July Newsletter

In this, the second edition of the Waterfield House Surgery Newsletter, you will find news from the surgery, information on Urgent Treatment Centres.

The Patient Participation Group

We Need You! 

We really want to encourage the younger generation of patients, especially those of you with young families, to join the Patient Participation Group. We meet just four times a year and offer you the opportunity to share your views and make a difference. The last meeting included a talk outlining the challenges that Pembury Pharmacy faces, and an informative presentation about travelling and travel insurance with medical conditions. The next meeting, which includes our AGM and presentations from Digital Kent, is on Wednesday 10 July at 7.00pm, at the surgery. Do come along!

Pembury in the Park
The Patient Participation Group will have a stand at the Pembury in the Park event on 6 July. Come along and find out more about us!

Waterfield in numbers

Total number of patients: 6470

Calls: 3801

Appointments Offered: 1986
Face to Face Appointments offered: 1742
Home Visits: 133

Clinical Letters processed: 1823

Prescription items issued: 18857

Did not attend booked appointment: 56

News From The Surgery

Recruitment: The surgery has just recruited a young person under the Apprenticeship Programme. This person will be trained and provide support for the surgery in all aspects of Patient Services. 

Mental Health: The Primary Care Network (PCN) has recently recruited a Mental Health Practitioner for adults, and three Mental Health Navigators who can help you to explore services, groups and activities available locally that can support you in improving your health and emotional wellbeing. Two practitioners will serve the 18+ population and one will cater for children and young persons below 18 years. If you would like support from this service, you can request an appointment via ANIMA or ask our reception team.

ANIMA - the surgery has run several sessions for patients on how to use ANIMA and the feedback has been very positive. These sessions have so far been conducted by surgery staff in their lunch breaks, but it would be preferable if volunteers from the community could do the training. If you would be interested in conducting these training sessions, please contact the surgery.

Benefits - by using ANIMA you can:

• Save time: You can submit your request at your convenience, from anywhere, without having to wait on hold or queue at reception. You can also avoid unnecessary visits to the practice if your issue can be resolved remotely.
• Get the right care: You can get the care you need from the right person, at the right time and in the right place. We can direct you to the most suitable service or health professional for your needs, whether it is a GP, Nurse Practitioner, Physician’s Associate, Nurse, Pharmacist, a service in the community or an Urgent Treatment Centre (see below). 
• Stay safe: You can reduce your exposure to potential infections by limiting your contact with other people. You can also help us protect our staff and other patients by reducing the footfall in the practice.

We again want to reassure those patients who do not have online access or who cannot communicate electronically that our receptionists are always available to help, in person or over the phone, and can complete the triage questions on their behalf.

Waiting Room Presentation

The new waiting room presentation is both eye catching and informative. We hope to be able to make it available on a larger screen in the near future.

Increasing pressures on GP practices

• General practices are seeing more patients (particularly younger patients) since before the pandemic.
• The NHS has lost the equivalent of 1,790 full-time fully qualified GPs since 2015.
• Waterfield House has 2000 patients per GP (the recommended patient to GP ratio is 1800).

Urgent Treatment Centres

• There are Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals, located within the Emergency Departments (A&E). 
• They are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and treat patients with injuries and illnesses that are not critical or life-threatening but still require urgent attention. 
• Walk-in patients to the Emergency Departments will be assessed using the streaming/triaging system. However, patients are encouraged to use 111 to pre-book an appointment at their nearest UTC, thereby reducing any additional burden on A&E and avoiding a long unnecessary wait in a hospital waiting room.
• The Stop Think Choose website provides information on the UTCs that are available in the Kent and Medway area

Mental Health

From 2 April, it became easier for everyone in Kent and Medway to seek specialist advice if they are experiencing an urgent mental health crisis. All they need to do is call 111 and select the mental health option when prompted. Someone could be in crisis if: 

• They feel like they want to hurt themselves, or someone else.
• They hear strange voices.
• They feel that people are watching or want to hurt them.
• They are experiencing extreme distress that seems overwhelming or they can’t cope with day-to-day life.

Are you feeling anxious or stressed out?
NHS Talking Therapies provides support to people struggling with mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, low mood and stress. It is a free and confidential service for anyone aged 17.5 or above, registered with a GP. Visit the Kent and Medway Talking Therapies website

Integrated Care Strategy

The NHS in Kent and Medway is developing a strategy designed to support all NHS organisations to work together as one – to provide the best possible health outcomes for our communities now and in the future. The emerging strategy recognises that no single NHS partner can achieve the changes needed on its own, and that together we are stronger. That is why NHS Kent and Medway and provider trusts are co-designing the strategy which will set the direction for health services for the next three to five years. 

Read the full story and view the strategy on the website

Local Carer Voice Co-Production Groups

As part of the delivery of the Kent Adult Carers' Strategy which was published in 2022, the KCC Engagement Team is setting up Carer Voice Co-production groups in Kent, with a view to developing plans, services and campaigns that may be of interest to carers. Carer Voice Co-production Groups are for those who have experience as unpaid carers in Kent and the plan is to have four such groups each year. The first meetings have already taken place, and we aim to update you on the results in the next Newsletter. KCC have also displayed information about the carer voice groups on the Kent Connect To Support website and Carers Connect to Support. If there are those who would like to be involved but can neither attend online sessions or in-person events, you should email the KCC engagement team.

Published: Jul 11, 2024