Telephones - 15.4.2024

UNFORTUNATELY OUR PHONE SYSTEM HAS BEEN SEVERLY DISRUPTED TODAY DUE TO A MAJOR INTERNET / NETWORK MALFUNCTION.  ENGINEERS ARE CURRENTLY AT WORK TRYING TO RECTIFY THIS ISSUE AS A MATTER OR URGENCY.  WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY DISRUPTION YOU EXPERIENCE WHEN CALLING US AND KINDLY REQUEST YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING.  MANY THANKS

An update for our patients on the service we provide at the Mission Practice

What on earth have we been doing?

When Covid 19 took hold, it was a challenge for the whole team, as the way we worked changed overnight. All of a sudden we were being told that we could not see patients face to face which is completely contrary to what we are all used to, what we wanted and what most patients expect and need.

The necessary task of keeping everyone safe led to us implementing a telephone triage system. Our patient advisers answered calls and added the patients that needed to speak to a clinician onto a list. The team (GPs, Nurses & Primary Care Paramedics) then went through the list, calling the patient and videoing them when needed, then diagnosing and treating as appropriate. We had to stop patients making their own appointments, as it was necessary to speak to them first to ensure there were no Covid 19 symptoms (protecting the safety of all our patients and staff).

We discovered that many patients preferred the flexibility of phone consultations and that some things could be dealt with easily this way. It was also possible to make sure that the right member of the team could speak to the patient at the right time.

We never closed our doors. Our doors remained open for our most vulnerable patients and those unable to phone, so that they could access us when needed. We never stopped seeing patients. We had to be very careful but we brought people up for appointments who needed to be seen and continued to do many home visits, including patients with Covid 19.

Our Health Care Assistants continued to take bloods and do ECGs as needed and our nurses helped with the daily list and managing long-term conditions.

What are we doing now?

We have a list which opens every morning and patients can call and ask to be added to the list. Some patients will be asked to consult with the pharmacy first if this is appropriate and others will be signposted to other services. Anyone needing to speak to a clinician about something chronic or urgent will be added to the list. You will be told if you are added to a nurses list and when to expect to hear from them. If you are added to the daily list you will receive a call from a GP or a Primary Care Paramedic. Our list has to be limited depending on how many clinicians are working that day and that can impact on our ability to meet all of your needs every day. We usually get through about 150 consultations in a day. We aim to complete the morning list in 4 hours (so you should receive a call by 1pm) but it often takes us longer. If you are told that you have been added to the afternoon list you can expect a call between 3pm and 7pm (again sometimes we run over). Our emergency list is open throughout our opening hours – so anything that cannot wait will be dealt with on the day.

Our Patient Advisers are taking your calls, manning the help hub and often work under extreme pressure.

Our  Administrators and Medical Summariser deal with auditing, governance and much more

Our Healthcare assistants are busy doing ECGs, health checks and bloods.

Our nurses manage all of your long-term conditions, wound care, smear tests, immunisations and so much more.

Our Social Prescribing Link Workers are great listeners and can signpost you to support services that can help with your wellbeing, your health and life’s challenges.

Our chaplains are helping people in need of extra support and reassurance (whatever your belief).

Our Advanced Clinical Practitioner is working through the list with the GPs and doing many of the home visits.

Our Pharmacy Team is managing the enormous complexity of all your medications.

Our GPs are calling patients, videoing patients and seeing them face to face when needed and helping people through all stages of their lives.

Our Practice Manager, Deputy Manager & Team Leaders are dealing with all the complexities of running a busy GP surgery

How can I best access the healthcare that I need?

There are two main ways to access us – via telephone and via e consult. If you chose to access us via e consult we will do our best to respond within 48 working hours. We have blocked access to the econsults over night and at the weekend as we were simply unable to meet the need – but they are available for you all day throughout the week. This is a great way of accessing a clinician without having to wait on the phone.

If you need to speak to a clinician on the same day or you choose to access us via the telephone, the message is to call early. We open at 8am – the phones are not live before that time. There is a good chance you will be stuck in a queue so please bear with us – we will answer you. Both the morning and afternoon list are filled until we run out of capacity and then extra slots are added only for emergencies. If you call after the two lists are filled you will be asked to try again the next day unless your problem is an emergency. We are really sorry about this but we can only do what we can do. 111 is always available if needed when we are at capacity or closed.

When we call you we will try at least two times, so please do not worry if you miss the first call. You will be given the time to tell us about your concern and we can then decide if you need to be seen face to face. We will endeavour to deal with your concern when you speak to us on the day. If you have more than one thing to discuss, it may be necessary to request that you call again on another day. If you do need to be seen you will be given a time to come in that day (or another day if that is better). We will try our best to be flexible. If you are unable to come in then one of our clinical team will arrange to visit you at home. Any resultant referrals or need for a follow up will be discussed and arranged on the same day.

We are seeing so many of you whose health has been affected by the past two years and know that you need access to a supportive GP Practice at this time more than ever. We also know that there are those of you who are hesitant to bother us. Please know that we are 100% here for you. Here are some tips to make accessing us easier

• If you need an on the day appointment – call at 8am. Our phones do get inundated though – if at first you don’t succeed, try again
• If you have a general enquiry – call when the lines are quieter (after 2pm). Every once in a while we have no calls waiting so there is a chance you will be answered straight away
• If you want to find out your results – call after 2pm. You will be told if they do not need further action, and if they do what the plan is. If you need to discuss your results (normal or not) call at 8am and ask to be added to the list to discuss them with a clinician (preferably the one who ordered the tests)
• Consider submitting an e consultation. You will get a response within 48 hours and you will receive the same service as if you had called on the day

The future

We are listening to you and know that some of you find it difficult to access us so we have set up a task force to tackle this. The aim of this is to address the challenges of meeting the needs of all our patients and improving access to our service. We are in strange times and the demand on GP services in the UK at present are higher than ever before. There are no simple solutions to this but we are all trying our best, so please bear with us.

We are all ears – if you have any feedback or any ideas on how we can do things better for you, let us know via the feedback link on the website

We hope this has been helpful 

Mission Practice Vision

For over 100 years a team of nurses, doctors and other health professionals have worked as part of The Mission Practice in Bethnal Green with a desire to provide excellent, whole person care to the people of the East End. We, as the current partners feel honoured to continue that calling, striving to serve our community with the resources and gifts we have been given. 

We are thankful for the Christian heritage on which the Mission Practice is built and are deeply convinced of that as we care for all our patients equally, recognizing their innate value and worth, and respecting each individuals uniqueness. The tenets on which the practice was first built are the same tenets on which we will continue to flourish and see our community flourish. We recognize in particular the complex needs of the vulnerable and marginalized in our society and seek to address these with the resources we have. We believe in serving our patients according to their healthcare needs without partiality or discrimination on any basis,

Our belief in whole person care has led us to build a diverse and highly skilled multidisciplinary team, recognising the vital role of social prescribing, occupational therapy, paramedics, nurses, pharmacists and a chaplaincy in providing a care that envelops not just the physical but also the social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the population we serve. 

We are privileged to be a training practice. In addition to our team of experienced GPs, we have fully qualified doctors attached to the practice to complete their training for general practice as well as student doctors who attend on a regular basis as part of their medical school education.

CQC Inspection - Mission Practice is rated as good.