and Covid 19 issues our dedicated practice team have worked tirelessly and deserves respect as we endeavour to provide all our patients with the best patient care possible at this time.

We understand this is a small minority of patients, and do thank you for bearing with us in these unprecedented times. We fully understand the frustrations of the phone lines being busy at times, and ask if you can help by ringing for results after 11am, by keeping your conversations and requests brief; and using the on line services we offer.

In recent days the level of demand for patient services has been extraordinarily high, and continues to increase. We apologise for any delays in responding to telephone calls, processing prescriptions etc. and assure you that we are doing all we can to prioritise the workload, while continuing with the additional work of delivering second dose Covid vaccinations to our most vulnerable patients.

We would remind patients with access to computers or smart phones that they can avoid telephone congestion and save time by using the ‘E-Consult’ option on our website. Details will reach our clinicians just as quickly in that way.

In seeking to ensure that we use our resources most effectively for patient care we instruct our highly-trained staff to ask patients for the same information as would be given on the E-Consult form so that it is there for the clinician to consider before contacting you. Without this the backlog in responding would be considerably greater. 

We now have access to several other Health Resources on our Practice Team and you may wish to request help from one of these:

• Social Care Prescriber
• Mental Health Practitioner
• 1st Contact Physios
• Practice Pharmacist

We thank you for your understanding, as we aim to provide our patients with the best service possible.

Each household will have received or will receive an NHS leaflet outlining the rationale for the extraction of information from GP systems. We first advised you of this in November 2013; the planned first extraction was delayed.

You are able to refuse consent for information from your patient record to be transferred from the practice system for any purpose other than your medical care (except in special circumstances allowed by law eg a public health emergency).

Should you wish to do this please let us know so we ensure that your record is appropriately marked to prevent data extraction.

More information is available at www.hscic.gov.uk and the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk/caredata

Please see the guidance from Public Health England

• COVID AZ INFO SHEET 1
• COVID AZ INFO SHEET 2

If you are over 50 and have not yet received the COVID vaccination please contact Stithians either via the NHS website or by phoning 119.

The surgery is receiving many questions about second doses of COVID vaccination. We are eager to know about second doses, but we have not yet been given the vaccine delivery dates, so we cannot plan clinic dates at the moment.

We have been told that the second dose date will be around 11-12 weeks after a patient's first vaccination date. As soon as we have more information you will be informed of clinic availability and be invited to book.

Thank you for bearing with us.

We appreciate that the Covid guidance can be quite confusing and raises some questions about who is and isn't eligible.  Below is some information which outlines who falls into this cohort. We will be inviting in those that fall into these groups, you do not need to call or email us. The only people who need to contact are those in the 65-69 category who cannot get to a mass vaccination site eg Stithians. 

Clinical risk groups 16 years of age and over who should receive COVID-19 immunisation

If you are registered at the surgery, aged 70 and over, and have not had a first COVID-19 vaccination, please do get in contact with the practice.

Following extensive trials, 2 safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 have been approved by regulators and are now being made available to us and are supplied to us in batches each week.  The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said that both the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine “give very high protection against severe disease” and both have good safety records. Both vaccines are being used across the county.

The NHS continues to prioritise those that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the government has decided will benefit the most - specifically the over-80s, care home residents and all frontline health and care staff.

When we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments with us.

Everyone at the practice is working extremely hard to make sure people receive their COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible.  Please be patient with us during this time - we are working hard to vaccinate as quickly as possible using the supplies that we receive.

On days where GPs, nurses and other staff are supporting the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, some routine appointments may be rescheduled to an alternative day.  Urgent GP appointments will still be available, and patients will be seen if it is deemed appropriate.

More COVID-19 vaccination clinics are being made available all the time – everyone who is eligible according to national guidance will receive the vaccine in due course.

Hands, Face, Space remains key – even once people have been vaccinated.

You can get more information about the COVID-19 vaccination online via the NHS website.

As of MONDAY 18 January 2021, the Doctors have decided to revert back to all ‘on the day’ appointments. You will NOT be able to book an appointment in advance with a Doctor.  (Nurse and Health Care appointments will still be available to pre-book)

The Doctors have decided to do this in order to provide you with the best possible service during these difficult times and they thank you for your patience whilst trying to achieve this.

We experience a high volume of calls first thing in the morning, which can make it difficult to get through to the surgery so, don’t forget our eConsult facility is still available. Visit our website and click onto Consult our Doctors online.

Thank you.

We were hopeful to be chosen to be one of the 2 nd wave COVID vaccination sites so that we could protect some of our vulnerable patients before Christmas with their first vaccination.

We are working as a South Kerrier Primary Care Network alongside Helston Medical Centre, Mullion & Constantine Group Practice and St Keverne Health Centre. We are really grateful to everyone who has dedicated so much time into the planning for how we could have run COVID vaccination clinics at the end of this week to ensure as little wastage as possible and protect the first cohort of patients.

However, along with others we were not chosen to be one of the second wave delegated sites and therefore will not be getting vaccine this week. Rest assured we will be looking to help with COVID vaccinations as soon as possible in the New Year. Please keep an eye on our website for further information and please bear with us as things are changing at an ever increasing pace.

We do not yet have any of the vaccinations but are reviewing the best way to administer these vaccinations to our patients.

Please DO NOT phone the surgery, we will contact patient groups as necessary. More details will be available here as we get them.

New computer system:

• thank you for all your support and patience over the last month following the new clinical computer system deployment

Waiting room:

• due to the new computer system waiting room is no longer available
• to connect to our services online please either:
• download the NHS app onto your smart phone or
• to sign up to our new online system in development please email the surgery with the heading Online Service Request
• please include your full name, date of birth & mobile number

Flu vaccination for 50-64 years [not in a risk category]:

• we still do not have a date etc when the vaccine will be available for this additional age group
• if wish to be added to the waiting list for vaccination please email the surgery with the heading Flu Waiting List
• please include your full name, date of birth & mobile number

Reminder re accessing out of hours medical care:

• general practice core hours are 08.00 – 18.30 Monday to Friday
• Out of hours: call NHS 111
• Out of hours care is provided by Kernow Health
• NHS 111 is available for 24 hour confidential advice 

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Reminder: adjuvanted trivalent for

• age 65 & over (ie 65y by 31.03.2021)
• appointments are available to book for this vaccine
  note: vaccination in pharmacies takes income from general practice

Clinics:

• we are offering a Saturday clinic for patients aged 65 & over on September 12
• there will be 3 separate clinics running in different areas of the building
• a one way system will be operated & waiting rooms will not be used
• more clinics will be added

Quadrivalent vaccine for patients under 65 in a risk category will be arriving in October; we will keep you updated on clinic dates.

