GP Bulletin - September 2009
This briefing is for GPs, practice staff and others in Primary Care, on changes and developments at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals. The update has been prepared by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals and will be circulated on a regular basis.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact alison.barnes@orh.nhs.uk|
Four hour target
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Year to September 2009: 96.91%
Healthcare associated infections
TIA and minor stroke service guidance
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust provides daily, consultant-run TIA clinics (Monday to Friday) and a weekend service for high risk patients.
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Dr Claire Frampton was appointed Consultant in Pain Management and Anaesthesia.
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Miss Silke Wagener was appointed Consultant in Paediatric Surgery.
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Mr Ian Edward Willetts was appointed Consultant in Paediatric Urology.
New gynaecology pre-assessment service at the ORH
We are currently reviewing our pre-assessment service for gynaecology patients undergoing surgery at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals. The aim of this revision is to improve the efficiency of the service and more effectively pre-assess women requiring surgery.
The new pre-assessment process begins when a patient is referred for surgery following their outpatient appointment. Following their outpatient appointment, patients are asked to go to a pre-assessment clinic to complete a health screening questionnaire. This will involve having their baseline observations taken (height, weight and blood pressure). This information then determines the type of pre-assessment the patient requires prior to surgery.
Why are we telling you about this?
In order to offer the same service to patients who have gone through this new process and those waiting for surgery who did not, we are sending a health screening questionnaire to all patients who are listed for surgery in the next four months. Because this questionnaire requires the baseline observations to be taken, we are asking patients to either contact their practice nurse or alternatively come to the JR pre-assessment clinic to have them done. We thank you for your support and co-operation in this process. This is a one-off request and is only to capture those outstanding patients who have not gone through the new process.
For more information contact joy.macdonald@orh.nhs.uk|
New ORH satellite dialysis unit opens in Stoke Mandeville
The Oxford Kidney Unit has been providing renal replacement therapy and transplantation to patients with kidney failure for over 40 years and is a regional centre of excellence covering six counties: Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire. At the present time over 350 patients across this area are receiving haemodialysis therapy either in Oxford or at home, or at one of the four Satellite Units in Swindon, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes and the latest unit at Stoke Mandeville. The Stoke Mandeville unit has been open since May and patients have reported an improvement in their overall well being and quality of life now that they are so close to their unit.
Frequent patient feedback continuing on wards
The ORH is working with the Picker Institute to conduct a 'frequent feedback' programme of patient surveys, using hand-held PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Knowing what our patients think about their treatment and hospital experience helps us improve the care we deliver, and this programme will give us that information quickly. Over the next 12 months, our aim is to interview a sample of patients from the majority of wards. The interviews will start at the John Radcliffe and then expand to the Churchill and Horton General hospitals. The results will be used to help make the experience of hospital better for patients, as well as to highlight areas where we are doing well and spread best practice. The method used will enable us to report findings at hospital, divisional or ward level, and so help direct local improvements. If you have any further questions, or if you are willing to help carry out some of these interviews occasionally, please contact:
Endovascular Laser Therapy (EVLT) is now available
Oxford Radcliffe Private Healthcare (providing private care within the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals) is now offering this new ablation technique for treatment of varicose veins. In Oxford this is performed by a Consultant Interventional Radiologist and a Consultant Vascular Surgeon. It is an outpatient procedure carried out under local anaesthetic.
New Heart Centre opens
Staff and patients are moving into the new Heart Centre on the weekend of 16 October. You may find the following telephone numbers helpful. Please note they are prefixed by (01865) and come into affect after the move date.
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Cardiology Ward: 72671
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Cardiothoracic Critical Care (CTCC): 72635
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Cardiac Angiography Suite (CAS): 72614
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Cardiothoracic Ward (CTW): 72663
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Heart Centre open day|
Sickness certificates
You have raised this issue with us a number of times as it causes much frustration and inconvenience for patients and GPs. In response to your comments we have recently taken additional actions to improve the situation. A poster campaign has been implemented around the hospital to remind patients to ask for a certificate, where one is needed, before going home. (The poster was designed with the help of Paul Roblin.) A further letter has also gone out from the Medical Director to all consultants reminding them and their teams of their obligation to provide a certificate for the full period of sickness absence. We are also looking at whether the electronic discharge communication system can help to reinforce the policy and remind staff to complete the forms. Please let us know if you have noticed a reduction in certificate requests from your patients who have had a stay in hospital, or if not: alison.barnes@orh.nhs.uk|
Improved communications
We are always looking at ways to improve communications between the ORH and GPs. After discussions at LMC meetings Andrew Stevens has agreed to attend all future Oxfordshire LMC meetings so that he can hear directly from GPs what their issues and concerns are. Please contact him via email: andrew.stevens@orh.nhs.uk| if you would like to raise any issues in advance of these meetings.
Whole system meetings
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On 22/23 September, senior NHS and social care leaders, GPs and secondary care clinicians gathered together to define a programme of work that would create a better health and social care system for Oxfordshire, while responding to the strategic and fiscal challenges in the area. A number of clear recommendations came from this meeting and a leadership team, set up by Matthew Tait, was formed to take it forward.
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Proposals for creating a clinically-led organisation
The Trust has recently asked staff for feedback and suggestions on a draft proposal for an organisational model that will deliver much greater influence – and responsibility – to clinical services. The goal of this proposed reorganisation is to define a leadership structure that will allow us to become a clinically-led, patient-focused, financially sustainable organisation. The proposed approach is known as Service Line Management (SLM), and would mean a move from the current three divisions and thirteen directorates to eight new clinical divisions. We are currently assimilating staff feedback and will share further developments with our partner organisations.