Ileach Update 18th December 2021
Ileach Update for 18/12/21
Clarification of Pathway for Minor Injuries
We have been asked to clarify the reasoning behind asking patients to contact NHS24 rather than calling the GP practice or just turning up to A&E if they sustain a minor injury. This is government guidance which has been brought in for several reasons. Firstly, capacity remains significantly limited in A&E departments across the country and, in order to ensure we have enough space to see patients safely, we need to plan how we deliver care for those with non life-threatening presentation like cuts, abrasions, sprains and minor fractures etc. The funding to undertake this initial assessment has gone to NHS Boards rather than individual hospitals or GP practices, and the NHS Board employs a range of GPs and other healthcare staff to undertake these assessments and decide on the best care for the patient. Lots of patients calling with minor injuries are being successfully managed remotely and are not having to attend A&E after this initial consultation by telephone with these highly trained triage staff.
Secondly, we do not have capacity within primary care to take on all of these assessments. We are still working hard to catch up with the backlog of work that built up during each period of lockdown as well as meet increasing demand for both telephone and face to face appointments from patients. Doing this additional work of initial assessment of minor injuries would further limit our capacity and take us away from this important catch-up work.
Thirdly, if patients are assessed as needing to be seen, then their details are passed on to the team at Islay Hospital and we can arrange to see them at a convenient time when we can deal with the issue quickly and efficiently. This means we can anticipate whether, for example, they need an x-ray and make sure that service is also available and their waiting time will be significantly reduced. As any visitors to Islay Hospital or Bowmore Surgery will know, we have very limited space in the corridor for patients to wait, and only one room in our A&E department, so if patients present without prior warning then there may not be physical space for them to wait or to be seen, meaning a long wait in the car or outside the hospital which obviously we would like to avoid.
Hopefully this goes some way to explaining the use of NHS24 in these circumstances. We understand it adds another step and there can be a delay while waiting on the phone but the majority of minor injuries are much less time sensitive than emergency presentations and often do not need to be seen immediately but can be seen at an arranged time.
Covid-19 Booster Vaccinations
After the government announcement last week we have been instructed to bring forward the booster vaccination programme for all eligible patients, over the age of 18 years, who have had their second vaccine dose at least 13 weeks ago. Over the past week our admin team have been working tirelessly to make this happen, contacting our approximately-800 patients by phone to get them booked in to vaccine clinics which will run from the week beginning Monday 20th December up until Christmas Eve. If you are eligible for this vaccine, our team will have tried to contact you before Monday 20th. If you think you might be eligible and have not been offered an appointment, please contact Bowmore Surgery on 01496 305305 from Monday 20th December.
In order to facilitate this number of vaccinations we will have to make some changes to how we run 'normal' general practice services for the week of the 20th December. We will have a GP on each practice site in the mornings to deal with urgent, on the day problems. In the afternoons, medical cover will be provided for URGENT problems only by the GP on for the ward and A&E. All routine telephone appointments and routine face-to-face appointments will be rescheduled to free up enough staff to complete the vaccines. Should you have a medical problem that you feel needs to be dealt with before the Christmas holidays, please contact your practice in the usual way, and in the morning where possible.