Watton Medical Practice

To protect patients and staff against COVID-19 the following measures have been put in place.

Appointments only bookable by telephone

Consultations with a clinician will take place by telephone

There will be no admittance to patients without a request from the surgery to attend

If you have symptoms of persistent cough or temperature of 37.8 - SELF ISOLATE FOR 14 DAYS

If you live with someone who has symptoms - SELF ISOLATE FOR 14 DAYS

Over 70's those with Underlying Health Conditions and Pregnant Women should be particularly careful about going out and only do so if absolutely necessary for 12 weeks.

We will update our patients with further advice and national guidance as we receive them.

We have been made aware of some inaccurate information circulating regarding special ‘rescue packs’ for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Please do not contact your GP practice for a rescue pack. You should continue to manage your condition in the usual way and if you feel you have symptoms of COVID-19, go to https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 before doing anything else.

Public Health England (PHE) have launched its first ever Start4Life campaign designed to help parents introduce solid foods to their baby. Start4Life is PHE’s marketing programme that helps parents adopt healthy behaviours during pregnancy, birth and their children’s early years.

The campaign promotes waiting until around 6 months to introduce solid foods alongside breast milk or infant formula. The campaign also explains the government’s advice to gradually introduce a wide variety of foods and textures from around 6 months, and provides advice on what foods to introduce and how to prepare simple recipes.

We are excited to tell you about a new research study that Watton Medical Practice are taking part in.

The programme is called 'Discover Me' and we asking for 500+ patients for a DNA swab (from the mouth). This swab is totally anonymous and will remain live on the research programme for 20 years.

This January NHS England and NHS Improvement is investing in a third year of the 'Pharmacy Advice' campaign under the overarching brand 'Help us, Help you'

The campaign encourages the public to use their local pharmacy as the first choice for clinical advice on minor health concerns such as coughs, colds, tummy troubles and aches and pains.

The campaign will launch on 20th January 2020 for nine weeks.

Please see below information regarding Wellbeing workshops being held in various areas, including Watton and Thetford.

Long Term Conditions -  New Workshops delivered by the Wellbeing Service

The Wellbeing Service offers help and support to improve wellbeing and manage stress, low mood and anxiety. We aim to reduce the onset of mental ill health, prevent deterioration and promote recovery by offering a range of flexible services tailored to meet specific needs.

We would like to make your patients aware that we are now running free workshops for people in your area who have Diabetes or Coronary Heart Disease. Patients will need a Wellbeing assessment prior to attending a workshop. I have attached posters for both – if these can please be displayed in your waiting area.

Living Well with Diabetes

The course aims to help you understand how diabetes may affect you and its relationship to low mood and anxiety

Living Well with Coronary Heart Disease

The living well with coronary heart disease course is a course for people experiencing heart problems who would like to improve their wellbeing by learning ways to manage their stress, worry or low mood

These are 4 week workshops and run for 90 minutes, facilitated by an LTC trained clinician. 

Held at: Ayton House, Wymondham

We have capped all sessions to 15 attendees maximum, as we would like to encourage more discussions about the LTC within the groups. Feedback suggests that having the space to share and talk and have that shared experience is beneficial with LTC’s. There is  no expectation for anyone to share or talk though, if they don’t feel comfortable.

Please contact us if you have any questions

The Breckland Alliance has been shortlisted for a Nursing Times Award for our research work!

A Practical Guide to Healthy Caring

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/a-practical-guide-to-healthy-caring/

The advice in this booklet will help those who look after a friend or family member or have any form of caring responsibilities, but it is written to be particularly relevant for those who are about 65 years or older and are new to caring.

GDPR

(GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION)

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new law that determines how your personal data is processed and kept safe, and the legal rights that you have in relation to your own data.  The regulation applies from 25 May 2018 and will apply even after the UK leaves the EU.

Please click on the link below to view our Fair Processing Notice.

Fair Processing Notice for patients May 2018.pdf

Care Quality Commission Report "GOOD"

Our GP Practice has recently undergone a CQC inspection and the results are now freely available on the CQC Website.  You can access the report below:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-544018179

FACEBOOK

The surgery now has a facebook page.  This will help us provide up to date and relevant information to our 12,301 patients.  Please click on the link below.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=588033394873317&id=543366366006687

Patient Care

Our dedicated team are here to treat those with minor ailments that occur as well as providing specialist management of long term conditions and clinics covering a wide range of healthcare issues. 

In order to ensure our surgery provides the service our patients want and deserve over the years to come, we have come together with two practices in nearby Thetford to form the Breckland Alliance. This means that staff from the Grove surgery and the School Lane surgery in Thetford will sometimes work at Watton, and all three surgeries' will develop new ways of working to ensure the best possible service for patients. 

Practice Charter-New.pdf