Helping patients to stay at home

PATIENTS across Wiltshire will benefit from a new scheme to help them continue living healthily at home for longer, which will also help reduce unnecessary admissions to hospitals.

The new service, jointly run by Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, sees 23 new care co-ordinators based in GP surgeries across Wiltshire to help patients who have been identified as being at high risk of hospital admission.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Patients to get access to GPs seven days a week, pledges NHS boss

Britain's most senior doctor has pledged to ensure that patients get access to NHS consultants and GPs seven days a week under controversial reforms of the service.

Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS medical director has said the system needs to "change radically" to meet the needs of patients, and tackle worse death rates in hospitals at weekends.

Full Article on Telegraph 

Patients could be able to Skype with their GP under new proposals

Under new proposals announced by Prime Minister David Cameron, patients will be able to see GPs seven days a week in and out of office hours - with the introduction of email, Skype and phone consultations.

Other services to be introduced from 2014-15 include electronic prescriptions, online appointment bookings and online registrations.

Full Article on Computing

Cameron promises more flexible GP hours

David Cameron says he wants to offer more patients the chance to visit a GP in the evening or at weekends.

Under a scheme to be piloted in nine areas of England, surgeries will be able to bid for funding to open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

The prime minister said the £50m project would mean doctors "fit in with work and family life".

Full Article on BBC News

Wiltshire health group aims to bring more care to surgeries

GPs in Wiltshire are working on a plan to bring care closer to people’s home rather than sending them to hospital.

Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which took over planning and buying health services from NHS Wiltshire in April, is going to have teams of health professionals and social carers working with particular GP practices to provide services to populations of 20,000 people.

At last Tuesday's annual meeting of the CCG, Dr Simon Burrell, a GP in Corsham and chairman of North and East Wiltshire group of GPs, said: “We want to make sure the patient is at the centre of what we do. We are creating a single bunch of people in a locality to look after you.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Hunt: A&E know some patients better than GPs

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed that A&E staff know some patients ’ more than their own GPs’ in a letter submitted to a national newspaper ahead of a speech this week on his plans to improve elderly care.

Mr Hunt is due to make an announcement this week on his plans for a ‘named clinician’ to take charge of the vulnerable elderly, and he claims in the letter that many of this group of patients ‘feel there’s no reliable alternative to hospital’.

He blames this on ‘misguided’ changes to the GP contract in 2004 and he raises the prospect of GPs and district nurses working together to keep patients out of hospital.

Full Article on Pulse

Millions of patients to benefit from easier access to medication and fewer trips to hospitals

New legislation comes into force today which will mean that physiotherapists and podiatrists in the UK will be the first to be able to independently prescribe medication to their patients, Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb has announced.

The move will mean patients will no longer have to go back to their doctors to get medication after visiting the physiotherapist or podiatrist, freeing up valuable time for GPs and making things more convenient for the patient.

Around 15 million people are currently living with a long term condition, which requires trips to hospital or to the GP. Many of these people will benefit from being treated closer to home and in a more timely manner, enabling them to better manage their condition.

Full news release on Gov.uk

Action vowed over dementia in Wiltshire

NHS bosses in Wiltshire say they are making improvements to diagnosing dementia after finding patients waited up to 12 months.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that patients should wait no longer than six weeks for a formal diagnosis.

GP Magazine found that in 37 out of 97 Clinical Commiss-ioning Groups (CCGs), patients waited more than six weeks for a formal diagnosis. In Wiltshire, patients waited up to 12 months in 2012/13 because of a backlog in cases and delays to CT scans.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

62% of GP surgeries in Wiltshire are committed to supporting carers

Over half of GP practices in Wiltshire have achieved an Investors in Carers award which gives recognition to surgeries supporting unpaid carers in the local community. 

The awards were presented by Dr Steve Rowlands, Chair of Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) at a ceremony that took place during Carers Week 2013.

The ceremony celebrated the success of the first year of the GP Accreditation Scheme which is delivered by Carer Support Wiltshire, a charity supporting carers across the County.

One way to achieve an award is hosting a carers’ clinic which offers a health check with a nurse and an opportunity to chat with a support worker about your caring role.

Liz Vine, a carer who has attended a clinic, said: “When I was first asked if I would like to attend a carers’ clinic at my surgery my first thought was ‘what for?’ but you have no idea what useful information you might gain from the meeting.

“I spoke to two ladies from Carer Support Wiltshire who were both lovely and made me realise just how volatile I was. For me it was both informative and therapeutic.”

It is hoped that the scheme, joint funded by Wiltshire Council and NHS Wiltshire CCG, will encourage the 22 surgeries not yet achieving an award to offer better services for carers in the coming year.

A Carers Lead from a surgery already at gold level said: “This scheme encouraged us to rethink how we can deliver better services for our carers and if possible support other carers in the community.

“We hope that by continuing our work with Carer Support Wiltshire we can make more agencies that we come into contact with aware of their services, increase the numbers of carers on our register and improve the level of support that is offered to them.”

For further information about the GP Accreditation Scheme, please contact Carer Support Wiltshire on 0800 181 4118 or visit www.carersinwiltshire.co.uk

Named GP for people dying in the community

A named GP should take overall responsibility for a patient who is dying in the community, the team behind the Liverpool Care Pathway review has recommended. They say that it is “particularly good practice” to give dying patients a telephone number on which they can reach their GP if there is an out-of-hours emergency.