A reminder of Meneage Street Surgery current operating practise.

• patient requests for doctor consultation are telephone triaged
• face to face doctor appointments which are arranged during triage are planned to ensure that social distancing can be followed in our waiting rooms
• nurse appointments are a mix of pre-book & telephone triage
• health care appointments are pre-booked
• if you have an appointment please do not come too early for the allocated time; we aim for a patients to spend less time in public areas
• please ensure that you wear a face covering to cover your nose & mouth when you enter the surgery & use the hand sanitiser just inside the door
• we also offer eConsult & video consulting when appropriate
• our full range of services is available
• whilst Covid-19 is in circulation please do not attend the practice if you have a temperature

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

As the COVID-19 restrictions are cautiously lifted & we move to a 'new normal' a reminder of how Meneage Street Surgery has adapted & our current operating practise.

• patient requests for doctor consultation are telephone triaged
• face to face doctor appointments which are arranged during triage are planned to ensure that social distancing can be followed in our waiting rooms
• nurse appointments are a mix of pre-book & telephone triage
• health care appointments are pre-booked
• if you have an appointment please do not come too early for the allocated time; we aim for patients to spend less time in public areas
• please ensure that you wear a face covering to cover your nose & mouth when you enter the surgery & use the hand sanitiser just inside the door
• we also offer eConsult & video consulting when appropriate
• our full range of services is available

We have made some changes to protect us all:

• toughened glass screens have been installed on the reception desk & between the entrance/waiting area; the latter has an added advantage of improving confidentiality at the desk
• to reduce unnecessary footfall there is a secure mailbox for all post plus repeat prescription
  requests outside the building

Reminder: repeat prescriptions can be requested using:

• eConsult
• computer counterfoil by clearly marking the drugs required & dropped into the mailbox
• our online request service (The Waiting Room - form to register)
• our 24 hour telephone line: 01326 555287
• please allow 48 hours following request before collection

Our plans for flu vaccination:

• the first clinic for over 65s will be early in September; the actual date will be confirmed next week & you will be able to book your appointment
• our plans include a one way system & clinics in three different areas of our practice

The Meneage Street Surgery team would like to thank you all for using face coverings & observing the new rules, as well as offer thanks to those patients who have kindly made scrubs & face masks for us during these challenging times

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

As the footfall increases at Meneage Street Surgery and in order to protect us all we:

• are arranging patient appointments to ensure that social distancing can be followed in our waiting rooms
• ask that you do not come too early for the allocated time and, therefore, spend less time in public areas
• request that you wear a face covering to cover your nose and mouth when you enter the surgery

Thank you

Listed below are some more links/phone numbers etc which you may find useful for information:

• about applying for a COVID-19 test: www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test
• for the public about Safeguarding adults: https://ciossafeguarding.org.uk/sab
• regarding support for children, young people and their parents: NHS Kernow website
  note: this page helps locate support and provide links to other pages which contain information on COVID-19 helpful tips, sleeplessness, mental health plus many more.

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update
please contact the surgery.

We at Meneage Street Surgery would like to thank our patients, staff and local colleagues for your ongoing support at this time as we adapt our ways of working.

We are:

• continuing to use total telephone triage following national recommendations
• arranging to see patients at appropriate times to keep the waiting room safe for everyone
• offering eConsult and video consulting when appropriate.

The practice has:

• facilities which mean we can see ‘hot patients’ (patients who may have COVID-19 or other infectious conditions) in an area separate from the rest of the surgery
• patients who need to be seen for this reason enter by a different door ensuring that reception, waiting rooms and other consulting rooms are safe
• PPE is worn for all patient contacts
• our experienced cleaning staff have been carrying out hospital standard deep cleans on our premises for many years and we recently welcomed a new member to the team to ensure continued robust service.

We are keen to ensure that all health issues are dealt with in an appropriate time frame so please contact us if you have concerns.

We are also aware this is a difficult time causing anxiety and mental health problems and we are here to help but there are also other sources of support available listed below:

• domestic abuse: 01872 225629 24 hour helpline
• mental health: 0800 038 5300 24 hour helpline [Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust]

Thank you again.

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

The government have launched a new website (https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support) for patients to use in finding out what help they can get if affected by coronavirus. This service is available to all patients who are seeking advice and guidance on the topics such as:

• feeling unsafe
• going in to work
• paying bills or being unemployed
• getting food
• having somewhere to live
• mental health and wellbeing

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic health is presently uppermost in everyone’s mind & we, at Meneage Street Surgery, are very grateful for your support as we adapt to different ways of working including:

• telephone triage of all appointments with GPs, nurses & health care assistants
• asking patients to attend appointments which have been deemed safe & appropriate by our GPs
• video consulting when appropriate

Whatever the nature of your health problem we are committed to caring for you & whilst we may suggest the review of non-urgent problems waits until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted we can reassure you.

The surgery remains open to help with significant health concerns beyond COVID-19 eg:

• patients with symptoms that may suggest cancer still need to be investigated
• patients with chest pain that could be a heart attack or symptoms that suggest a stroke still need
  emergency treatment
• a patient with appendicitis still needs treating
• children who are poorly or a concern still need assessing

You can help us to help you by making contact sooner; earlier treatment invariably gives better results. Treliske Hospital also has capacity to continue managing urgent issues. Please contact the surgery by phone to 01326 885714 or use our Online Service to book a telephone appointment (or request a repeat prescription).

By staying away from surgery sites (unless asked to attend an appointment) you are helping to fight COVID-19.

For guidance & information you can use the NHS website: www.nhs.uk

Reminder of official government advice if you develop COVID-19 symptoms:

• a high temperature or a new continuous cough
  use the new NHS 111 online coronavirus service https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19
• this service is suitable for all ages
• to protect yourself & others do not go to a GP, pharmacy or hospital

Information:
note: NHS England requires that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised & the required disclosure is shown below. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice or the number/time locums are employed. It should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, or to make any comparison with any other practice.

• all GP practices are required to declare the mean earning (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice
• the average earnings for GPs working in Meneage Street Surgery (2018/2019) were £29,170 before tax & National Insurance; this is for 2 full time, 3 part time GPs & 2 locums who worked in the practice for more than six months

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

We are all working hard to follow all guidelines and ensure we deliver patient care in the safest possible way, in this crisis.

