Patient Representative Meeting March 2024

Dovercourt Group Practice

Patient Reps Meeting for both sites.

Thursday 7th March 2024 @ 2pm

1. Partnership

Chelle explained that there have been recent changes to the Practice

partnership.

Dr Jetha, Dr Sahu and Michelle Wilde are now part of the partnership with Dr

Read and Paul Wike

2. Training Practice

The Practice is now a training Practice with several GPs taking an actively role in

supporting training and supervision.

Dr Jetha is training first year medical students. Dr Younis and Agarwal are GP

trainers for the GP Registrars who already are Doctors but require additional

training to become GPs. They must spend 18 months in GP Practices and 18

months on rotation in hospitals.

We also offer training placements for Physicians Associates and Nurses,

Pharmacy Technicians and Admin roles (apprenticeships).

All trainees are supervised and the work they complete (calls, consultations, tasks)

are regularly examined and reviewed.

In being a training Practice, we are helping to create a workforce for the future of

Primary Care, helping the Practice to increase the number of appointments

available for our patients and sustainability of the Practice for potential recruitment

of posts.

3. Covid Boosters

There is a planned Spring booster vaccine to be made available for patients 75

and over, Care homes for older people and people over 6 months that are

immunosuppressed. No other patients will be offered a vaccine.

4. Manor Top Site- Clinical Staff

In the last year we have seen an increase in the number of Nursing staff at the

Manor Top site. It is planned to have more clinical staff at the Practice so there are

more available appointments for patients at the site. Dr Sahu will be working

Tuesday to Thursday and a Physician Associate will work on a Monday at Manor

Top.

A discussion was held around the difficulties in accessing the Dovercourt site with

limited public transport available. Ahmed and Maria shared a local campaign from

Oliver Copand to try and readdress recent approaches to bus service to respond

to need rather than demand for services. This could be explored for the area and

access to the Practice. Michelle mentioned that Owlthorpe surgery offer a

community bus that patients can prebook to attend the surgery and whether this is

something that could be considered for Dovercourt with Manor Community

Transport or another local service.

5. Cloud Based Telephone System

Chelle shared that the Practice is moving to a new telephone system that will

allow the Practice to monitor more closely usage and determine any trends so

services and access can be better planned for patients.

We have recently increased the number of incoming telephone lines to try and

improve access. Concerns were discussed that the messaging and options

around urgency of calls and when best to call the Practice was not clear and

whether this could be amended to guide patients better and to ensure that the

information on the website matches the messaging on the phones.

Michelle asked if the phone lines could be opened at the MT site at 8 am to aid

access, so they are the same as the DC site. The Practice are still considering

this. Current staffing levels are affecting changes.

6. Audits – appts/ online access

Chelle shared data around appointments per 1000 patients for the Practice in

relation to the other Practices across the city. We remain each month between

the second and fourth highest for offering appointments.

A discussion was held around the new GP contract that is coming in encouraging

patients to have more online access to ‘total triage’ which allows patients to

complete a form to request access to services, online consultations, and support.

This will require close monitoring from the Practice to ensure a timely and

appropriate response. The Practice currently offers an email service which works

similarly and feels that it may be better to continue to offer this service.

The Practice is also aware that many of our patients may not have access to

online services that could digitally disadvantage them and tries to consider and

keep in place many access routes into the Practice.

Chelle also shared the lates friends and family test information and feedback.

Much of which is very good and reflects quickness of response to be seen. The

poorer responses were more in relation to staff behaviour, in particular from the

admin team. This information will be shared at a Receptionist meeting.

7. A.O.B.

Maria mentioned that the proposed new contract for GP Practices is not very

promising considering the cost of living and the impact this has on individuals and

the Practice has a business. Changes may need to be considered regarding

current staff levels. It was also mentioned that the Practice is trying to support

patients with a high level of complexity of need and burden of disease that often

occurs earlier in the age profile of our patients then it does in the more affluent

parts of the city. Maria has written to the area’s local MP raising her concerns

Published on 22 March 2024