The review authors also said that the patient’s GP should be involved in discussing their care plan if they have no family or carers.

Full Article on OnMedica

Wiltshire's Clinical Commissioning Group is 100 days old

Last week the National Health Service celebrated its sixty-fifth birthday – a distinctly wobbly anniversary. This week Wiltshire’s GP-led Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG - which replaced the Primary Care Trust - PCT) is a hundred days young.

It is, of course, far too early to attempt a report on the CCG’s progress. As a commentator said recently, changing anything in the NHS is like turning round the proverbial super tanker.

However work is going ahead in Wiltshire CCG with some speed. One advance being rolled out across the county is a programme to speed up dementia diagnosis.  Improvements in the care of those with dementia is a much more complex and wide-reaching problem.

Full Article on Marlborough News Online

GPs 'should take control of personal health budgets'

GP practices should be put in charge of administering direct payments to patients as part of the personal health budget scheme, a leading think-tank has recommended in a report launched by the care minister overseeing the initiative.

Under proposals suggested by 2020health, which were launched today by health minister Norman Lamb, GPs would be subcontracted by CCGs in certain cases to make ‘small discretionary payments’ to patients as part of the personal health budget scheme, with the practices taking responsibility for the administration of the budgets. In the pilot, the GP role was limited to making referrals and recommendations.

The authors, who looked at the DH’s analysis of the pilot results published last year as well as at data stemming directly from the pilot areas, came out strongly in support of personal budgets for mental health patients and those requiring continuing care. They also said it should in future be rolled out for arthritic patients, for haemodialysis transport and falls prevention.

Full Article on Pulse Today

Carers should be monitored for mental health problems, warn doctors

Carers should be routinely screened for depression and mental health problems as they often "neglect" their own wellbeing, the Royal College of General Practitioners has warned.

The college has recommended creating a register of the UK's 7 million carers to help the 40% of them who experience depression or psychological problems.

It said holding routine appointments with carers and ensuring family doctors monitor those on a carers' register could tackle the "hidden" problem.

Full Article on Guardian Society

All change in Swindon and Wiltshire's NHS services as GPs take charge

THE STRUCTURE of the NHS will change dramatically from Monday when GPs will be handed the responsibility of planning and buying health services.

The latest shake up in the NHS, which will see GPs lead Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), was announced in 2010 soon after the coalition Government came into power.

The aim was to reduce the number of managers and administrators in NHS organisations and use the expertise of front line clinicians in shaping health services. 

Full Article on This is Wiltshire

Warning over 'struggling GP system'

Patients in England do not feel safe relying on GP out-of-hours care and are struggling to get access to doctors during normal hours, a leading patient group is warning.

The Patients Association said the government needed an urgent review of the "complex and convoluted" system.

Its report said if the problems persisted, the service would lose the trust of the public completely.

Full Article on BBC News

Plans for surgery at Melksham community campus

St Damien's doctors’ surgery in Melksham could be incorporated into the new Melksham Community Campus, according to new proposals from Wiltshire Council.

At yesterday's Melksham Area Board meeting chairman of the board Jonathon Seed confirmed discussions were in place to move the Spa Road surgery into the new facility at Melksham House.

He said: “We are delighted these discussions are taking place. On-site medical provision is precisely the type of community service that we want operating from the campus, it will complement the other facilities perfectly.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Merger plans to update two GP surgeries

Plans for a new improved Trowbridge doctors’ surgery will soon be sent to Wiltshire Council.

If they are approved a new surgery will be built on land behind the Adcroft Surgery, in Prospect Place, incorporating the Bradford Road Medical Centre, which would close.

The two surgeries held a planning exhibition in Trowbridge Civic Centre at the end of November, explaining the merger.

Full Article on This is Wiltshire

NICE reveals plans for dementia QOF expansion

NICE launched a consultation on 14 proposed new indicators for the QOF 2014/15 on Monday, including four in the dementia clinical domain.

Targets for hypertension, CHD, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease and stroke are also being considered. If approved following the consultation and piloting, these indicators will form the proposed 'menu' of QOF targets for 2014/15 and will be passed to GP negotiators in the autumn.

The new dementia targets would see GPs paid to hold contact details for a carer on the records of people with dementia, keep a register of dementia carers who are patients of the practice, and assess their health annually.

Full Article on GP Online

'Friends and family' test to expose poor care in NHS

Patient and staff satisfaction tests should be used across all NHS services to expose unacceptable standards of care, Prime Minister David Cameron urged today.

A new ‘friends and family’ test – where patients and staff are asked whether they would recommend the service to a loved one – will be introduced into every hospital in England from April 2013 and the Prime Minister wants that to go further, with GP surgeries, district nursing and community hospitals all adopting the measure.

The Prime Minister said that compassionate care must be everyone’s business and announced a new package of support for nurses, health care assistants and wider NHS staff.

Full Article on Number 10

First GP-led clinical commissioning groups approved

The first groups of new GP-led organisations created by the coalition's NHS reforms have been authorised to start work and take control of NHS budgets from April.

The new NHS Commissioning Board has given the green light to a "first wave" of 34 of what will eventually be a total of 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), which will replace primary care trusts (PCTs) on 1 April.

From then CCGs will commission healthcare in England instead of the 152 PCTs, which are being abolished.

Full Article on Guardian Society