Please do not come into the surgery, but call the surgery, as we try to keep the surgery as quiet and safe as possible for our patients who do need assessment and for our staff.

If you are in isolation and are struggling to cope, you may wish to get in touch with Volunteer Cornwall on 01872 266988 or requestforhelp @volunteercornwall.org.uk

To ensure the safety of our patient population and staff, as per Government guidelines we advise anyone with a temperature over 37.8, new cough or shortness of breath to remain at home and follow online 111 advice - do not attend the surgery or accident and emergency.

We are all working hard to follow all guidelines and ensure we deliver patient care in the safest possible way, in this crisis.

Please do not come into the surgery, but call the surgery, as we try to keep the surgery as quiet and safe as possible for our patients who do need assessment and for our staff.

We felt it may be useful for any of our vulnerable patients who have absolutely no-one who can help collect medications for them, or do any shopping etc to inform you that Helston Town Council have a volunteer force who may be able to help. Their contact is: 01326 565761, or cet@helston-tc.gov.uk.

Should our patients need a self isolation sick note please go to the NHS 111 website where there is a drop down menu to follow which will guide you through how to obtain one.

To ensure the safety of our patient population and staff, as per Government guidelines we advise anyone with a temperature over 37.8, new cough or shortness of breath to remain at home and follow online 111 advice - do not attend the surgery or accident and emergency.

We are all working hard to follow all guidelines and ensure we deliver patient care in the safest possible way, in this crisis.

Please do not come into the surgery, but call the surgery, as we try to keep the surgery as quiet and safe as possible for our patients who do need assessment and for our staff.

Obviously our phone lines are very busy. If our land lines are busy we can't call you back therefore please keep calls short. Do not call back unless your condition is worsening. We will get to you!

We have found some mobile networks are engaged, so if possible give a landline number.

Please ensure we have your current phone number to contact you.

To ensure the safety of our patient population and staff, as per Government guidelines we advise anyone with a temperature over 37.8, new cough or shortness of breath to remain at home and follow online 111 advice - do not attend the surgery or accident and emergency.

We are all working hard to follow all guidelines and ensure we deliver patient care in the safest possible way, in this crisis.

To ensure the safety of our patient population and staff, as per Government guidelines we advise anyone with a temperature over 37.8, new cough or shortness of breath to remain at home and follow online 111 advice - do not attend the surgery or accident and emergency.

The NHS is urging the public use the new NHS 111 online coronavirus service:
https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19

This service is suitable for all ages and provides general advice on how it spreads & how to avoid infection. You can find out what to do if:

• you think you have symptoms
• you might have been exposed to the vrus when travelling

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

If you have recently returned from overseas travel, AND you or a member of your family develops symptoms of fever, cough, acute respiratory distress, please self-isolate at home with immediate effect. Please call 111 and notify the call-handler that you have recently returned from traveling and are unwell.

DO NOT VISIT the surgery or A&E, please avoid contact with others and remain in your own home. Please follow all the advice given by Public Health England and 111.

Further information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus in China, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public.

Our Practice Nursing Team now consists of:
Anne Pascoe, Rebecca Wooding & Vicky Williams.
Sarah Spence is our Practice Matron.
Suzanne Williams is our Community Matron.

The website address for Sexual Health Services is Sexualhealthcornwall.co.uk
The telephone number is: 03003030714

The surgery offers extended hours clinics. Weekday evening and weekend appointments are offered here or nearby.

The practice will be holding a family planning clinic on Saturday 28 March. Please contact the surgery if you wish to book an appointment.

Flu vaccination:
Reminder: adjuvanted trivalent: for

• age 65 & over (ie 65y by 31.03.2020)
• appointments are available to book for this vaccine
• if you are in this age group & have not yet been vaccinated please make an appointment with us
  note: vaccination in pharmacies takes income from general practice

Quadrivalent vaccine has arrived: for patients under 65 in a risk category ie:

• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic
  neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg
  chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months to 2 years with a long term condition
• if you are in this age group & have not yet been vaccinated please make an appointment with us
  note: vaccination in pharmacies takes income from general practice

Nasal: for children: still not available but more information to follow when nasal vaccine is available
Overview:

• aged between 2 & 3 on 31.08.2019 (but not 4 years old) are eligible for vaccination in general
  practice
• at risk (long-term health conditions)due to asthma, diabetes etc to age 17

notes:

• all other children who are in reception & years 1 to 6 will be receiving nasal flu at school
• nasal spray flu vaccine is a "live" vaccine but the viruses in it have been weakened so cannot cause
  flu
• therefore, it is not suitable for all children including those who are severely immunocompromised
• where appropriate these children will be offered the inactivated injectable flu vaccine

Flu strains change, therefore, the vaccine varies from year to year & we advise patients in any of the
above categories to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter.

If you or your child is in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on: 01326 558714 to book
your appointment.

Reminder: the shingles immunisation programme:

• the age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine are:
  • patients become eligible on their 70th or 78th birthday
  • any patient who was previously eligible but has not had it
• eligibility ceases on the day of your 80th birthday
• we offer vaccination opportunistically and will be contacting patients in the new 2018/2019 groups
  but should you wish to please phone the surgery as above to book your appointment
• this vaccine is contraindicated & will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed
• further information is available on www.shinglesaware.co.uk

Increased access to general practice [IAGP]:

• we are participating in a national incentive to offer evening and weekend appointments to make it
  easier for you to see a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional across our locality
• South Kerrier locality comprises Helston Medical Centre, Meneage Street Surgery, Mullion &
  Constantine Group & St Keverne
• as you are probably aware from October 2018, Meneage Street Surgery has provided routine
  evening GP & nurse appointments each Tuesday from 18.30-20.00
• from October 2019 some Saturday & Sunday appointments are available across the locality
• one of the practices in the locality will offer pre-bookable appointments each Saturday & Sunday

Extended hours clinic at Meneage Street Surgery:

• we also offer a clinic between 18.30-20.00 each Tuesday
• this will provide a variety of services

Reminder re accessing out of hours medical care:

• general practice core hours are 08.00 - 18.30 Monday to Friday
• Out of hours: call NHS 111
• Out of hours care is provided by Kernow Health
• NHS 111 is available for 24 hour confidential advice

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update
please contact the surgery.

