6 Population Groups

All patients registered with Thursby Surgery, irrespective of population groups, are offered advice and support/signposting with regard to their physical health and wellbeing. Each patient is treated on a holistic individual basis taking into account each patient’s individual needs in relation to their physical, psychological, social, religious and emotional needs. We do however provide quality of care to the 6 population groups identified below.

 

1. Older Patients

Patients aged 65 or over are actively called for:

• An annual health check
• Annual flu vaccination
• Single pneumonia vaccination
• Shingles vaccinatiion

Our older population can be signposted or referred to a variety of services including podiatry, community occupational therapy and physiotherapy, Age Concern and INT, Social Prescriber via the Accelerator Programme and ongoing chronic disease reviews can be conducted at home should the patient be housebound. They are also able to access hearing tests at home via referral. Housebound patients also have access to the Acute Visiting Service who provide home visits for acute issues.

Concerns, referrals and community phlebotomy requests can be easily raised with the District Nursing Team.

We provide toilets, a hearing loop and wheelchair access as well as a surgery wheelchair for patients to use and designated disabled car park spaces.

 

2. Long term conditions

Thursby Surgery has a robust recall system for patients with long term chronic conditions who are then invited to the Surgery to be seen and managed by the nursing team. We currently run approximately 72 monthly recalls for our patients with long term conditions. These include but are not limited to diabetes, hypertension, dementia, mental health, blood test due, medication monitoring, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

We carry out monthly monitoring for our patients who take any medication that are categorised as medication monitoring, ambers and NOACS in order to continue to safely prescribe the medication.

Wherever possible if a patient has more than one long term condition we endeavour to combine the health reviews to minimise the number of times they need to present to the Surgery, however this is sometimes not possible.

During these reviews we also take the opportunity to identify any further needs that can be signposted to the Social Prescriber via the Accelerator Programme.

For our patients who are housebound and are in need of these recall review appointments we have dedicated nurses who perform home visits for these patients within their homes.

 

3. Families and Young Patients

We encourage whole families to be registered with the same general practice.

Young children especially those aged 2 and under will always to offered a same day face to face appointment where possible.

We offer a full range of contraception services and sexual health services including oral medications and a coils and implants clinics within the Surgery and sexual health screening.

We carry out weekly immunisation clinics for children for their first immunisations at 8 weeks to their pre-school boosters as well as annual nasal flu immunisations for children aged 2 to 4.

We work closely alongside the Community Midwives.

Cervical screening inline with local and national guidance, we also hold extended hours women only cervical screening clinics.

We also ensure that refugee and asylum families are able to access healthcare and are offered extended appointments.

 

4. Working age patients

We offer on the day appointments with GPs, Advance Nurse Practitioners and our Paramedic. We also offer extended access appointments that are available outside of working hours as well as East Lancashire Alliance appointments which are available to be booked up to 7 days in advance and include weekend appointments which are both face to face and remote.

We hold a Tuesday night women only cervical screening clinic in an extended hours clinic.

We accept prescription requests via online access and by email to ensure requests can be sent at any time of the day and outside working hours.

We also offer an Online Triage Service whereby patients can get in touch with us through an online form. Patients can submit medical requests or administrative requests, these are then recorded and sent to the relevant team to action.

 

5. Vulnerable Patients

Learning Disability patients are offered an annual health check in an extended appointment where they are encouraged to attend with a support worker, friend, carer or relative where appropriate. Concerns following a review are followed up with the GP and the Learning Disability Team where appropriate. Patients can be reviewed more regularly if necessary.

Children who are on the Child Protection Register are reviewed on a monthly basis with the Safeguarding Lead and the Health Visitor.

All staff are trained to an appropriate level for their role in safeguarding.

Respiratory patients with COPD or Asthma who attend A&E or Urgent Care are followed up by the Practice Nurse.

 

6. Mental Health

Patients presenting to the Surgery with mental health issues are offered a same day appointment with a clinician.

Opportunistic screening as well as planned screening as part of annual health checks using the 6CIT memory tool is carried out to help with the early diagnosis of dementia.

We have a robust recall system so any patient who is on the Mental Health Register will be invited for an Annual Health Check.

Patients who take medication for their mental health are monitored on a 3, 6 or 12 month basis where appropriate with a blood test, BP and BMI in order to continue to prescribe safely.

Patients with depression and anxiety are either seen and treated by clinicians and depending of the severity are advised to either self-refer to Mindsmatters or are referred to the Community Health Team for assessment and follow up. They are also given the Crisis Team number and given appropriate information of what to do in order to keep themselves safe.

We also have an in house PCN TAP who we can refer to if appropriate.

Patients who attend A&E or Urgent Care with mental health issues, suicide or overdose are followed up with a welfare check by one of our Clinicians.

 

Thursby Surgery have an active Patient Participation Group and we try and ensure we have a representative from each population group to enable us to have a better understanding of our patient demographic and the needs and obstacles they encounter to enable us to be a fully inclusive Surgery.