Please see the attached link for details of our Well Woman's Day on Saturday 4th January 2025 

Churchmere Medical Group Well Woman's Day

This event is at our Ellesmere Site (Trimpley Street, Ellesmere, SY12 0DB) 

A further Well Woman's Day will follow in Whitchurch when our New Health Centre is open. 

 You have likely seen reports talking about “industrial action” by GPs and we wished to update our patients.

The British Medical Association (BMA - the registered trade union for doctors) recently undertook a ballot of all GPs who hold a contract to provide GP services to patients - the vast majority of GP practices are independent partnerships holding an NHS contract. The ballot asked if GP partners were prepared to participate in joint (“collective”) action with the BMA. An overwhelming majority said yes.

This is NOT about pay but about General Practice receiving the amount of funding needed to employ enough doctors, nurses and other staff to provide sufficient appointments and for our staff to work safely.

As GPs, we have for years been doing work that is not funded and not contracted due to gaps in commissioned services and pressures on secondary care services. We have been doing so out of concern for our patients and to ensure that you continue to receive the care you deserve. However, with chronic underfunding and increased demand it is no longer sustainable for us to continue working in this way.

Across the country, since 2015, we have seen 1600 Practices close or merge, there are 6 million more registered patients and 2000 fewer full time equivalent GPs. Our funding levels are significantly lower than 2018 levels.

The joint action across the country is hoping to force the government to look at General Practice and urgently reconsider the amount of funding it receives. We get 30p per patient per day to provide services – this is woefully inadequate.

Though you may have heard this referred to in the press as industrial action; this is factually incorrect. This is not industrial action. We are not on strike. This is “collective action” which is about working legitimately within our contracts. We will not be doing anything that compromises your safety. But we are fighting to be able to provide better services to you.

Please continue to use our services as normal and rest assured that patient care is still our priority.

We hope you understand that we are taking this action to ensure that general practice locally, and across England is there for our patients in years to come.

#GPsAreOnYourSide

#BMA

We know from your valued feedback how difficult it can be to get through to the practice on the telephone to arrange an appointment. Despite increasing our phone line capacity and employing more patient services advisors to take calls, waits can still be long at peak times.  

This model of practice is called Total Triage and helps us to prioritise urgent care and utilise the many members of our skilled primary care team appropriately.  

All requests for medical advice and treatment, and all other administrative queries can be quickly and easily submitted via the online form.  

The form is available on our website:  www.churchmere.co.uk

If you do not have access to a smartphone, or computer, or are unable to use the online form you will still be able to telephone the practice. A patient services advisor will be able to submit the form on your behalf by completing it with you over the telephone. However, it will greatly improve access on the telephone if all those patients that CAN use the online form do use it.  Completing the form online will be quicker than waiting on the telephone.   

We are committed to providing excellent access to appointments for all our patients and are excited about incorporating new processes that we feel will improve our patients’ experience of contacting the practice.  

For and on behalf of The Partners Churchmere Medical Group 

With the opening of the new health centre in Whitchurch in Summer 2024 we have asked you to help design our new logo. 

We have had some amazing designs through and the competition has now closed. 

The winner will be selected soon so please keep a look out for our new design

Please see the attached information for our North Shropshire Dementia specialist Admiral Nurse 

Dementia Specialist Admiral Nurse Service

We will have a limited number of appointments available on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at Churchmere Medical Group for our First Contact Physiotherapist.

The role of the First Contact Physiotherapist (FCPs) in Primary Care is to assess patients with soft tissue, muscle and joint pain and to decide on the most appropriate management pathway. FCPs are physiotherapists with expertise in the assessment and management of Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Conditions included:

• All soft tissue injuries, sprains, strains or sports injuries
• Arthritis – any joint
• Possible problems with muscles, ligaments, tendons or bone, eg: tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, ankle sprains
• Spinal pain including lower back pain, mid-back pain and neck pain
• Spinal-related pain in arms or legs, including nerve symptoms, eg pins and needles or numbness
• Post-orthopaedic surgery 

The physio will:

• Assess you and diagnose what’s happening
• Give expert advice on how best to manage your condition
• Refer you on to specialist services if necessary

Changes for Dispensing Patients

We need to inform you of some changes within our dispensary, these changes are to en-sure we are able to operate safely whilst meeting patient’s expectations. 

• From 1st February 2021 our prescription turnaround time is increasing to 96 hours (4 days). This means you will need to order your medication 4 days before you are due to run out.
• From 1st February 2021 we will text you to inform you of when your medication will be ready. If you would like this service and we do not currently have your mobile number please call the practice and was can add it to your record.
• From 1st March 2021 we will no longer be ordering repeat medication on behalf of our patients. Therefore you will need to order your own medication using one of the below methods. This is an NHS recommendation to help reduce wastage and ensure patients are getting the medication they require each month.

     How to order:

• Email: shropshire.pod@nhs.net
• Telephone: Prescription Ordering Direct - 033 33 583 509
• Using Patient Online Access (NHS App or Patient Access). Please note that you can verify your identity through the NHS app without any input from the practice)

If you have any questions please do contact the practice.

Once again, thank you for all your support.

Yours Sincerely

Churchmere Medical Group

Have you had COVID-19?  If so the link below is a new online support to help you understand what has happened and what you might expect as part of your recovery.

www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk

The following blog links are available to help you understand more about what eConsult is and how it works:

What is an eConsult or an online consultation?

What is triage and why is it important?