Flu vaccination:

This year in line with Public Health England guidance, we are offering three flu vaccines each being age specific; two are injected & the third is nasal. They are:

Adjuvanted trivalent: for

• age 65 & over (ie 65y by 31.03.2020)
• appointments are available to book for this vaccine

Quadrivalent: for

patients under 65 in a risk category ie:

• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months to 2 years with a long term condition

Nasal: for children

More information to follow when nasal vaccine is available

Overview:

• aged between 2 & 3 on 31.08.2019 (but not 4 years old) are eligible for vaccination in general practice
• at risk (long-term health conditions)due to asthma, diabetes etc to age 17

notes:

• all other children who are in reception & years 1 to 6 will be receiving nasal flu at school
• nasal spray flu vaccine is a ‘live’ vaccine but the viruses in it have been weakened so cannot cause flu
• therefore, it is not suitable for all children including those who are severely immunocompromised
• where appropriate these children will be offered the inactivated injectable flu vaccine

Flu strains change, therefore, the vaccine varies from year to year & we advise patients in any of the above categories to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter.

If you or your child is in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on: 01326 558714 to book your appointment.

The shingles immunisation programme:

• the age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine are:
• patients become eligible on their 70^th or 78^th birthday
• any patient who was previously eligible but has not had it
• eligibility ceases on the day of your 80^th birthday
• we offer vaccination opportunistically and will be contacting patients in the new 2018/2019 groups but should you wish to please phone the surgery as above to book your appointment
• this vaccine is contraindicated & will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed
• further information is available on shinglesaware.co.uk

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Social Prescriber:

• since October 2018 we have had a social prescriber attached to our practice

• is to work with individuals, connecting them with their local community facilities to improve their wellbeing and tackle social isolation. People will be referred to a Social Prescribing Link Worker by their GP or other health care professional

• completing an assessment of what support people need, such as finding employment, making new friends, learning new skills, joining physical activities, housing, financial issues
• finding local support services such as community groups and charities to go to
• referring people who need support into a range of local services and activities
• reviewing the progress people make

• actively listen
• put people at ease and gain their trust
• agree goals and actions to support the person to move forward
• have excellent community links and knowledge of provision, working with Volunteer Cornwall's Community Makers and others in the localities

Reminders:

• since March 2014 we have a service available called The Waiting Room to enable patients to book on line [some] appointments & repeat prescriptions
• it was recently updated to Waiting Room2 & the requirements for signing up for this service have changed
• should you wish to have this facility application forms which are self-explanatory, are available at the practice & to download from here
• one email address can now for used multiple patients in a family
• when a form is completed, returned with the required proof of identity & actioned by us you will receive a link to set up your account
• all those patients who were already signed up have been automatically transferred to the latest version

Repeat prescriptions: should be requested using:

• the computer counterfoil by clearly marking the drugs required & dropped into the surgery
• our online request service; form at reception to register [see above]
• our 24 hour telephone line: 01326 555287
• please allow 48 hours following request before collection

Practice information:

• CQC inspection: please see the linked report following our inspection in February
• the outcome was: overall good with three areas noted for outstanding practice

Information note:

• all GP practices are required to declare the mean earning (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice
• the average earnings for GPs working in Meneage Street Surgery (2017/2018) were £30,189 before tax & National Insurance; this is for 1 full time, 3 part time GPs & 2 locums who worked in the practice for more than six months

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Increased access to general practice [IAGP]:

• we are participating in a national incentive to offer evening and weekend appointments to make it easier for you to see a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional at this GP practice
• from October 2018, Meneage Street Surgery is providing routine evening GP & nurse appointments (Tuesdays from 18.30-20.00)
• the aim of the national scheme is to help people who may find it difficult to see a healthcare professional during the traditional surgery opening hours of 8.30am-6.30pm Monday to Friday
• once the benefits of this service have been assessed it may result in longer opening hours being available on a more permanent basis

Extended hours:

• extended hours clinics between 18.30-19.00 are still running on some evenings (Monday to Thursday) each week

Electronic repeat dispensing [ERD]:

• we are introducing electronic repeat dispensing for some patients
• patients are selected carefully and need to be:
• on stable medication
• in a stable condition
• have up to date medication monitoring
• have up to date disease monitoring
• there are many benefits from the use of repeat dispensing including:
• less prescriptions for GPs to sign
• reduced prescription workload for GP practices
• allows community pharmacies to better plan workload
• encourages multidisciplinary working around repeat medication
• reduces medication waste; and
• better uses pharmacists' skills in the repeat medication system
• an overview: should you be selected/suitable, it means that:
• you wont have to re-order you repeat prescription from the surgery each time you need more medicine
• your GP will authorise six issues of eRD prescriptions for the drug which will be sent electronically to the pharmacy you previously nominated to receive your electronic prescription
• next time you need more go to your pharmacy (the pharmacy may ask you to telephone beforehand to give them time to prepare your prescription)
• when your pharmacy supplies your last prescription in the batch, you will be advised that you need to contact the surgery
• if it is clinically appropriate, your GP will then issue another batch of eRD prescriptions.

Patient transport update:
Overview/update:

• patients travelling to NHS non-emergency healthcare are normally expected to make their own way, using their own transport or the range of public, community or voluntary transport available locally
• some people may be eligible for NHS funded patient transport on health grounds if they meet the criteria for support or assistance on or after their journey
• eligibility criteria are in place to ensure that anyone with a genuine need can access the services they require
• a person's eligibility for NHS funded transport services will be assessed against medical or financial eligibility criteria; this will ensure everyone is treated fairly
• for more information, visit www.kernowccg.nhs.uk/patient-transport

Changes to 2 year old's funding:

• Cornwall Council have advised that there are changes to 2 year old's funding
• please see the following links for information about support available: https://www.supportincornwall.org.uk/kb5/cornwall/directory/advice.page?id=Y7ReMllIkUo. The web address for the main site is https://www.supportincornwall.org.uk/kb5/cornwall/directory/home.page

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

This year in line with Public Health England guidance, we are offering three flu vaccines each being age specific; two are injected & the third is nasal. They are:

Adjuvanted trivalent: for

• age 65 & over (date of birth on or before March 31 1954)

Quadrivalent: for patients under 65 in a risk category ie:

• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months to 2 years with a long term condition

Nasal: for children

• born on or after 01.09.2014 & on or before 31.08.2016
• at risk due to asthma, diabetes etc to age 17

Flu strains change, therefore, the vaccine varies from year to year & we advise patients in any of the above categories to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter.

If you or your child is in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on: 01326 558714 to book your appointment.

