Knockin Medical Centre

We are delighted to welcome Dr Sarwat Murad to Knockin. Dr Murad is a fully qualified doctor who is training to become a GP. She is with us two and a half days per week, normally on a Monday, Tuesday and a Thursday morning. Dr Murad can see you for all the normal issues that you may require a GP for and can prescribe medication in the same way that the other doctors here can do.

Extended Access – Local GP practices working together to offer more convenient appointment times for patients

As from 1^st October, 2018, we will be part of a network of practices (known as ‘hubs’) in Shropshire, working together to offer patients ‘Extended Access’ to pre-bookable appointments – in the evenings, at the weekend and during bank holidays.

Part of the national agenda by NHS England, Extended Access means patients will be able to make pre-bookable appointments to see a GP, practice nurse, or other qualified healthcare professional, at a time which may be more convenient for them.

In Shropshire, local practices will work together in a network of ‘hubs’ to provide this service. The ‘hubs’ will take turns to provide the Extended Access appointments to patients. This means patients could be offered an appointment at their own surgery or at a nearby practice in the local area (part of the hub). Patients will be advised about appointment location at time of booking, enabling them to make an informed choice about their where and when they access care.

Locally the pre-bookable appointments will be available as follows:

• Weekday evenings (Monday to Friday)
  between 6.30pm and 8pm (at a local area hub)
  
  
• Saturdays
  between 8am and 1pm (at a local area hub)
  
  
• Sundays and bank holidays
  between 8.30am and 12.30pm  (at a single site in central Shrewsbury)

Arranging a pre-bookable evening, weekend or bank holiday appointment is easy to do – patients simply need to contact us, during normal opening hours, and speak to the practice receptionist or a member of the practice team who will be able to help. Appointments may not be with your registered GP but will be with a GP or other qualified healthcare professional.

Extended Access adds to the existing range of healthcare services already available in Shropshire to help patients, including pharmacists, NHS 111, the walk-in centre, minor injury units, and A&E (which is there 24/7 for life threatening serious emergencies only).

It isn’t always necessary to see a GP for minor and common conditions – find out more about

how to self-care for these types of conditions on the Self-care section of the NHS Shropshire

Clinical Commissioning Group website (https://shropshireccg.nhs.uk/health-advice/selfcare/).

It is important to be aware of how long common conditions should take to clear up

and always seek medical advice if you are unsure or if you feel it is an emergency.

Extended Access comes into effect as from 1^st October, 2018.

Information to help patients understand more about Extended Access is available on the NHS England website, visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/redesign/improving-access/.

GP OOH NUMBER SWITCH TO NHS111 

NHS 111 service to take calls out-of-hours across Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire from 17 July 2018

From Tuesday 17 July 2018, patients across Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire who need urgent out-of-hours medical help or advice will need to call 111. 

The NHS 111 service will replace the current out-of-hours GP telephone access service provided by Shropdoc in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin in line with national policy to provide a consistent, integrated approach to urgent care; but any patients that need to see a clinician out-of-hours will still be seen by a local GP or other appropriate clinician.

NHS 111 is much more than a helpline – if you’re worried about an urgent medical concern, you can call 111 to speak to a fully trained adviser. Depending on the situation, the NHS 111 team can connect you to generalist and specialist nurses, or even a GP or pharmacist, and can arrange face-to-face appointments should you need one. It is free and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

There is also a new ‘ASK NHS’ app that has been designed that provides improved access to NHS 111 and other local NHS services. Advice is delivered by the virtual clinician ‘Olivia’ and she takes you through the steps of the symptom checker which can result in the booking of a GP appointment, access to NHS choices, a call back from a clinical expert or access to self-care.

You can download the ‘Ask NHS’ app via Google Play (for Android phones) or Apple App Store (for iPhones). If you need more guidance on how to download the app please click here.

At Knockin we have patients registered with a Shropshire CCG practice who are resident across the border in Wales.

Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group has asked us to make you aware that, in line with NHS England policy, arrangements for how patients contact the GP Out of Hours service, currently provided by Shropdoc, changed from 17th July 2018.

If you have any questions about this letter, please contact Phil Sedgwick, Patient Insight Officer on 01743 277586.

All of our patients are allocated a “Named Accountable GP”.

This is a new requirement as of 1/4/2015.  The Named Accountable GP takes responsibility for the co-ordination of all appropriate services required under the GP contract and ensure they are delivered to each of their patients where required (based on the clinical judgment of the Named Accountable GP). (BMA website)

Please note that patients are free to make an appointment and see any GP of their choice. It does not have to be the Named Accountable GP.

The name of your allocated GP can be found on your repeat medication slip (if you have one), or if you wish to find out who it is, please ask at reception.

The quickest way to order your repeat medication is by using our Online Patient Access system. You can also use this to book or cancel appointments and to view your medical records. Please contact the Admin office to complete the online registration form and to obtain your log in details.

If you are unable to use the online system you can drop your paper repeat slip in to the practice at any time, or put it through the letterbox if we are closed. If you wish to discuss your medication request then please ring the surgery on 01691 682203 and ask to speak with a member of the dispensary team.

All prescription requests require three full working days to complete. Please note if you come to collect your medication early it may not be ready as all the safety checks may not be completed.

Thank you for your cooperation.