News

Winter Plan - Routine GP Appointments Temporarily Suspended

Dear Patient,

You may have heard recently about hospital A&E departments being overrun with higher-than-normal numbers of people attending with serious respiratory problems.

Unfortunately, this has now filtered down to general practice. We are now being overrun with patients with respiratory symptoms and other acute medical conditions.

As a result, we have put our winter plan into operation which means that we are temporarily suspending routine GP appointments.

However, if you are feeling unwell, and you feel that you need medical advice sooner rather than later, please submit your details using SystmConnect as normal.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Doctors at Water Meadow Surgery

Travel Advice Appointments Temporarily Unavailable

Due to staff shortages, we are temporarily unable to offer appointments for travel advice.

For information to help you, click on the following links: 

https://www.janechiodini.co.uk/help/tar/

https://www.masta-travel-health.com/

We apologise for any inconvenience, but we must prioritise care for our patients.

Online Pre-bookable Appointments

Due to the high demand for appointments, we have temporarily removed the option to pre-book appointments online for the Winter period.

This is so that we can release more appointments for urgent on-the-day care due to the increase in Winter respiratory complaints.

Physiotherapy (MSK) Self-referral Programme

Musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapists assess and treat problems with muscle, bone and joints that may cause pain, stiffness and/or disability.

The team provide specialist assessment followed by expert advice and treatment for a wide range of service for any joint and muscular related problems including rehabilitation after orthopaedic surgery, sports injury rehabilitation and women’s health physiotherapy advice and treatment.

All eligible patients can now directly access NHS physiotherapy services, thorough our new self-referral service without needing to go via their GP.

Patients under the age of 16 years will need a clinical referral.

Please click the link below to access information on the self-referral eligibility criteria and details of how to self-refer in the area you are registered with a GP.
https://staywell-bob.nhs.uk/musculoskeletal/

How to refer yourself to MSK physiotherapy services

1. Check you are eligible for self-referral.
2. Select Buckinghamshire from the list
3. Click on the location map to find a physiotherapy provider of your choice.
4. Complete the self-referral form from the physiotherapy providers webpage and submit.
5. Alternatively,
   a. Download the self-referral form from the website and submit to MSK – NOT to the practice.
   OR
   b. Telephone MSK and they will assist you to complete and submit your self-referral form.

Self-referral eligibility check

The self-referral service cannot see patients in the categories below and recommend you consult NHS 111 or your GP prior to referral.

• Anyone in their own home (i.e. are housebound in the short or long term).
• Anyone with respiratory conditions.
• Anyone with neurological conditions.
• Anyone needing post-amputation services (requires a specialist referral)
• Anyone under 16 years old will require a clinical referral.
• Anyone needing emergency treatment (serious and life-threatening health situations).

We recommend you consult your GP or NHS 111 urgently if you have recently or suddenly developed any of the following:

• Difficulty passing urine or controlling bladder/bowels.
• Numbness or tingling around the back passage or genitals.
• Numbness, pins and needles or weakness in both arms and/or both legs.

Please discuss with your GP before submitting a referral if you:

• Are feeling generally unwell or have a fever.
• Have any unexplained weight loss.
• Have a history of cancer.
• Have recently become unsteady on your feet.

If you answer yes to any of these symptoms, and you have NOT seen a doctor for this symptom, it is essential you arrange an appointment with your GP. DO NOT COMPLETE A SELF-REFERRAL FORM UNTIL YOU HAVE SOUGHT FURTHER ADVICE FROM A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.

Blood Tests

Due to staff shortages, we will need to restrict blood tests undertaken in the surgery.

Our Health Care Assistant Sharon has left suddenly without notice which has left us short of appointments, at a time when we are already low on nursing staff.

We are doing our best to recruit, but there is a national shortage of nurses and doctors.

In the meantime, we regret that you will not be able to book a blood test at the surgery unless there are good clinical reasons why you cannot physically travel to Amersham Hospital for your test. Please do not be offended or angry if you are denied an appointment here.

To book a blood test appointment at Amersham Hospital please click HERE.

Help us shape the future of Primary Care

Patients in Bucks, Oxon and W Berks have been invited to have their say on the future of primary care (GP surgeries, dentists, opticians and pharmacists) for a new local strategy being written.

You can give your views by clicking HERE.

Hospital Transport for Patients

The hospital transport service has introduced a new booking system.

Please note that GP surgeries are now no longer able to arrange ambulance transport to hospital appointments for patients.