The shingles immunisation programme:

• the age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine are:
• patients become eligible on their 70th or 78th birthday
• any patient who was previously eligible but has not had it
• eligibility ceases on the day of your 80th birthday
• we offer vaccination opportunistically and will be contacting patients in the new 2018/2019 groups but should you wish to please phone the surgery as above to book your appointment
• this vaccine is contraindicated & will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed
• further information is available on www.shinglesaware.co.uk

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

South Kerrier Health & Wellbeing Day is on Wednesday September 26 2018: Click here to download their flier.

Flu Clinics:

• our vaccine arrives end September/beginning October
• we will update you with the clinics dates both for adults & the children we still vaccinate in primary care asap

Patient Participation Group:

• next meeting 18.30 Wednesday September 19 2018 at the surgery
• should you be interested in joining us please come along

Note: It has come to our notice that Pharmacy2U are currently targeting the area via a mailshot offering their service & we would like to comment:

• Pharmacy2U buy in their mailing lists; we understand that it is not from electoral registers
• their flier carries the names of GP Practices in an area
• it should not be construed that, if our practice name is on a flier, we endorse this service

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Our updated GDPR information notice has been loaded on this website on the Policies and Procedures page, and is also available to view in the surgery.

Should you wish to see our privacy notices please contact the surgery; these will be on the website soon.

Patient Participation Group:

• next meeting 18.30 Wednesday April 25 2018 at the surgery
• should you be interested in joining us please come along

Reminder:
Online Service: Book Appointments & Request Repeat Prescriptions

• since March 2014 we have a service available called The Waiting Room to enable patients to book on line [some] appointments & repeat prescriptions
• it has recently been updated to Waiting Room2 & the requirements for signing up for this service have changed
• should you wish to have this facility application forms which are self-explanatory, are available at the practice & to download from here
• one email address can now for used multiple patients in a family
• when a form is completed, returned with the required proof of identity & actioned by us you will receive a link to set up your account
• all those patients who are already signed up have been automatically transferred to the latest version

Practice information:

• the latest information from our practice leaflet has been entered on the website

• all GP practices are required to declare the mean earning (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice
• the average earnings for GPs working in Meneage Street Surgery (2016/2017) were £45,029 before tax & National Insurance; this is for 1 full time, 3 part time GPs & locums who worked in the practice for more than six months

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Having had several changes both in partners & staff during the past year our new team is completed by a clinical partner, who joined us on 1st November; below is the list of partners & clinical team:

Partners:

• Dr David Vyvyan
• Dr Kathrine Shaw
• Dr Daniel Kingston
• Linda Granger (Managing Partner/Practice Manager)

Salaried GP:

• Dr Elaine Mowle

Practice Matron:

• Sarah Spence

Nurses:

• Anne Pascoe
• Kathryn Whatley

HCAs:

• Shelly Collick
• Alex Confaloni
• Gill Dodson

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Flu Clinics:
Our vaccine arrived late in September & we have started offering flu clinics on a variety of days & times, our Saturday clinic is on October 21; we also offer vaccination during routine reviews if appropriate.
Flu strains change, therefore, the vaccine varies from year to year. This year we have quadrivalent vaccine which should broaden protection because it against two A strains & two B strains of the influenza virus.

We advise the following amongst our patients to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter; those are patients:

• over 65 years (date of birth on or before March 31 1953)
• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months to 2 years with a long term condition

This year:

• annual influenza vaccination in the form of a nasal vaccine to children aged 2 & 3 years plus those at risk due to asthma, diabetes etc in primary care
• to clarify eligibility the relevant dates of birth are:
• on or after 01/09/2013 & on or before 31/08/2015
• all children over this group in at risk category will be given nasal vaccine unless contraindicated

If you or your child is in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on: 01326 558714 to book your appointment.

The shingles immunisation programme September 1 2017 - April 1 2018:

• the age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine are:
• patients become eligible on their 70th birthday
• any patient born after 01/09/1942 who have not received the vaccine
• patients aged 78 years on 01/09/2017
• eligibility ceases on the day of your 80th birthday
• we offer vaccination opportunistically and will be contacting patients in the new 2017/2018 groups but should you wish to please phone the surgery as above to book your appointment
• this vaccine is contraindicated & will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed
• further information is available on www.shinglesaware.co.uk

Summary Care Record [SCR]:

• SCR has been activated within our practice
• the SCR is an electronic record of important patient information, created from GP medical records
• it can be seen & is used by authorised staff in other areas of the health care system involved in the patient's direct care
• access to SCR information means that care in other setting is safer, reducing the risk of prescribing errors & helps avoid delays to urgent care
• at a minimum, the SCR holds important information about:
• current medication
• allergies & details of any previous bad reactions to medicines
• name, address, date of birth & NHS number of the patient
• unless a patient previously opted out the above information is created automatically with implied patient consent
• click here for a slip (also available at reception in the surgery) should you wish to change you SCR consent
• for more information please visit: digital.nhs.uk/summary-care-records

Team changes:

• during the last year we have had changes; our new team will be complete on November 1 2017 when our new GP partner joins us; please check our November bulletin

Information:
note: NHS England requires that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised & the required disclosure is shown below. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice or the number/time locums are employed. It should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, or to make any comparison with any other practice.

• all GP practices are required to declare the mean earning (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice
• the average earnings for GPs working in Meneage Street Surgery (2015/2016) were £31,789 before tax & National Insurance; this is for 1 full time, 3 part time GPs & locums who worked in the practice for more than six months.

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Telephone system:
At around 10.00 am today our new telephone system became live; set out below are the salient points:

• main surgery number: 01326 558714
• repeat prescriptions:01326 555287

Additional information:

• for a short time patients who dial 0844 will be advised of the change; our new main number has been in use for several years as a secondary surgery option
• when first connected to the surgery the options have changed so please listen carefully before you select
• our new dedicated prescription line will enable repeat requests to be made 24/7 even when the phone is unattended

Many of you will be aware of the difficulties experienced by patients & ourselves with the 0844 number; a brief summary from the practice perspective follows:

• extracting ourselves from the provider was an extremely time consuming & difficult task
• the contract was set up approaching 7 years ago when it was an acceptable route & offered call queuing
• over the years the attitude of those who 'issue rules' changed; we installed, at an additional cost, the required extra line with a local number for patient use
• the vast number of contracts/tariffs, on both land lines & mobiles, which have become the norm resulted in creating a minefield for practices who, in good faith, had a system with an 0844 number
• to terminate the contract sooner was not viable; the cost was prohibitive & any other option offered to us was financial lunacy for us to accept
• the financial penalty to terminate now is a cost carried by the partners

Reminder:
Online Service: Book Appointments and Request Repeat Prescriptions

• since March 2014 we have a service available called The Waiting Room to enable patients to book on line [some] appointments & repeat prescriptions
• should you wish to sign up for this service please submit your email address to us at reception &you will then receive an email inviting you to join The Waiting Room
• one caveat is that this requires a unique email address for each patient
• once done, you can access this service at www.TheWaiting-Room.net

Patient Participation Group:

• next meeting 18.30 Wednesday November 23 2016 at the surgery
• should you be interested in joining us please come along

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Flu Clinics:
Our vaccine arrive late September & our will offer clinics on a variety of days & times, our Saturday clinic is on October 22; appointments will be available shortly.

