Best Practise

How to "get the best" out of Dukes Avenue Practice

We try hard to achieve the best care we can within the confines of the N.H.S, our local area and our own building and resources.We look after almost 11,000 people from a wide spectrum of social and cultural backgrounds.This is quite a challenge which we work hard to meet the best we can. Whatever anyone thinks, a system which is free at the point of contact can never meet everyone’s needs, so we would be grateful if you could be reasonable with your demands. Remember too that priority in this system is ordered by clinical need,so please accept that we must always give priority to dealing with clinical problems before any other requests such as writing "fit to perform/travel letters. For all of you to get the best out of the N.H.S generally and especially the practice remember that patients have responsibilities too and can improve their own service in a number of ways.

1. The people who work in the Practice are the same as everyone else.They do not like being shouted at, threatened, bullied or intimidated. They do understand when people are ill, frightened or unsure.
2. Be honest. Our staff are terrific at juggling too many people and not enough spaces and urgent needs are accommodated but... crying wolf too often is unwise!
3. Who do I need to see with this problem? It may be that one of the nurses can help. It may also be that one of our administrative staff can help with a query. Local pharmacists can also advise and prescribe for some minor conditions. These include hayfever, headlice and many others. Do ask our reception staff.
4. Be flexible about which doctor you ask to see. We encourage patients to see the same GP if they have an ongoing problem but in an emergency it may be that you will need to see the duty doctor of the day.
5. Consider beforehand what it is you want to say. Doctors are interested in patterns and sequence of events such as when a pain starts, the character of it, what makes it better or worse. Jot a few notes if you like, or even bring someone if you are worried and feel you will not be able to explain. Please don’t store up a multitude of things as it’s hard with the best will in the world to cover too many problems properly in one ten minute slot.
6. Telling a Doctor what you would like to happen can be helpful e.g. Tell me it’s not serious/I can go back to work/I won’t lose my sight. It’s very frustrating for both parties if hidden questions remain unanswered.
7. Always try and see or speak to the same doctor who ordered tests. Although we are computerised, the interpretation of a test result can be complex and will be "part of the story" for the doctor who first saw you.
8. We advise you. We do not usually tell people what to do, and the best relationship is a mutually respectful one with common goals.
9. Do not lose your repeat prescription counterfoil. We do hundreds a day and understand requests for "urgent" prescriptions without them, but they slow up the whole system (and why is it the same people!)Please do not ring for prescriptions as we cannot cope with the demand unless it’s a true emergency.
10. Let us know if you cannot keep an appointment. It’s such a waste of a valuable space that a patient who is unwell, would have really have appreciated. We do keep a record by the way of DNA’s (did not attend) as we do for missed hospital appointments. Repeat offenders beware.
11. Do you really need to see your doctor? The national average for patients seeing their doctor is 4/5 times each year. Some patients come much more frequently.