If you require transport to get to your hospital appointment you should call

0300 123 3235

Alternatively, you can do this online at

https://managemybooking.scas.nhs.uk/patientzone

Click HERE for more information.

Medicine Sick Day Guidance

Dehydration is due to a loss of fluid from your body. Vomiting, diarrhoea and fever (high temperature, sweats, shaking) can make you dehydrated. If you are sick once or have diarrhoea once, then you are unlikely to become dehydrated. Having two or more episodes of vomiting or diarrhoea or having a prolonged fever can lead to dehydration.

Taking certain medicines when you are dehydrated can result in you developing a more serious illness.

Click HERE for more information.

New Phone System

Our new phone system is now live.

The main advantage for you is that when you call, you will be told what number you are in the queue, so no more engaged signal (unless there are more than 25 waiting).

Rather than having to hold for a long time or calling back, you will be able to press 1 on your phone (after the message) and the system will call you back when you get near to the front of the queue - you will not lose your place in the queue.

Our Diversified Services

There have been a number of changes to the Water Meadow team and the NHS has been under intense pressure over recent months.

However, we remain committed to providing the best care for you to manage long term health problems whilst having access to health services when you want it. To this end we have made changes to our appointment system but also diversified our team to give you more choices.

We would like to introduce the newer members our team and how they can help you. You can book an appointment with them directly through reception.

Paramedic:

Toni works Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and provides face to face appointments for infections and minor illnesses and also does home visits to housebound patients. She previously worked in a busy Oxfordshire practice and as a paramedic for the South-Central Ambulance Service.

Clinical Pharmacist:

Tahir, who works remotely on Monday, Tuesday and Friday provides medication reviews, advice on medication and possible side effects, reviews of certain medicines such as blood thinners. He also can review and advise on home blood pressure readings. He has a wealth of experience and can advise you on your medicines.

First Contact Practitioner:

Gina works on Thursday and Friday and provides assessment and advice on musculoskeletal problems such as back pain and joint pains. She can also refer on for investigations if it is appropriate. She cannot assess an acute injury that may need an X-ray the same day; you should attend A&E.

Nurses:

Our experienced nursing team will assess and work with the doctors to manage long term medical problems such as diabetes, heart problems, asthma and COPD so please book your review if you have been invited or think it is due.

Fear of Flying

We will no longer be providing Diazepam or similar drugs for flight anxiety.

People often request the doctor to prescribe diazepam for fear of flying or assist with sleep during flights.

There are several very good reasons why prescribing this drug is not recommended:

• Prescribing guidelines that doctors follow don’t recommend using benzodiazepines like diazepam in phobias. We would be acting against these guidelines if we prescribe. They are only licensed for short term use for a crisis in generalised anxiety disorder. If this is the case, you should be getting proper care and support for your mental health and not going on a flight.
• Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy, more relaxed and can significantly delay your reaction times. If there is an emergency during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation.
• Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural (non-REM) sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. There is concern this can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung which can be dangerous. This risk is greater if your flight is greater than four hours.
• Whilst most people find sedative medications like diazepam have a relaxing effect, a small number of people can actually feel more agitated or even aggressive after taking it. Diazepam can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally.
• Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated, or you may find yourself in trouble with the police if you are carrying any on arrival.
• Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing, you may fail this having taken diazepam.

We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening.

A lower risk approach is to tackle this properly and hopefully permanently, with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines and we have listed a number of these below or there are also some free online courses:

• Easy Jet Tel: 0203 8131644
• British Airways Tel: 01252 793250
• Virgin Atlantic Tel: 01423 714900

Patients who still wish to take benzodiazepines for flight anxiety are advised to consult with a private GP or travel clinic.

Changes to Appointment System

The temporary change to our appointment system has ended.

It achieved what it was designed to i.e., help us cope with an extra busy winter period.

We know it wasn't perfect - no system is, and we know it upset some, but it benefited many more - no system is perfect.

We are returning temporarily to our more traditional system which is: 

• the first hour of appointments can be pre-booked
• the second hour is for on-the-day appointments
• the third hour are for 'clinically urgent' matters

When they are gone and you may have to wait up to 3 weeks for the next routine appointment.

A similar shorter schedule will run for the afternoon.

We know that there will be some who will not happy with this revised system - it seems that whatever we do, there will always be some who are not happy, but we are doing our best.

Travel Vaccinations

We no longer provide a full range of travel vaccinations. The following vaccinations are available:

• Typhoid
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Polio
• HepA

For all other vaccinations you may need, we recommend that you contact a private provider.