Flu strains change & therefore the vaccine varies from year to year.
We advise the following amongst our patients to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter; those are patients:

• over 65 years (date of birth on or before March 31 1952)
• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months to 2 years with a long term condition

• it is national policy to offer annual influenza vaccination in the form of a nasal vaccine to children aged between 2, 3 & 4 years plus school years 1 & 2 on August 31 2016
• to clarify eligibility the relevant dates of birth are on or after 01.09.2011 & on or before 31.08.2014
• all children over this group in at risk category will be given nasal vaccine unless contraindicated

• the age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine are:
• patients aged 70 years on September 1 2016
• patients aged 78 years on September 1 2016
• in addition, patients who were eligible for immunisation in the first three years of the programme but have not been vaccinated remain eligible until their 80th birthday; these are:
• patients aged 71 to 73 on September 1 2016
• patients aged 79 on September 1 2016
• eligibility ceases on the day of your 80th birthday
• we offer vaccination opportunistically and will be contacting patients in the new 2016/2017 groups but should you wish to please phone the surgery as above to book your appointment
• this vaccine is contraindicated & will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed
• further information is available on www.shinglesaware.co.uk

• next meeting 18.30 Wednesday September 14 2016

• all GP practices are required to declare the mean earning (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice
• the average earnings for GPs working in Meneage Street Surgery (2014/2015) were £65,086 before tax & National Insurance; this is for 1 full time, 3 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!

New service: The first of a bi-monthly Hand Clinic took place on Thursday January 8 2016.
Following referral from a GP this offers consultant assessment, hand surgery, injections etc in a community setting; it is available via the referral service.

Other services, in addition to General Medical Services, at Meneage Street Surgery:

• Adult NHS hearing services clinic
• Community Macular Clinic [since the first of our weekly clinic on 29.10.2014 till 31.12.2015 the number of patient contacts for full assessment including retinal screen etc plus injection where indicated was 1222]
• Vasectomies

Reminders:

Named GP:

• all patients have a named GP. As you are aware each patient is registered with GP partner in the practice; this is your 'named GP'. You may, of course, when pre-booking an appointment see the GP of your choice (assuming availability) whether he/she your registered/named GP or not.

We offer:

• text reminders via mobile phones
• on line repeat prescription service
• on line appointment booking service
• from January 1 2016 we do not accept 'managed repeat' service via pharmacies
Should you require more information re the above please contact the surgery

Patient Participation Group:
The next meeting will be at 18.30 on Wednesday January 27 at the surgery. Should you be interested in joining the group or attending the meeting to see what we do please contact the surgery.

CQC Inspection:
You may be aware that we had a CQC Inspection in September 2015. Our overall rating for all the services each is good in each area. The areas covered by the inspection are:

• Are services safe?
• Are services effective?
• Are services caring?
• Are services responsive to people's needs?
• Are services well led?

Managed repeat service via pharmacies:
With effect from January 1 2016 we will not be accepting requests from any pharmacy for medication via the 'managed repeat' service; the pharmacies have been informed & will be advising those patients currently using the system.

The rationale for our decision includes:

• clinical risk
• compliance
• waste and stock piling of drugs
• increased workload
• patients, whenever possible, should control their prescribed medication

Managed repeats were discussed at the November meeting of our Patient Participation Group who agree with and back our decision.

Requesting repeat medication:
There are several ways by which repeat medication requests may be made:

• the counterfoil attached to prescription or electronic token; clearly mark the drugs required & return to surgery or drop into pharmacy for delivery to us
• by telephone to surgery between 10.00 & 16.00 Monday to Friday
• on line request service via this website
• processed prescriptions may be sent from the surgery directly to a pharmacy

Note: please allow 48 hours (excluding Saturday & Sunday) after the request is made for the prescription to be produced by us plus a minimum of a further 24 hours for the pharmacy to dispense.

Patient Participation Group:
The next meeting will be at 18.30 on Wednesday December 16 at the surgery.

We now have a page for Surgery policies and Procedures. You can find a link at the top of all pages.

This is a new section, so we will be adding documents to it. Check back for more documents!

Flu strains change & therefore the vaccine varies from year to year.
We advise the following amongst our patients to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter; those are patients:

• over 65 years
• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months with a long term condition

• it is national policy to offer annual influenza vaccination in the form of a nasal vaccine to children aged between 2, 3 & 4 years plus school years 1 & 2 on 31 August 2015
• to clarify eligibility the relevant dates of birth are:
  on or after 01/09/2010 & on or before 31/08/2013
• all children over this group in at risk category will be given nasal vaccine unless contraindicated

• the age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine are those aged 70/72 or 78/79 years on September 1 2015
• to clarify eligibility the relevant dates of birth are:
  02/09/1942 to 01/09/1945
  02/09/1935 to 01/09/1937
• patients included in the above relevant dates but with a date of birth below:
  02/09/1942 to 01/09/1944
  02/09/1935 to 01/09/1936
  were included in the programme last year; should you have not previously received immunisation please contact us; it will be obvious from your patient record
• eligibility ceases on the day of your 80th birthday
• we offer vaccination opportunistically and will be contacting patients in the new 2015/16 groups but should you wish to please phone the surgery as above to book your appointment
• this vaccine is contraindicated & will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed
• further information is available on www.shinglesaware.co.uk

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

An overview update since our last posting:

We run and staff the clinic ourselves and provide much needed extra capacity in our surgical unit which is unique in general practice. This enables us to provide the regular timely care which previously would require a visit to hospital.

The clinic is a full day each Wednesday and offers, in one appointment, visual fields and logmar vision test, retinal screening and slit lamp checks, consultation/result with ophthalmic consultant plus an injection as required. Since our first clinic on October 29 2014 to the end of July we have had 770 appointments/patient contacts.

We are looking to recruit more members; if you are interested in joining the group please complete the form on the PPG page & return to the surgery.

