Change in Out of Hours Service at the Crown surgery, Eccleshall

The Crown Surgery was the only practice in the local area which still provided out of hours cover and it was with regret that the partners stopped providing this service in October 2004. Each doctor had been providing this service ever since they joined the practice - Dr Bland for 19 years, Dr Carr for 12 years and Dr Davies for 7 years.  Unfortunately the practice became unable to meet the strict new government regulations and the Out of Hours Service is now provided by the Primary Care Trust in line with other practices.

Patients will only need to make one telephone call on 01785 850226 for Out of Hours Services. The Out of Hours Service operates when the GP surgery is closed:

• Between the hours of 6.30 pm and 8.00 am, Monday to Friday

• Weekends

• Bank and Public holidays

You can either telephone NHS Direct (0845 4647) or telephone the surgery (01785 850226). We have arranged for your calls to the surgery to be automatically diverted to the Out of Hours Service where your call will be handled by trained ambulance personnel. If appropriate, a member of the ambulance team, either a doctor or a paramedic, will arrange to visit you at home or offer an appointment at the Primary Care Centre in Stafford.

From November 2004 the practice is no longer be open on Saturday mornings. From 2008 the partners have started to offer surgery appointments outside of normal surgery hours.

All medical issues will be dealt with by contacting the Out of Hours Service, by telephoning 01785 850226. Requests for repeat prescriptions can still be left on 01785 850244 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We hope that you will understand the reasons for the doctors having to reduce their commitment to a 24 hour service, and appreciate that this decision has only been made after considerable discussion with the local Primary Care Trust. The Stafford Out of Hours Service has been working successfully since April 2004 for over 124,000 patients who live in Stone, Gnosall, Stafford, Great Haywood, and Penkridge areas, under the management of Staffordshire Ambulance Services and the South Western Staffordshire Primary Care Trust.

If you have any comments about the change in service, please do not hesitate to contact the practice manager, or send your comments via the patient suggestions on this website, or contact the South Western Staffordshire Primary Care Trust on 01785 220004.

Changing doctors

Dr Sarah Ford leaves the practice in  March to take up another opportunity in Abbots Bromley. We would like to thank Dr Ford for her help over the last year and wish her every success in her new practice. We are currently recruiting to the vacant position. .

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Missed Appointments 

The recent patient survey high lighted patient concerns regarding the availability of GP and nurse appointments. Unfortunately one of the persistent problems we encounter is missed appointments. Over the last 12 months the practice has lost over 900 appointments through patients not attending as planned. We are very grateful to those patients who help to limit this waste, by contacting the surgery to cancel and rearrange their appointment. Without their help the situation would be much worse. We are aware that sometimes the clinicians do not "keep to appointment time" and although we try to keep these occasions to a minimum, sometimes it is unavoidable. Please contact the practice as soon as you realise you no longer need the appointment and let us know that we can offer it to someone else in need.

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Patient Questionnaire

A survey of the Practice is carried out annually and the average scores for the Crown Surgery were compared to the average scores for all participating practices. 80% of the patients requested to complete a questionnaire responded and the results were as follows.

 Higher than average scores were noted for; 

• Ease of phone contact with practice,
• Appointment system
• Waiting time
• Overall satisfaction,
• Warmth of doctors/nurses greeting,
• Doctors/nurses ability to listen,
• Explanations by doctor/nurse,
• Level of reassurance by doctor/nurse,
• Confidence in doctors/nurses ability,
• Patients ability to express concerns or fears,
• Concern for patient as a person,
• Respect shown by doctor/nurse for patient
• Amount of time for visit
• Consideration of personal situation
• Recommendation to a friend
• Treatment by reception staff
• Respect for privacy and confidentiality
• Reminder system
• second opinion and complimentary medicine.

Lower than average scores were noted for; 

• Seeing a doctor or nurse within 24/48 hours
• Chance of seeing doctor of choice,
• Speaking to the doctor on the phone,
• Comfort of waiting room
• Information provided by practice
• Illness prevention

We would like to thank all those patients who took part in the most recent survey. We have discussed the results of the survey as part of our regular practice meetings, all patients have the opportunity to comment on the services provided by submitting a comment form or telephoning the practice manager at any time. We were particularly pleased with patient comments regarding the clinical care that the practice offers, however the ability of patient's to see a doctor of their choice is an area which is causing patient concern.  Patient comments regarding the 24/48 access to clinicians is worrying as the practice offers both routine,  pre-bookable appointments and urgent appointments each day. In this way patients should always be able to access a GP within 48 hours. 

Individual comments made as part of the survey reflect the change in Out of Hours provision made last year. Unfortunately the decision to withdraw from Out of hours provision was made by the South Western Primary Care Trust as part of their annual review process. All calls to the practice in the evening after 6.30pm and over the weekend are automatically transferred to the Out of Hours Service which is managed by the Staffordshire Ambulance Service    

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The Healthy Heart clinic 

The Healthy Heart Clinic was started in 2000 with the aim of keeping a close eye on patients who either have heart disease or are considered to be at risk of developing heart disease. Each year invitations are sent to patients years who have a history of the following problems:-

• Heart Attack

• Angina

• Stroke or mini-stroke

• Heart failure

• Hardening of the arteries of the legs

Some patients need to have blood tests before attending the clinic but if this is the case it will be made clear in the invitation.

Patients are seen by either Sister Trafford. Each appointment lasts 20 minutes during which time the patients’ height, weight and blood pressure are measured. Special attention is also paid to the results of the blood tests for cholesterol and sugar levels. Sister Trafford is also keen to make sure that patients are given any help or advice they may need regarding lifestyle issues such as exercise, diet and stopping smoking.

The clinic has proved very popular and since it was started over 450 patients have been seen. We are convinced that attending the clinic and following the advice given, minimises the chance of patients with the above illnesses suffering unnecessary complications.

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Health Trainers

We encourage all patients who would like to improve their health to take up the opportunity to meet the practice Health Trainer- Shelia Francis. Shelia will be able to help patients, on a one to one basis who want to lead healthier lives. Patients do not need to visit a doctor or nurse all you need to do is telephone for an appointment on 07817 546684. More information is available at the practice 

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