GP Newsletter Jan 2011 draft 4 - Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

GPLink
A monthly newsletter for all GPs referring to Croydon Health Services
Now we are one!
January 2011
New Service at Croydon University Hospital
Croydon Health Services is delighted to
announce the start of a new service for patients
suffering with shortness of breath
particularly caused by COPD via the Croydon
Respiratory Team’s (CRT). This will be
implemented in 2 phases, with Phase 1 starting
this month.
ongoing advice and support. If their condition
worsens, they can access advice via telephone or
email from a specialist, and if required, they will
be given an urgent clinic appointment, and in
some cases, visited at home. The team will liaise
with the GP and community matrons for
ongoing management.
In Phase 1 patients who have had recent
admissions to hospital with shortness of breath
will be invited to a special review clinic to
undergo an assessment of their current
respiratory health and medication plan,
making any changes to try and improve their
health and avoid exacerbations requiring acute
emergency admissions.
This cohort of Patients will be offered access to
The service at this stage, will be limited to
normal working hours and only available to
those selected patients. This service is scheduled
to commence on 20 January. For further details
please contact Dr Roshan Siva at the chest clinic,
Croydon University Hospital on 0208 401 3137.
An evening meeting to launch this new service
for COPD is being held on 27 January. For
more details and to book a place please contact
Gloria Santini, email gls37753@gsk.com
Outpatient appointment
minimum waiting times
The Trust is working with NHS London
Choose & Book team to improve our
processes around waiting times even
further. Below are waiting times for
specific specialities.
Cardiology 5 weeks
Diabetes 1 week
Elderly Care 1 week
Endocrinology 3 weeks
General medicine 4 weeks
Gynaecology 2 weeks
Orthodontics 4 weeks
Paediatrics 3 weeks
Renal
4 weeks
Stroke
1 week
TIA clinic Same day
Urology 4 weeks
Vascular 3 weeks
Clinical pathway redesign
As an integrated care organisation the Trust is in a unique
position to redesign clinical pathways to span the acute
and community setting to improve the patient experience
with less complex referral patterns and deliver care in the
most appropriate environment.
A Clinical Pathway Redesign Group (CPRG) was set up
with the aim to change pathways to enable a better
patient experience, while improving the quality and
efficiency of the service and was chaired by the Medical
Director for the acute Trust and Clinical Director for the
Community Trust.
Subgroups were formed to redesign the first wave of
pathways led by senior clinicians and included
representatives from acute, community and GPs.
The following pathways are now at the implementation
stage: MSK, Sexual Health, Audiology and Wound care.
If you would like more information about the pathways
please contact us.

January 2011
Patient Transport
Most patients attending hospital do
not need help but for some traveling
on by public transport is impossible
because of their medical condition.
For these patients, we have a non
emergency transport service that
offers the patient the ability to get
to and from hospital with trained
medical personnel to assist them.
Current protocols require
authorisation of patient transport
and escorts by clinical staff in the
following cases:
•
•
•
•
Support is available for those not
eligible for hospital transport.
Patients may obtain a cash refund
for travel to the hospital if they are
in receipt of one of the following:
•
•
•
The patient is under 16 years old
The patient has a psychiatric or
learning difficulty and needs
constant supervision during the
journey.
The patient is blind/hard of hearing
and has requested assistance
(guide dogs are accepted with
prior notice).
The patient resides in a residential
care establishment due to their
medical condition
Income support
Working families tax credit
Income-based job seekers
allowance
Transport booking form is available on:
http://www.croydonhealthservices.nhs.
uk/Downloads/GP_resources/Referral_in
formation/Patient%20Transport%20Bo
oking%20Form.pdf
An Easy Guide to Accessible Transport is
available on Croydon Council’swebsite
Breastfeeding help and support
Croydon Community Health Services now has a
Breastfeeding Programme Team who are part of
Children’s Universal Services (CUS). In November the CUS
were awarded the UNICEF Baby Friendly ‘Certificate of
Commitment’ at the same time as Croydon University
hospital’s maternity unit.
By March 2011, it is planned to provide a ‘Baby Café,
based in children’s centres, offering breastfeeding help,
information and support every week day.
The team also co-ordinates a Breastfeeding Peer Support
programme in some areas of Croydon. Mothers who have
breastfed their own baby are trained to support other
mothers with breastfeeding.
The team can also visit mothers experiencing problems
with breastfeeding, at home, if they are unable to
access services or if it is felt that only a one to one home
visit is appropriate.
For further information, please contact: Wendy
Deshpande, Breastfeeding Programme Lead, 020 8714
2900.
For details of Baby Cafes and Peer Support Drop Ins
http://www.croydon.nhs.uk/breastfeeding/Pages/breastfeeding-in-croydon.aspx
You said we did......
Sunquest ICE (GP Electronic Requesting and Results) is
planned to be piloted in late January/ early February 2011
with three GP Practices. These are Farley Road Medical
Practice, Greenside Medical Practice and Friend Road
Medical Practice. Rollout to all practices will
commence spring 2011.
News in Brief
Next GP CPD evening: Thursday 20 January 6.45pm-
9.30pm PGMC. Master class in General Practice - personal
finance. To book a place please use the contact numbers
on the second page.
JAG Accreditation. The Trust has had a very positive visit
from the Joint Advisory Group (JAG). We are now
waiting for the final report.
All editorial comments to Jan Jayatilake, Head of Strategy or Chris Ford, Stakeholder Relations Manager
at Croydon Health services on 020 8401 3209 or e-mail gpcontact@mayday.nhs.uk