Dear Patients
Once again we have so much going on at Forest Medical that I must take the time to fill you in…
NEW STARTER
The introduction of Nurse Practitioners to our team has proven to be extremely succesful. I therefore have the great pleasure of informing you that we have a new Nurse Practitioner, Jane Hopkinson who joined us on the 28th September. Jane will be based at our Rosemary Street Health Centre site Monday to Friday.
Jane has over 5 years experience in the role of Nurse Practitioner and I am in no doubt that you will find her to be extremely knowledgeable as well as welcoming and friendly. A true asset to our Forest Medical team!
RECEPTION CHANGES
Our Reception Manager leaves us in October to embark on a change of career. This urged us to look at the structure of our reception team and assess what was working well and what we were lacking in.
We realised from this that we needed more support for our receptionists at both sites and therefore advertised an opportunity in house for two of our experienced staff to build on their present skills and fill the gaps where we saw fit.
Therefore, from 1st October our Oak Tree Lane Surgery receptionists will receive support from Judith Fox, who will be based ther Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. While maintaining her role as Medical Secretary, typing referrals and managing recalls, Judith will also manage the day to day running of this site and organise staff cover; deal with patient issues and ensure the smooth running of the practice.
Rosemary Street Health Centre will be spported by Hayley Pattison in her new role as Senior Receptionist. Hayley will maintain the reception rotas; train our apprentices and be the initial point of contact for any patient and reception issues.
Our assessment of the reception team also showed that we can at times be a little “thin on the ground”. We are therefore advertising once again for an apprentice. Our experience of recruiting apprentices has been one of excellence and we are proud to say that Trudy, Emily and Beth have gained a wealth of knowledge and skills in their time with us so far and we hope that they wish to remain part of our team on completion of their NVQ.
Flu Season
Yes it is that time again. We are holding Flu Days at both sites as follows, however if you can not attend on these days and you are eligible for a flu vaccine, please pop in any time and we will arrange for you to be vaccinated.
Oak Tree Lane Surgery Flu Day – Tuesday 6th October 08:30 – 12:30 13:30 – 16:30 Please call 649991 for an appointment
Rosemary Street Health Centre Flu Day – Tuesday 20th October Please come in to surgery in accordance with the first letter of your surname
A and B 08:30 – 09:30 H I J K 11:30 – 12:30 S 15:30 – 16:30
C and D 09:30 – 10:30 M and N 13:00 – 14:30 T – Z 16:30 – 17:30
E F G 10:30 – 11:30 O P Q R 14:30 – 15:30
Fluenz Day for kids
Following the succes of last year’s fancy dress themed Fluenz Day, all children who have reached the age of 2 3 or 4 by 31.8.2015 are invited once again to meet our good fairies and white witches at both sites on Friday 30th October – no appointment is necessary just come and join the fun!!
FUNDRAISING
To raise awareness of how exercise can keep your heart healthy alongside raising money to put towards a new ECG machine, Forest Medical staff and patients are doing a round trip from site to site. We are asking patients, friends and family to sponsor our walk circling our catchment area from Rosemary Street Health Centre to Oak Tree Lane Surgery and back again, or even to join us. This is a great opportunity for our team to bond, for patients to join us and for the public to see that exercise can be fun.
This event will commence at 10am on Saturday 6th November and Dr Smith is organising the route to ensure at least 16 miles are covered. Everyone is welcome and if walking is not your thing why not come and provide morale support at each site.
We are also raising funds again with our Flu Season Raffle. This is organised by the Forest Medical Patient Participation Group (PPG) and we have had some wonderful prizes donated.
The minutes from our recent PPG meeting can be seen here and if you are interested in becoming a member please inform any member of our team and we will provide you with the details.
AND FINALLY….
We have been busy creating and publishing our Autumn Newsletter (thank you Neil – PPG member) and updating Practice publications. I hope you will enjoy reading them and if you have any suggestions for future issues or improvements please do not hesitate to contact me.
With kind regards
Nicola
Practice Manager – Forest Medical