SURGERY NEWS
Leaving Partners
We are very sad to announce the departure of two of our GP Partners. Dr Rampersad and Dr Ingram. We hope you join us in wishing them both well in their future adventures and thank them for their incredible hard work over their time at Honiton Surgery. You will be greatly missed by all.
Please see speical announcement made by GPs below.
Dr D Rampersad
I will be leaving Honiton Surgery at the end of August 2024, having been a GP here since May 2000. I think Honiton and its people make this a great place to live and work but it’s time for a new challenge. I feel that I have been very lucky to have been able to work with such a great team here to offer services as a family doctor. It has been a privilege to get to know my patients- (some for the whole 24 years, from being born to having their own children!) and work with them through health difficulties and in happier times to share in their joy. It has taught me a lot about life and people, and I thank you all for that. I’m so pleased that I leave behind a hardworking competent group of people at the practice to continue the work and wish all of my patients the best for the future.
Dr S Ingram
It’s hard to believe 18 years working in Honiton surgery is coming to an end . David and I are planning for some adventure before we retire. Initially trialing working in New Zealand for 6months before perhaps more challenging places.
Reflecting on my time at the surgery I realise our role has transformed over the years.
Back in 2006 we had 14000 patients ( now 18000 ) we ran the community hospital ward, covered the dementia and minor injury units and covered the 5 local care homes. There were no telephone appointments or econsults. All our patients were seen in person.
The primary care team has also expanded to now include nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physios and mental health professionals.Despite these changes the job seems busier than ever I think primarily due to advancements in medicine we are living longer with more complex conditions.
I’ve always found working as a GP challenging and interesting. I’ve met so many caring and lovely people. I’ve been humbled to hear about the difficulties and challenges so many people face in their lives but some how pull through.
Getting to know patients over the years seeing familiar faces who know and trust me has been one of the joys of working in Honiton
I sincerely thank our practice staff, receptionists, nurses, administration team, cleaners and prescribing team for their immense support over the years without whom the practice could not function .
I’m very pleased to know I’m leaving a great team going forward.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccination
RSV is an infectious disease of the airways and lungs. This is a new vaccination that NHSE have made available to pregnant women at week 28 or later and everyone aged 75 to 79 or turning 75 years old on or after 1 September 2024.
We hope to have RSV clinics in place at Honiton surgery in November (Date TBC).
HeidiHealth
Our clinicans use an AI transcribing software in the practice. This software is a helpful tool that allows your doctor to focus entirely on you during your visit while still allowing them to accurately capture medical information, ensuring a comprehensive and precise record of your care. Heidi transcribes clinical encounters (both telephone and face-to-face) and streams them via desktop microphone to a transcription service, that is shown on the PC in form of a clinical note.
Please understand that your information will be handled with the utmost care, and using this software is aimed solely at improving your healthcare experience at the surgery.
Long Term Condition Annual Reviews
We are making some changes to long-term condition annual review appointments. We are asking our patients to provide us with information prior to their review appointment. This means we will be either asking you to complete a pre-appointment health questionnaire via SMS or asking you to come in and use our self-check kiosks in the main waiting area before your appointment. This is so we can utilise the software and systems we have in place at the surgery, to give our clinicians more time to capture missing information and completed necessary checks before you are reviewed. Patients will ideally still be seen for their annual reviews in their month of birth.
If you have any problems with links you cannot open or you do not wish to receive links or questionnaires, you can inform a member of our team and they can add you to a group to be contacted directly.
Digital First
CLINICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE QUERIES SHOULD BE SENT TO US VIA OUR ONLINE CONSULTATION TOOL.
For a medical issue or for booking an appointment Accurx online consultation tool will be available from 7:30am - 3:30pm Monday - Friday. If you complete an online consultation for medical issue before 3:30pm, we aim to contact you on same working day.
For other queries (for example sick note, results, or prescription requests) the online tool will be available from 8am - 6pm Monday-Friday and we will respond within three working days.
We have listened to patients about the challenges you are experiencing with regards to increasing need for services, available staff and the length of time queuing on the phones. We believe that Accurx online consultation is the most effective way that we can sustain a safe and accessible service for our patients. Your online consultation will be reviewed, and an appropriate course of action will be taken. This is to ensure that your request is addressed by the right person at the right time, making this a better and more efficient experience for you.
We would like to ask everyone to please be patient with our staff. We encourage anyone who is able to go online to complete an online consultation for themselves to please do so. You can also complete requests on behalf of someone else, such as a child, or someone you care for. Co-operating in this way will free up the phone lines for patients who simply cannot get online to do this themselves. Please be assured that we are continually striving to provide an excellent service despite significant pressures on the whole NHS at this time.
Digital First Frequently Asked Questions
Please see Accurx website for additional patient support and How to submit an online consultation to your practice
Videos links:
Patient Guide to Accurx Online Consultations: How to Submit a Medical Request
Patient Guide to Accurx Online Consultations : How to submit an admin request
Health Kiosks
Our new self-check health kiosks are located in the corner of our main waiting area and available to use from 8:00-17:00 Monday-Friday. Patients can perform own checks without clinical supervision or submit some simple lifestyle questionnaires. Readings and information are then instantaneously updated into your medical record and can be immediately viewed by clinicians. The health kiosks allow you to perform simple checks at your own convenience, without making an appointment. You may wish to do your BP before you go in to see clinician or you can come in at your own convenience to use.
What you can do on the health kiosks:-
- Take your blood pressure
- Check your height and weight to calculate your BMI
- Enter information regarding your lifestyle i.e. smoking, alcohol, exercise, ethnicity and diet
- They are very simple to use and on-screen instructions take you through the process. However, if you do have difficulty, you can ask a member of the reception team who would be happy to help you.
We kindly ask that patients with mobility difficulties do not use the kiosks.
'Usual GP' or 'Named GP'
Due to several changes in our GP Team over the last 24 months and the significant pressures we still face in primary care, we are currently unable to accommodate requests to change your allocated GP, as all of ours GPs list are currently full. We may change your 'Usual GP' due to practice and staff developments, we are currently unable to notify patients individually of these changes. Having an allocated GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice, please ask reception when booking if you wish to do so.
