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JUNIOR DOCTOR STRIKES: 3rd January 2024 - 9th January 2024

Local health services

If you need help from your GP or another member of the practice team over the above period, we are open every weekday from 8am until 6.30pm, except for bank holidays when we are closed. Please contact us if you have a health condition that needs checking or an illness that won't go away.

Junior doctors will be on strike from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Tuesday 9 January. This means that all NHS services, particularly hospitals, will be under severe strain. But please don’t put off seeking medical help if you need it. Here is a reminder of what local services are available:

  • The NHS websitenhs.uk has lots of advice to help you to look after yourself when you have minor symptoms. There is also information about what is a serious medical emergency.

  • If your child is feeling unwell, the Healthier Together website has advice about some common symptoms, how to look after your child at home and when to get further help.

  • Drop in to a pharmacy for health advice or information about your medicines. A pharmacist can help you to deal with a cough, cold and lots of other winter illnesses.
  • If you need help urgently, use NHS 111 online (www.111.nhs.uk) or call 111. Your symptoms will be assessed, and you will be given advice or an appointment to see a doctor or nurse if this is needed. NHS 111 can also send an ambulance and can book an appointment for you in some services like urgent treatment centres. Using 111 online means you won’t have to wait on the phone.  

  • If you are in a mental health crisis, call NHS 111 and get straight through to mental health help by selecting option 2.

  • You should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. Life-threatening emergencies are different for adults and children.

  • Do not visit anyone in a hospital or care home if you have recently had diarrhoea or vomiting. Stomach bugs are easily spread, make already ill people very seriously unwell, and can lead to whole hospital wards being closed. Please wait 48 hours after your last bout of sickness or diarrhoea before visiting anyone who is vulnerable.  

More information on these services and self-help advice can be found at: https://hertsandwestessexics.org.uk/help-us-help 

Your Health Record

General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)

The data held in the GP medical records of patients is used every day to support health and care planning and research in England, helping to find better treatments and improve patient outcomes for everyone.

NHS Digital has developed a new way to collect this data, called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) data collection.

The new data collection reduces burden on GP practices, allowing doctors and other staff to focus on patient care and commences 1 July 2021

The following link provides further information, including a short YouTube video:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research

NHS Digital is the national custodian for health and care data in England and has responsibility for standardising, collecting, analysing, publishing and sharing data and information from across the health and social care system, including general practice.

NHS Digital previously collected patient data from general practices using a service called the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES), which has operated for over 10 years and now needs to be replaced with the GPDPR.

Patient data collected from general practice is needed to support a wide variety of research and analysis to help run and improve health and care services. Whilst the data collected in other care settings such as hospitals is valuable in understanding and improving specific services, it is the patient data in general practice that helps understanding of whether the health and care system as a whole is working for patients.

NHS Digital will not collect patients’ names or addresses. Any other data that could directly identify patients (such as NHS Number, date of birth, full postcode) is replaced with unique codes which are produced by de-identification software before the data is shared with NHS Digital. 

This process is called pseudonymisation and means that patients will not be identified directly in the data. NHS Digital will be able to use the software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify patients in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason.

If patient’s don’t want their identifiable patient data to be shared for purposes except for their own care, they can opt-out by:

Registering a Type 1 Opt-out (see link below for how to do this)

Registering a National Data Opt-out (see link below for how to do this) 

These opt-outs are different, and they are explained in the link below:                                   

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/transparency-notice

 

Summary Care Record

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR).  It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

Why do I need a Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example; which medicines they choose to prescribe you.

Who can see it?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.

Do I have to have one?

No.  It is not compulsory.  If you choose to opt out of the scheme, please print off a copy of the 'opt out' form below, complete and return to the practice at your earliest convenience:-

SCR Opt Out Form.pdf  

More Information

For further information please go to https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-scr/summary-care-records-scr-information-for-patients

My Care Record

What is it?

The people caring for you need access to your health and care record in order to make the best decisions about your diagnosis and treatment. This could include GPs, hospital-based clinicians, nurses, health visitors and social workers. 

For this to happen more quickly and to improve the care you receive, a new process has been put in place. 

This will allow your information to be accessed by different health and care organisations, using existing computer systems.

This does not share your record, but provides health and care professionals, with your permission, access to view your information.

How it works

My Care Record securely connects different health and care computer systems together.  When a patient’s records are requested, it collects the information from the different systems and allows health or care professionals treating to view this information. None of the information it collects is stored and none of it can be changed. The information viewed is therefore always as up-to-date as possible. 

Before any information is collected or displayed to a health and care professional, the patient must be asked for their permission. Patient permission is recorded in an audit trail so that we know exactly who has accessed what information and when. The audit trail is available to the people who hold the original record (for example your GP).

For more information on My Care Records, please click on:

http://www.mycarerecord.org.uk/

If however, after you have read all the information regarding 'My Care Record' you do not wish your information to be made available, please print off a copy of the 'opt out' form below and return to the practice at your earliest convenience:-


My Care Record Opt Out Form



 
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