Healthwatch City of London February newsletter
Chat from our Chair
Hello and welcome to our February newsletter. In our last newsletter, we updated you on the new booking system from the Neaman Practice which has caused concerns and many questions from you, the patients. We have been working closely with the Neaman Practice in order to create more clarity and understanding of these changes. Some of you may have joined us for our Patient Panel with Dr Amy Hillier, who explained the changes and the need for them. We followed up with a focus group with patients and Dr Hillier. We are still working with the practice very closely and are reviewing all your comments and concerns. We know that some of you who are not as able to use digital platforms are worried about this change, but the practice has assured us you can still use the traditional routes and will not be at all disadvantaged.
In addition, we are also holding our planned Enter and View at the Neaman Practice in the next few weeks to talk to staff members and patients about the current service provided. If you would like to share your feedback you can use the survey below or email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Look out for upcoming Patient Panels including the Neaman Practice’s social prescribers and the services they offer. This service is so important but not many people are aware of what is on offer and how effective the service is.
Last month we alerted you to the changes to Falls Pathway and the work both the City of London and HWCoL are doing to ensure continuity of the service whilst it is redesigned. Rachel Cleave, our General Manager, is now on the Steering Group that is leading this review and redesign. Our upcoming Patient Panel will make sure you are kept informed of the services you can access, both preventative and if you have experienced a fall, but more importantly make sur the Steering Group is listening to what you have to say about the service and how you would like to see it develop going forward.
As always, if you want to share any experiences you have had with your health and social care services, we are here and want to hear from you. Just email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Gail
Chair, Healthwatch City of London
Join us at our Patient Panel series
Our Patient Panels are here to give you the information you need on Health and Social Care in the City. We invite in experts that are able to share and highlight important issues in the City that may directly impact you. If you have a particular issue or topic that you would like to hear about, please let us know by emailing us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Cardiopulmonary-resuscitation (CPR) training session with the London Ambulance Service
We know that CPR can be the difference between life and death. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) goal is to make London a city of lifesavers by ensuring that every person has the ability to use CPR and a defibrillator in critical situations. By popular demand we are holding another CPR training session in collaboration with the LAS.
The training will be a 2.5 hour training at the Portsoken Community Centre from 10am to 12:30pm on Friday, 21 March. The training will tackle the difference between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack, the chain of survival, adult basic life support (CPR), how you can deal with unconscious people and the how to utilise the recovery position, how to use a defibrillator and how to deal with choking. We are very grateful to the LAS for their continuing support.
Spaces are limited so registration is essential, to register visit here
The falls prevention pathway with the City and Hackney Public Health team
We’ve recently spoken a lot about the falls prevention programme that City residents have used after experiencing a fall. The City and Hackney Public Health team are planning to change the falls pathway to ensure that prevention is the priority for the service. As mentioned above we know that this is of some concern to those of you who have used or are using this service.
On Wednesday, 26th February, from 3pm to 4pm on zoom we’ll be joined by the team at City and Hackney Public Health to talk about the broader falls prevention pathway and how this will impact City residents' care.
To register, visit here
Next week, we will be releasing a survey where you can share your thoughts and experiences, so the team at City and Hackney Public Health can better understand what support and services are needed to reduce the risk of falls.
Appointment booking update from the Neaman Practice
As Gail talked about above the Neaman Practice have changed the way you can book your appointments. We know this caused concern and confusion for many patients who were unaware that these changes were taking place, we held a Patient Panel on this issue with Dr Amy Hillier to discuss these changes and she was able to share with us why they are needed. Following the Patient Panel we held a focus group with patients and Dr Hillier to further discuss these changes and the impact, as well as how the team at the Practice support patients who aren’t so digitally confident.
The changes
Now, all requests for appointments will be triaged by the GP team. This is to ensure that no patients will ever be told nothing is available. The Neaman Practice aim to provide timely and effective care for all patients. Their new online consultation system is designed to ensure your case is reviewed and managed by the most appropriate healthcare professional in a timely way.
How It Works
Submit an Online Consultation at the top of the page: https://www.theneamanpractice.nhs.uk/clinics-and-services/appointments-…
You will have 3 options you can select from.
- Admin query for repeat prescriptions, fit (sick) note, test results
- Help with a medical issue - to see a doctor or book an appt (can book 2 weeks in advance)
- Online medical advice
Each request will be categorised as either urgent: eligible for an on-day appointment; or non-urgent and allocated a time and doctor in the coming fortnight or at a time that suits the patient.
