Please see the link below to the latest edition of the newsletter produced by our Patient Participation Group (PPG).

We are sure you will find it an interesting and informative read!

PPG Newsletter 36 December 2023.pdf

Previous editions are available below:

PPG Newsletter 35 Oct 23 .pdf

PPG Newsletter 34 June 23 .pdf

PPG Newsletter 33 Mar 23.pdf

PPG Newsletter 32 - Dec 22 .pdf

For more information on our Patient Participatient Group (PPG), please click below:

Patient Participation Group

ALL ROUTINE GP APPOINTMENTS NOW AVAILABLE FACE-TO-FACE!

In July we made several changes to our appointment system and these have been going well and we thank you for bearing with us during the transition period.

We are pleased to announce that further to this, all routine, pre-bookable afternoon appointments with a GP are now available as face-to-face (F2F) appointments.

However, we know that some of our patients have found telephone (or video) appointments more convenient so this option still available – it is your choice!

Therefore, when booking a routine appointment, please let the receptionist know whether you will be attending F2F, or if you would prefer a telephone/video call so that they can note this in the appointment for the GP.

PLEASE NOTE – due to the need to manage a continually growing demand, if you are needing an on the day appointment for a clinically urgent/acute problem with a GP, this will still be a telephone call in the first instance, with the GP offering you a F2F appointment if clinically appropriate.

AUTUMN FLU & COVID BOOSTER VACCINATION PROGRAMME

We are currently coming to the end of the autumn flu and covid vaccination programme.

By the end of November we had given around 1500 flu vaccinations and 1000 covid boosters at the practice!

We are still running our last few flu catch-up clinics throughout December for those eligible patients who have not yet had their jab. Please call the practice to make an appointment if you are eligible. 

As of 1st December we are no longer administering covid boosters at the practice. If you are eligible for an autumn booster but have not yet had one, then you will need to make an appointment at one of the mass vaccination sites which are running until 31st December.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/

Thank You  

Changes to QEMP Appointment System from Monday 11^th July 2022

Dear Patients of QEMP

From Monday 11^th July, we will be making some changes to our appointment system with regards to the booking of GP appointments. At the beginning of the Covid pandemic, we had to move almost overnight to the majority of GP consultations being on-the-day for both urgent and non-urgent problems. This, combined with ever increasing demand, has created rather a monster and an unsustainable way of working for our GPs and the practice as a whole. We also know how frustrating it is for our patients to be repeatedly told to call at 8.15am!

We hope the new system will have a better balance of on-the-day appointments for genuinely urgent/acute problems and pre-bookable appointments for non-urgent/ongoing issues (which may be anything from 1 to 4 weeks in the future). The majority of appointments will still be telephone or video consultations, but we will also be offering a limited number pre-bookable Fact-to-face appointments alongside these.

Below is some more details on how the system will work:

N.B. THE FOLLOWING CHANGES APPLY TO GP APPOINTMENTS ONLY!

From Monday 11^th July 2022:

• MORNING on the day appointments will be for clinically urgent/acute problems only* – these will continue to be telephone/video appointments, with the GP offering you a Face-to-Face (F2F) appointment after assessment if clinically appropriate. If your problem is not urgent/acute, you will be offered a pre-bookable appointment (see below) You will still need to call at 8.15am if you are needing an appointment for a clinically urgent/acute problem

• AFTERNOON appointments will be pre-bookable and available for all other non-urgent/chronic/ongoing problems. The majority of these will be telephone/video appointments but we will also be offering a limited number of pre-bookable F2F appointments. The appointment will not be on the same day as you call -depending on availability and demand it will generally be between 1 to 4 weeks away. We would ask that you call after 11am if you wish to book a pre-bookable appointment in order to keep the phone lines free earlier in the day for urgent problems.

It is essential that we understand what the problem is you are calling about so that you can be offered the most appropriate appointment.

SO, when you call the practice and ask for an appointment with a GP you will be asked the following 2 initial questions by the receptionist:

• What is the problem today?
• How long has this been going on?

It is very important that you answer these questions!!