The funds raised together with donations have provided the following:

• infant pulse oximeter
• fully equipped doctor visiting bag
• two nurse visiting bags; one including equipment
• a fridge for vaccines, injections etc

• access to out of hours is via NHS 111; dial 111 and not the surgery phone number
• since June this year, when Serco finished its contract, care has been provided by Kernow Health which a Community Interest Company owned by the GP Practices in Cornwall

Should you have any questions or require further information about anything in this update please contact the surgery.

Another update at the end of August; please check back.

Sorry for the short notice, but the meeting on 15th April 2015 has been cancelled due to illness. Appologies for the inconvenience, the next meeting will be on 14th May 2015. See you there!
Don't forget to check the dates of our forthcoming meetings on the PPG page!

We're pleased to welcome Nigel Clark from Age UK to our next PPG Meeting on Thursday 11th December!

As always, the first 15 minutes of our PPG meetings are an open forum for all patients to come and speak with us (no joining the PPG necessary, but we always welcome new members!). If you'd like to meet Nigel, come along!

Three age cohorts of patients are eligible to receive this vaccine. They are those aged 70, 78 or 79 years on 1st September.
To clarify eligibility the relevant dates of birth are:

• 02/09/1943 to 01/09/1944
• 02/09/1934 to 01/09/1936

This vaccine is contraindicated and will not be given to individuals who are immunosuppressed.

Further information is available on www.shinglesaware.co.uk.

Our clinics start in October; we offer a variety of days and times, the first in on Saturday 11th October.

Flu strains change and therefore the vaccine varies from year to year.
We advise the following amongst our patients to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter; those are patients:

• over 65 years
• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA and chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months with a long term condition

This year it is national policy to offer annual influenza vaccination in the form of a nasal vaccine to children aged between 2 and 4 years on 1st September. All children over 4 in at risk category will be given nasal vaccine unless contraindicated.

If you are in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on 0844 387 9888 or 01326 558714 to book your appointment.

On 12th August, the Friends Group had a stall at Porthleven Market. Many thanks to all those who supported them.

Plans in progress for more events later this year. New members welcome; please ask for information at reception.

Our next meetings which start at 18:30 are published in the PPG section on this website. We have an open forum for the first fifteen minutes of all meetings. Patients are welcome to come along and meet us, ask questions or raise issues. New members welcome.

This clinic restarted in July 2014. It is a consultant led first appointment for assessment following a referral from a GP to dermatology and is available via Choose and Book. It runs every two weeks early on a Thursday evening.

You may be aware that we have been offering these checks, which are for 40-75 year olds who are not on a cardiovascular, chronic kidney disease or diabetes risk register, since they were prioritised by the Government.

Each Health Check involves a face to face interview with a trained screener and includes a lifestyle assessment, family history, height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, BP and lipid testing. Depending on the results a patient may be referred on within the practice for ongoing care/management.

The number involved is high and we are inviting patients to attend for these checks. If you fall into the group described above, have not yet been invited and would like a check please contact us to book your appointment.

Many thanks to all who completed our Patient Survey. You can download the survey results data here.

The responses to question 10 (is there anything that you would like the Patient Group to review?), which are listed together with comments from the Practice perspective will be discussed at the next meeting. You can download a copy of these here.

The next meeting will be at 18:30 on Monday 7th April at the Surgery.

We are always looking to recruit more members! If you are interested in joining the group, please complete the form on the PPG page and return to the surgery.

Each household should now have received an NHS leaflet outlining the rationale for the extraction of information from GP systems (see Jan 2014 news).

As you have heard, the planned upload of data has been postponed until the autumn; we will keep you posted.

Should you wish to refuse consent for information from your patient record to be transferred from the practice system for any purpose other than your medical care (except in special circumstances allowed by law eg a public health emergency) an opt-out form is available here (pdf). It is also available at the practice.

More information is available at www.hscic.gov.uk and the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk/caredata.

• Paper copies of some prescriptions for patients who have elected a pharmacy will no longer be produced
• prescriptions will be processed as they are now but signed electronically by a GP and sent directly to the 'spine' and picked up by the appropriate pharmacy
• when medications are collected, the patient will be given a repeat card for next request to practice
• not all drugs can be prescribed this way (eg. controlled drugs)
• when the system is fully functioning will provide complete audit trail and avoid lost paper!

At the beginning of March we were delighted to welcome Dr Elaine Mowle to our practice. She is working each Monday and Thursday, will provide cover for partner leave & train to run our family planning clinic.

We are pleased to announce that a new service, called The Waiting Room, is now available to our patients. This allows booking appointments and requesting repeat prescriptions online.

In order to sign up for this, please submit your email address to us at reception and you will then receive an email inviting you to join The Waiting Room.

Once done, you can access this service at www.TheWaiting-Room.net.

Minutes, agreed & signed off, for the meeting held on December 2 2013 plus those for January 14 2014 agreed by the Chairman are available on the PPG page.

Also included are the Patient Survey 2014 which you are invited to complete & PPG Terms of reference.

The next meeting will be at 18.30 on Monday 17th February at the surgery.

We are looking to recruit more members; if you are interested in joining the group please complete the form on the PPG page & return to the surgery.

We are hosting a weekly Adult NHS hearing services clinic with effect from Monday 3rd Feburary 2014. This service is primarily designed for adults over the age of 50 with hearing loss

Appointments may be made:

• will launch in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly on 4 February 2014
• the easy to remember number will replace NHS Direct's 0845 4647 service
• it should be called if medical help is needed fast but it's not a 999 emergency
• the service will be provided by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT), which already runs the 111 service in Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!

Minutes, agreed & signed off, for the meeting held on 16 September 2013 are available on the PPG page.

The next meeting will be at 18.30 on Tuesday January 14 at the surgery.

We are looking to recruit more members; if you are interested in joining the group please complete the form on the PPG page & return to the surgery.

Dr Jo Parry has, for personal reasons, resigned from the Practice; we wish her well for the future.

The last fundraising event, serving coffee & bacon rolls, at our Saturday flu clinic proved very successful & netted £117.00 towards equipment to benefit our patients.

The next Friends coffee morning which will include the Christmas raffle draw is at the The Clies on Wednesday December 11.

If you are interested in joining the group please contact the surgery.

Minutes, agreed & signed off, for the meeting held on July 15 are available on the PPG page.

The next meeting will be at 18.30 on Monday December 2.

If you are interested in joining the group please contact the surgery.

