Thank you to all the patients that have booked their Autumn Covid Booster and/or Flu Vaccination at the Practice. Both Saturday clinics (30th Sept and 21st Oct) are going to be VERY busy so if you are attending either clinic then please be prepared , please wear something with short sleeves !  There may be queues at times. We have booked as many patients in as possible so please do be patient with us on the day.

If you would still like your Autumn Covid Booster but can't attend either clinic (or when fully booked) you will still be able to book elsewhere online or by calling NHS 119.  We will continue to offer flu vaccinations in our usual weekday clinics.

We have declared a Climate Emergency!

This practice is delighted to be signed up to the Green Impact for Health Toolkit and is actively taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint. The climate emergency is also a health emergency, and health care in the UK contributes 5.4% of the UK's carbon emissions. We need to enhance the health of our current population without compromising the health of future generations, and this means operating within the sustainable boundaries of the planet. Fortunately most of the solutions for the planet also make our health better - for example eating a mainly plant-based diet, engaging in active travel and exercise in nature, avoiding smoking, reducing pollution etc all enhance our health and reduce our need for medications, with further benefits to the NHS, your health and the carbon footprint of healthcare. Take a look at the Greener Practice website to learn more about this.

NHS vaccine programme

In the UK, we are incredibly fortunate to be able to offer our children the best protection against serious and life-threatening infections through our routine childhood immunisations. The immunisation programme is designed to offer us the best protection throughout our lives, with more vaccines such as shingles and flu offered to our elderly population now.

The NHS vaccination programme is a world-leader and designed to protect us throughout our lives, for free.

When you have a baby, keeping them safe and well is a priority. Vaccination is one of the most important things we can do to protect their health, and shortly after they are born, you’ll be given information about their first immunisations, which take place when the baby is 8 weeks old.

These first jabs protect against a number of infections that can cause pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. The vaccines offered to babies and toddlers protect them from serious illness such as whooping cough and diphtheria that used to cause so much suffering to families, but thanks to immunisation are now rare.

As your child gets older, they’ll be offered more appointments to get vaccinated, right up until they are teenagers. When they are little, these tend to be done at their GP surgery, but as they grow up some vaccines will be offered at school. It’s important to look out for and return consent forms for vaccines that are given at school.

The full childhood immunisation programme protects your child against many different illnesses. It’s best to have vaccines on time, but you can still catch up on most vaccines if you miss them. If you are concerned that your child, or any family member, has missed out on certain vaccines, you can speak to your GP practice about catching up. You can also use your child’s red book to look back at which vaccines they have received and if there are any gaps.

YOUR  FEEDBACK is helpful to us for monitoring the quality of our services provided to all our patients.   There is a form from the Care Quality Commission where you can give your feedback in a few short steps and we would much appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete this regarding your own experiences.   Please visit:   https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care ....and thank you.     

Spring Covid Booster Vaccines:     Our COVID Booster clinic in May is now fully booked. If you are eligble you can still book via gov.uk or by calling NHS 119. There are clinics being held in the region.    

If you are struggling with sleep problems, please visit https://www.sleepstation.org.uk/ for further information on registering with this helpful app and learn how to improve your sleep    

NHS NUMBERS:  if you do not know yours, there is a new on-line service to find this - www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/what-is-an-nhs-number/    

KLINIK is our new online consulting system for routine questions and went live on 3rd January 2023.   We aim to respond at the earliest opportunity, usually within 48 hours.    NB. It will not be available for part of 14/1/23 due to maintenance work

WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE:   This has been built upon over many years and is full of useful information, including various on-line services - please see links below and Nos. 2 and 3 under the "Further information" heading.   May we suggest looking through the site to start with.   By registering as a member of the patient group you will be kept up-to-date with the quarterly newsletters and are invited to update contact details and records via the generic e-mail address below which is also used for repeat prescription requests.   Your comments on any topic can be recorded here - please see the  "Contact Details" section.   If you are new to the area, have a look at our opening times , download a registration form and come and see us.    

E-MAIL FOR GENERAL INFORMATION or PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS:   We have now changed our e-mail to ciosicb.lostenq@nhs.net as at 26/4/23  Please note that the Enq part of our generic e-mail ends in a Q not a G.   

We are a small and dedicated team and we aim to provide you with friendly, helpful and efficient services to the very best of our collective abilities.  With discretion and confidentiality guaranteed, your health and welfare is safe, secure and in good hands.   We are a GP training practice aligned to the South West Peninsula Postgraduate Deanery;  we train up-and-coming doctors wishing to make general practice their career.   We also have attachments from medical students and will let patients know when registrars/students are participating in our services and it is always patient choice to be seen or not by attached clinicians - you just need to tell the receptionist on arrival for your appointment if you prefer not to see a registrar    

APPOINTMENTS:   There is a daily morning triage system for all requests for a same-day appointment run by the GPs - if it is felt your request is "soon" rather than "urgent", you will be advised and booked in accordingly.   Any request for a child under the age of 5 years is automatically given an appointment by the receptionist, bypassing triage.   Routine appointments are available upon request - please speak to the receptionist who will be pleased to help.   See the separate "Appointments" section above.

INCREASING ACCESS TO GENERAL PRACTICE (IAGP) :  We started this in 2018 and for the first few months offered additional late evening appointments and Saturday morning surgeries in collaboration with the Fowey and Middleway practices by an agreed rota.   This service has continued ever since and we open every rotate every three weeks with the other practices. Our IAGP sessions are a Friday evening and the next Saturday morning every 3 weeks.

With many people working we appreciate that lunchtimes may be the only time you have to contact us or pop in which is why we do not close during the day.   If you have a specific request and find it difficult to get in touch at any time then send an e-mail to ciosicb.lostenq@nhs.net and someone will come back to you.   

CQC INSPECTION - SEE 1 FOR PREVIOUS REPORTS AND LINKS  

Annual Report:    The practice attained 97.6% April 2018 - March 2019 for the Quality and Outcomes Framework;  this was the same as the previous year and we are delighted to retain our high standards;  during Covid-19 there have been different measures in place.      The annual patient survey 2021 showed the practice to be well supported by our patients who recognised the hard work and good outcomes we always strive to achieve.   We were even more delighted that in 2022 we have been voted the best in Cornwall and 24th in the country!   Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and supporting us............full details can be found on the link gp-patient.co.uk and type in "Lostwithiel Surgery"