This will help the receptionist assess the type of appointment you need. They are trained to know about the care and services available to you. They’ll listen and talk to you in confidence about your health problem, to understand your needs, so they can book you an appointment with the right healthcare professional or service. Sometimes you may not need an appointment with a GP at all as there are now other alternatives that we are able to offer or direct you to that may be better placed to suit your problem rather than the GP, for example Clinical and Community Pharmacists, Minor Eye Services and First Contact Physio,

Our receptionists are not trying to be nosy, they are not trying to stop you getting an appointment!, they are trying to make sure the appointments we have available are used efficiently and to make sure those at greatest need are seen first.

There will be a settling period, we will likely have lots of pre-bookable appointments available within short space of time for the first couple of weeks but this will gradually get to be a more realistic 3 or 4 weeks or so as the system become established. We know this may mean a longer wait for an appointment with a GP than you are currently used to, but the current demand for on-the-day appointments or care is just not sustainable in the long term, especially as many of the problems that patients call with are not actually urgent or acute and could be dealt with in a pre-bookable appointment.

*Please be aware, that what may seem like an urgent problem to you, may not actually be a clinically urgent problem needing to be dealt with the same day.

We appreciate the changes may take a while to adjust to and we may need to tweak as go along – we intend to review after 3 months and will be seeking patient feedback at the that time.

We will need you, our patients, to work with us to help make it a success!

Remember! if you do have a genuinely urgent clinical need to speak to/see a GP we will always ensure that you have an appointment the same day. That has always been the case and will always continue to be so.

Thank You 

QEMP Practice Team

We are working very hard to get the new website to the specifics of the medical practice, so please bare with us with forms being changed and parts of the wesite not being able to access. 

Staff at our practice are working extremely hard and doing their best to make sure patients are safe.

Over the last 2 years, the practice has been supporting the pandemic response and ensuring our patients are able to get their COVID-19 vaccinations, at the same time as continuing to deliver primary care services and seeing a huge increase in demand.

This has made our GP practice very busy and our staff have been working incredibly hard to keep services open for patients.

We’re aware patients may experience longer wait times on the phone or for their appointment, but we work hard to ensure you receive the right treatment from the right person at the right time. 

Whether your appointment is over the telephone, via an online video consultation, or face-to-face, patients will always receive the same high quality standard of care from our practice team.

So please, if you contact our practice, be kind.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Please note our receptionists are unable to book face to face appointments with a GP – you will be offered a telephone appointment with the GP in the first instance and the GP will then be able to book you a face to face appointment if they feel this is necessary.

Patient Helpdesk – update and notice of service closure 

The Patient Helpdesk will continue to be available until 31 March 2022 to support patients who are waiting to hear about their hospital or community appointments. Patients can contact the freephone helpdesk Monday to Friday, from 9am – 5pm on 0800 048 5800.  

From April 2022, patients are encouraged to use the new NHS My Planned Care platform that is available online and will provide direct access to the latest average wait time for appointments and operations for local hospitals, as well as helpful advice and support for patients whilst they wait.

NHS My Planned Care is updated weekly, is easy-to-use and has ‘open access’ which enables carers, friends, relatives to also access information on someone else’s behalf.

Alternatively, patients who have already been in correspondence with hospitals regarding their planned care can also contact the relevant department or service. Details of which can be found on previous letters patients will have received or by contacting the hospital’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

Addenbrookes

9am – 4pm, Monday to Friday
Email: pals@addenbrookes.nhs.uk
Phone: 01223 216756

Royal Papworth Hospital

8.30 – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday
Email: papworth.pals@nhs.net
Tel: 01223 638896 or 01223 638963

Patients are asked that they only call the GP practice regarding their referral if their condition has genuinely deteriorated, when you will be reviewed by one of the clinical team and appropriate action can be taken in regard to your care. 

We are aware of an intermittent problem with our telephone system that we are working hard with our supplier to resolve.
Should you find yourself held at number 1 in the call queue for more than 15 minutes please hang up and dial again. For some reason a caller occasionally gets 'stuck' at this position but we have as yet been unable to find out why this is happening. We do apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We have seen a huge increase in the number of incoming calls to the practice in the past few months so would ask that you bear with us - our team is working incredibly hard.

Thank You

Please see the link to the latest edition o the quarterly newsletter produced by our Patient Participation Group (PPG) below. Head to the Patient Participation Group page to see previous editions!

Newsletter 29 - March 2022