News

Appointment timings: 4th November 2024

How to request an appointment: 4th November 2024

Patient Notification Regarding Practice Capacity and Access

Dear Patient

We are experiencing a significant increase in demand for appointments, queries and prescriptions. We apologise as this can lead to a delay in answering the telephone or being able to offer appointments and advice in a timely manner.

We are trying to improve access to the surgery for you with new ways of delivering services. Whilst trying to deal with each telephone request appropriately we are limited by the lack of government investment into general practice to meet some of the time demands.

Problems faced by all practices across England:

1. The NHS budget for 2024/25 will grow by 0.2%, well below inflation.
2. Government investment in primary care has fallen from 8.9% (2015/6) to less than 7% (2024/5). This is equivalent to a 7% cut in funding.
3. Your practice receives just £107.57 per year for each patient, or 30 pence per day - less than the cost of an apple.
4. The Government and Integrated Care Boards are increasing the demand on general practice by moving more work from secondary care into the community.
5. The overall population in England is increasing - 53.5 million in 2012 to 57.1 million in 2022.
6. There are fewer GPs due to funding limits. There are 1759 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs compared to 2015. As a result, each full-time GP is responsible for 356 more patients than in 2015.
7. GPs need to supervise other clinical staff, which can reduce appointment availability.
8. People are living longer with more complex health and social care needs.
9. Some GP surgeries are having to close or merge to maintain services to patients.

We are aware that patient satisfaction with the NHS is falling, with difficulty calling GP surgeries a particular problem (satisfaction down from 67.6% in 2021 to 48.8% in 2023).

We are trying our best to provide the service our patients need, but the current staffing and funding crisis felt across general practice in England is severely restricting what we can offer in the timescales NHS England suggests.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sheffield LMC & The Hollies Team 

Sedative Prescribing for Fear of Flying

The Hollies Medical Centre does NOT prescript sedatives for fear of flying. This policy decision has been made by the GP Partners and is adhered to by all prescribers working in the practice. The reasons for this can be found below:

1) Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.

2) Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than four hours.

3) Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number have paradoxical agitation and in aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This could impact on your safety as well as that of other passengers and could also get you into trouble with the law.

4) According to the prescribing guidelines doctors follow (BNF) Benzodiazepines are contraindicated (not allowed)  in phobia. Your doctor is taking a significant legal risk by prescribing against these guidelines. They are only licensed short term for a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the case, you should be getting proper care and support for your mental health and not going on a flight.

5) Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated or you may find yourself in trouble with the police.

6) Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.

We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines and we have listed a number of these below.

Easy Jet www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com Tel 0203 8131644

Parking & Speed

Please be considerate when parking and driving on St Andrews Road. 

This is a residential area and we require access to driveways at all times. 

Be mindful of your speed when driving along St Andrews Road, cars can get tightly packed on both sides of the road meaning accidents are more likely to occur when travelling at speed. 

This is to protect your safety as well as others.  

Thank you for your co-operation.

Cheaper HRT with the new prepayment certificate

New HRT PrePayment Certificates are now available and could save you considerable amounts of money on prescriptions. To find out more please got to the following link: Cheaper HRT with the new prepayment certificate - YouTube

Thanks

The Hollies Team

Enhanced Access Update: 01st October 2022

Green Impact for Health - Bronze Award

Greener Practice is a primary care climate and sustainability network. We recognise that the climate and ecological crisis is the leading public health issue of our generation. We at The Hollies aim to raise awareness of the health benefits of climate action and support our primary care community to take practical action towards greener practice.  

In recognition of this The Hollies Medical Centre has worked towards an environmentally sustainable health care and we have been awarded the Bronze award for doing so. As we continue to increase our sustainability we can also gain further accolades for acheiving this.

If you would like to know more please feel free to explore the Greener Practice website, www.greenerpractice.co.uk.

Facebook

We are now on Facebook.

Please follow us for regular updates. 

https://www.facebook.com/theholliesmedicalcentresheffield 

Open Letter to Sheffield Residents

NHS Sheffield ICB have written an open letter to all residents to let you know about the challenges facing GPs in Sheffield and what you can do to help us, help you. Please take a few minutes to read it in full here: 

https://www.sheffieldccg.nhs.uk/news/OpenlettertoallSheffieldResidents.htm 

Good Health Certificate - Spain

We will NOT be completing any medical certificates of good health for the Spanish Embassy.

You will have to source a private GP to complete this for you.

General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)

NHS Digital has developed a new way to collect data from GP practices to use for health and care planning and research purposes.  This is called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection. The system launches on September 1st this year. The new data collection reduces burden on GP practices, allowing doctors and other staff to focus on patient care, helping to find better treatments and improve patient outcomes for everyone. Please note NHS Digital will not collect patients’ names or addresses.

Please see (link to GDPR page) for more information, including how to opt out of the data collection if you should wish to do so.

1. Type 1 data opt out - Urgent action required as the opt out window closes on 23 June 2021
This is to protect GP data held on your system. Patients need to complete a form and leave it at reception.

2. Type 2 data opt out - No time limit
This is to protect non-GP data held on your system, eg hospital or clinic treatment.
Patients can do this for themselves by visiting the Make your choice webpage.
For children under 13 the form available hereshould be used.
For dependant adults the form available hereshould be used.

Online Access using AccurX at the Hollies Medical Centre

Register for Online Services

Our practice offers a wide range of services through an electronic system called SystmOnline.

This will allow you to manage your prescriptions electronically and allow you to book appointments online, view your summary medical record and vaccination history.

We are actively encouraging the use of SystmOnline as this will ease the pressures faced on our reception and administration team and is also more secure system.

To set this up we will need official photo I.D such as your passport or driving licence to be able to release your login details.

Please call us or e-mail photo ID to get set up. Email: syicb-sheffield.holliesroutineenquiry@nhs.net Telephone: 0114 255 0094