Dear Patient
I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on the services provided by Abbey Medical Practice.
At Abbey we continue to work very hard to deliver a safe, efficient and thorough service to all our patients. Since March 2020 we have been open to consult with our patients via telephone, video or face to face as the clinical needs dictate.
Our remote consultations will never replace the face to face appointment, however, we have learnt that many of our patients prefer this method due to the easy access to medical advice and treatment. We would like to make it very clear to all of our patients that face to face appointments are, and have been, there for those that that require them based on clinical need.
In addition to our service, I would like to remind patients that you are able to seek advice from your local Pharmacist or by contacting NHS111 via www.111.nhs.uk, by calling 111 and on the NHSApp
Our doors are open at Wellingborough for patients (who are not displaying symptoms of COVID) to attend the Practice. Waiting areas are regularly cleaned and patients must wear a face mask and adhere to social distancing.
Patients in Earls Barton will be delighted to hear our doors will open once again on Thursday 1st July 2021. We shall resume our usual service, however, do ask that you contact Wellingborough to make any appointments. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the patients in the village for their understanding over the last 15 months whilst we used this site to facilitate services for our most vulnerable patients.
Our COVID clinics continue to run at Queensway Medical Centre and we are currently vaccinating 25 years of age and above. Over 11,500 patients have received their first vaccination and 7750 their second. This is a fantastic team effort and I am proud of our staff and those within other Practices in Wellingborough, who have worked so hard to keep all of our patients safe.
Please be assured that everyone who needs a vaccination will be offered it. Please don’t call us before you are invited. The use of the NHSApp has been widely advertised as a form of confirmation that you have received your vaccination and I urge our patients to download this app as soon as possible.
We are actively recruiting GPs and additional highly skilled clinicians to the team. I am delighted Dr Tonko Tabain will be joining us in September (yes related to Dr Vicko Tabain!) and Gaynor Evans will be returning to the Practice in July as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner. We also have a newly appointed Practice Nurse Manager, Michelle Kenney and Compliance Manager, Lyndsay Money.
These clinicians will strengthen our team of 10 Doctors, 4 Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Healthy Minds Practitioner, Clinical Pharmacists, 4 Practice Nurses and 4 Health Care Assistants. And the very important “engine room” of the Practice, our non-clinical team, that currently stands at 38 staff.
We have many staff answering the telephones and sometimes there are delays in being connected to speak to someone. We have asked our patients not to call with non-urgent matters at peak times. This would dramatically improve access to our Patient Services Team for patients with urgent needs and enable them to action non-urgent requests later in the day.
Our website and your online access is a great way to access the Practice for non-urgent matters.
I would also like to remind patients that while we recognise for many this has been a stressful period, we absolutely do not tolerate any type of abuse to our staff. All calls are recorded and where we feel that a patient has been rude we will not hesitate to remove patients from our practice list.
We continuously seek ways to improve our service and welcome feedback from our patients via NHS Choices:
https://www.nhs.uk/services/gp-surgery/abbey-medical-practice/K83047/leave-a-review
Our Practice survey is now available via https://weneedyouropinion.typeform.com/to/qiWfWsYw
Please take two minutes of your time to provide us with some information on our service.
We are also actively seeking new members to join our Patient Action Group. The input of this group is critical as we look at further ways to improve our service and move forward in the delivery of treatment and care to our patients. If you are interested please contact us via our website and the Practice Manager will be in touch.
Once again, I would like to reassure our patients that we continue to be here for you.
The patient is at the heart of our Practice. Everything we do, we change or improve has you, the patient, as our priority.
Kind regards
Dr Kate Hughes
Abbey Medical Practice