During the next month or so hscic will begin extracting information from GP systems; the initial extraction will be referral data for linking to hospital data. This information is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support patient care and treatment.

Further information is available from the surgery or at www.hscic.gov.uk.

Our clinics start this month [October].
We offer a variety of days & times including Saturday October 12.

Flu strains change & therefore the vaccine varies from year to year. We advise the following amongst our patients to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter; those are patients:

• over 65 years
• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months with a long term condition

It is national policy to offer annual influenza vaccination in the form of a nasal vaccine to children aged between 2 and 3 years on 1 September. All children over 4 in at risk category will be given nasal vaccine unless contraindicated.

If you are in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on 0844 387 9888 to book your appointment.

Our Friends Group are planning to serve coffee & bacon rolls at the surgery during our Saturday clinic to raise funds for equipment to benefit our patients.

Care Quality Commission [CQC]:

Our Practice achieved CQC registration, for all aspects of primary care plus our surgical unit, on 1st April 2013

Community matron:

We now have a community matron working with our practice on Thursday and Friday each week.

NHS 111:

The rollout of NHS 111 in Cornwall has been postponed indefinitely.

Phone system:

It has become apparent that patients are unaware of our local number which sits alongside 0844 387 9888; it is 01326 558714. This number does not offer a queuing facility ie when already in use there will be an engaged tone but the caller, when connected, will be offered the 'choices' selection eg appointment, visit etc.

The system has been and is subject to ongoing review.

Premises:

During the next month or so the planned refurbishment of our treatment and phlebotomy rooms should take place; having clinical rooms out of action will, obviously, prove a challenge but the end result will be worth it!

The next Friends meeting will be at 15.00 on Wednesday July 31 at the Surgery.

The Friends have planned a Fun Walk on Monday August 5:

• meet at the recreation car park by Penrose and walk to the Penrose Estate Café and back
• everyone welcome including family, friends, dogs, pushchairs, scooter and bikes
• £1.00 per family
• all money raised to go towards surgery equipment to benefit patients

We have had our first Patient Participation Group meeting which was successful, for more information, please see the PPG section of our website.

We are setting up a Patient Participation Group (PPG) and are looking for volunteers to join a group which will meet about 4 times a year.

Every PPG is unique to the practice and patients it serves. Our new PPG page contains information and FAQs about PPGs together with our first Patient Survey. These are also available in the surgery.

The responses to the survey will be collated, reported both on this website and in the surgery and will form a basis for the first PPG meeting.

We look forward to receiving interest from those wishing to join and your completed questionnaires.

Please click here to download the PPG enrollment form (pdf), then fill it out and return it to us at your earliest convenience.

The next Friends meeting will be at 10:30 on Wednesday 6th March at the Surgery.

The last fundraising events in 2012, coffee mornings at the practice flu clinic on 27th October and at The Clies on 6th December plus the Christmas raffle raised, including donations, £493 towards equipment to benefit our patients.

If you are interested in joining the group please contact the surgery.

We would like to welcome Anna Elliott, a Nurse Practitioner, to our team. A Nurse Practitioner has extended training (to masters level) and is a full prescriber.

To enhance the service for our patients we are, on some days each week, introducing a minor illness clinic. This clinic is suitable for adults and children over 6 months presenting with acute problems.

When you call reception for an appointment you will be asked some extra questions to ensure that you are directed to the clinic which best suits your medical needs.

This Thursday, 6th December, at The Clies (which is behind the surgery) from 10:00 until 12:00.
Extra stalls this time including local artist's seascape paintings.

If you visited or passed the surgery last week you may have noticed lots of activity.

Sensors inside the door will prevent it from opening should anyone be standing in a vulnerable position.

The door operates:

Our clinics start at the beginning of October and we are offering a variety of days and times, including Saturday October 27.

Flu strains change and therefore the vaccine varies from year to year. We advise patients who meet any of the criteria below to take advantage of the annual campaign to protect themselves from flu this winter:

• over 65 years
• who are pregnant
• with chronic (long term) respiratory disease such as severe asthma or COPD
• with coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, stroke, TIA & chronic neurological disease
• who have a weakened immune system due to treatments that suppress the immune system eg chemotherapy & conditions such as HIV
• who are carers or frontline health or social care workers
• children aged over 6 months with a long term condition

If you are in any of the above groups please phone the surgery on 0844 387 9888 to book your appointment.

Our Friends Group are planning to serve coffee at the surgery during our Saturday clinic to raise funds for equipment to benefit our patients.

This month we introduced text reminders for those patients with mobile phones. You may have received a message asking if you would like to be included in this service. There is an 'opt out' option which if chosen is recorded in the patient records.

Initially, to test the value (eg reduce the number of patients who do not attend pre-booked appointments, cancellations) a limited number of appointments are involved.

The system has been risk assessed. Messages will be sent only to those patients who have not opted out and will never contain identifiable or confidential information.

This is not a forum for seeking other information eg clinical advice.

Should you have any comments or suggestions regarding this or our practice in general please let us know.

The next Friends meeting will be at 10:30 on Thursday September 6 at the Surgery.

Their last fundraising event was on August 2 which raised, including donations, £203 towards equipment to benefit our patients.

If you are interested in joining the group please contact the surgery.

Coming soon: a Friends page on this website.

Dr Jo Parry MB ChB DFSRH, who joined us last autumn, became a partner In April 2012.
The list of patients who have been pooled since the retirement of Dr Williams has been transferred to her.

We have had a busy winter.

Our building project, a unit which includes surgical room with air handling, sluice room, consulting room and waiting area, is complete.

We are very proud of this facility in which we will be able to offer assessment and some day case procedures to both our registered patients and those from other practices in a high spec facility, closer to home and an unhurried, more familiar environment. Photographs will be posted here soon.

Visiting surgeons now carry out vasectomies here; these are bookable after referral by GP via Choose & Book.

Having Dr Parry on board has enabled us to offer a family planning clinic, including insertion and removal of both coils and Nexplanon, in addition to all other contraceptive advice and prescription.

Friends of Meneage Street Surgery was formed in February and held their first fundraising event, a coffee morning and book sale, at The Clies on April 26. As well as raising £180, including donations, towards a hyfrecator for the new surgical unit the event was enjoyed by all.

The next Friends meeting will be at 10.30 on Thursday June 14 at the Surgery. If you are interested in joining the group please contact the surgery. We plan to incorporate a Friends page on this website soon.

There is much change for healthcare just around the corner and we feel that it presents an opportunity to benefit our patients by being involved and committed in the process.