The timeline for online consultations is that submissions made between 8am to 6:30pm (weekdays) will be reviewed by a GP the same day. For urgent cases, these will be resolved within 4 hours and for routine cases, these will be resolved within 72 working hours.
It is important to note that if your situation changes, such as your routine issue becomes urgent, you will need to submit a new consultation or call reception for assistance.
Appointments have to be booked online where possible and a form completed, but for those who choose not to, the receptionists will fill out the form on their behalf. Appointments can no longer be booked through the NHS App, to book an appointment you can visit here or you can call the receptionist on 020 7600 9740
We are keen to know how this new system is working for you. Tell us about your experiences, the good and the bad as its important to know how you the user is experiencing the change. We work closely with the Neaman practice and are keen to make sure that these changes make the difference the team at the Neaman Practice are anticipating.
Dr Amy Hillier will be writing a letter to all patients over the age of 80 years old to inform them of these changes and to ensure them that all patients are still able phone the Practice.
Our Enter and View at the Neaman Practice
In the next few weeks, we will be conducting an Enter and View at the Neaman Practice. This is part of our statutory duty which gives us a legal right to visit places that provide publicly funded health or care service. This enables us to see and hear how people experience the services. We’ll be joined by our volunteers who are not patients at the Neaman Practice, to interview both patients and staff members and to see first hand how the practice works its highs and lows. Its important for us that our volunteers are not patients of the Practice to ensure that no previous experiences are able to impact our assessment.
If you are a patient at the Neaman Practice there is survey for patients and carers to provide feedback on the Neaman Practice prior to our visit so we can explore issues on the day. To fill in the survey, visit here
If you have any questions or feedback you would like to share now, please email info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
We look forward to sharing our findings and working together with the Neaman Practice to ensure the best service is provided.
The launch of our Digi Apps report
In the last few months, our team has been working on our Digi Apps project, investigating how people in the City are impacted by the increase in digitisation of your health services. We looked into what was on offer to patients in the local area, how they worked and whether they were easy to use.
Our report highlights that local residents find that accessing digital apps can prove difficult and confusing. Our findings and recommendations will highlight what needs to be improved to reduce the issues and barriers that patients and carers are facing.
We will launch our report in February at an event for service providers where we are delighted to be joined by Professor Julia Manning, Dean of Education at the Royal Society of Medicine, and an Honorary Professor of Practice in Computer Science at UCL. The event will discuss the importance of the use of digital apps and the outcomes of our report, ‘Digital Apps: A help or hindrance? Understanding and accessing digital healthcare apps’
To read our report, visit our website and if you would like to have a paper copy, please email info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk and our team will organise that for you.
Shaping the future of the Golden Lane Leisure Centre
Following the approval by Members of £10m to fund the refurbishment of the Golden Lane Leisure Centre, the department has appointed an agency to develop the initial scope for the design.
Essential to this will be input from the local community and users of the centre. To capture that the Corporation have created a survey that will identify what is important to people, and the activities, facilities and sports they would like to see in future. These will be followed by focus group discussions to refine the brief for the designers.
The Corporation are seeking a wide range of responses from residents, workers and students in the City of London. All insights will contribute to shaping a space that benefits everyone. The survey is now open and will close on the 20th of March 2025.
To participate in the survey, please visit here
The use of AI and emergency care at Barts
We know that there is an increase of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in your health care. This has the potential to improve your care. North East London, in partnership with Health Navigator, UCL Partners, and Barts Health NHS Trust, are implementing a new initiative using artificial intelligence (AI) and personalised clinical coaching, the three year programme will identify patients at risk of unplanned hospital visits and provide them with targeted support.
The programme uses advanced AI technology to examine patients and identify those who could benefit from early intervention. Trained clinical coaches will then provide personalised advice and self-management techniques over the phone to help patients avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
It is believed that this will significantly reduce the pressure on the NHS with the potential for an annual reduction of 13,000 A&E attendances and 26,673 unplanned bed days over three years.
For more information on this initiative, visit here
Join the Ramadan Health Mela for a stay well stay warm community celebration
City residents and those who work in the City are welcome to the Portsoken Community Centre on Thursday, 13 February from 11am to 2:30pm. There will be important stalls with health advice, vaccine information, blood pressures checks as well as fun activities, such as prizes and giveaways, henna and free kids clothes and toys.
