Our patient liaison team are trained care navigators who will help you in accessing our services and answering any queries you may have.

All patients are allocated a named GP who is responsible for your overall care. Please contact the practice if you wish to know who this is. We will make every effort possible to allow a preference in your named GP, but this is not always possible due to GP workload.

Continuity of Care
We know that patients value continuity of care and we would encourage patients to see the same doctor if possible.

• Please note the surgery will be closed on Thursday 9^th June 2022 from 12pm for staff training. We will re-open at 7.30am on Friday 10th June 2022 .

If you need medical advice on the afternoon of the Thursday 9th June 2022, please call 01325 952278 and press option 9. 

After 6pm please call 111.

We want to hear people’s views about mental and physical health services for veterans in England April 2022

NHS England and NHS Improvement has launched a survey to find out people’s views and experiences of veterans mental and physical health services. The information gathered will be used to help inform the development and provision of these services in the future. As part of this exercise, we would particularly like to hear people’s views and experiences of Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, as well as the Veterans Trauma Network (VTN), which is for Service-related physical health conditions.

Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is the collective name for the:
• Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS).
• Veterans Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (CTS).
• Veterans Mental Health High Intensity Service (HIS).

Current contracts for the three services within Op COURAGE will end in March 2023, and so the NHS needs to make arrangements for new service contracts from April 2023. As with the current service model, it is proposed that Op COURAGE will continue to be delivered in partnership with a range of organisations from across the NHS, Armed Forces charities and wider charitable sector.

To inform plans for the new service contracts, we want to hear your views on how we can enhance the current provision, such as improving support for substance misuse and gambling addictions, as well as how we can address any issues that veterans may have experienced in accessing treatment.

The VTN provides specialist care and support for veterans who have physical health problems due to their Service in the UK Armed Forces. As the need for the VTN becomes greater, the NHS is looking at future arrangements on how it can improve care and treatment for these veterans.

You can share your views and experiences by completing a survey, which anyone can complete, however, we are particularly keen to hear from:
• people who have served in the UK Armed Forces (reservist or regular) and have used or are currently using NHS veterans’ services in England
• veterans with a mental and/or physical health condition who have not sought or received healthcare, treatment or support
• Service leavers
• family members and carers of the above
• staff and organisations that are providing healthcare, treatment or support for veterans and their families.

Visit here to complete the survey, which closes on 22 May 2022. For further information, please email england.armedforceshealth@nhs.net 

Adult Hearing Services

Do you use Adult Hearing Services? Give NHS Tees Valley CCG your thoughts

NHS Tees Valley CCG is currently reviewing non-complex, age-related adult hearing services across the Tees Valley. These services are provided for people usually aged 55+ who have a non-complex hearing need that can be met by a service often delivered in their community. They offer comprehensive support following a referral from their GP, such as a Hearing Needs Assessment, fitting of hearing aids, follow-up assessments and more.

 These services are commissioned using an 'Any Qualified Provider' model, meaning there are multiple options for patients as to where they receive their care. Across the Tees Valley, there are six providers:

• County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT)
• Minor Ops
• North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (NTHFT)
• Outside Clinic (domiciliary care only)
• Scrivens
• Specsavers

In order to ensure that these services meet the needs of local people, NHS Tees Valley CCG is capturing the views and experiences of patients regarding their referral, making an appointment, treatment and follow-up care. If you have used Adult Hearing Services in the Tees Valley, please consider completing an online survey by clicking here. This survey is anonymous and will help to highlight what is working well within these services, as well as what could be improved.

 In addition, focus groups are also being planned with partner organisations across the Tees Valley, where participants will have an opportunity to provide their thoughts and feedback on Adult Hearing Services in greater detail. If you would like to take part in a focus group, please get in touch with the relevant organisation for your Local Authority area:

• Darlington - Healthwatch Darlington:
• Email: info@healthwatchdarlington.co.uk
• Phone: 01325 380145
• Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees - Catalyst Stockton:
• Email: enquiries@catalyststockton.org
• Phone: 01642 733906
• Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland – Healthwatch South Tees:
• Email: healthwatchsouthtees@pcp.uk.net
• Phone: 0800 118 1691
• Text only: 07451 28879

 The survey can be made available in different languages and formats on request. If you have any questions about this engagement, please get in touch with NHS Tees Valley CCG via email or phone:

 Email: enquiries@nhs.net

Phone: 01642 263030

Volunteers needed to help medical students

Newcastle Medical School are looking for volunteers to create a version of their
own health record on Patients Know Best (PKB) to share and interact with
medical students.

PKB is used with education institutions right across the UK to allow future
healthcare professionals to learn the tools of digital healthcare.
Students will be able to see information that you input to your record - for
example a diagnosis or record of your symptoms - and can interact with you via
messages as well as with questionnaires and care plans which provide an
action plan for managing your condition.

This will allow students to practice consultation skills remotely and get a
longitudinal view of your health and wellbeing, even if they are unable to see
you face-to-face.

Previous patient volunteers have mentioned that they enjoyed communicating
with students through the platform over longer periods of time – outside of
usual interactions with students in GP surgeries or Hospitals. Volunteers have
noted that students ask innovative and thought-provoking questions when
communicating online.

What is Patients Know Best (PKB)?

PKB is a digital NHS-approved platform that allows service users and health
care professionals to access their health and care records anywhere, anytime.
It provides a patient-controlled record which means patients can see who has
access to their information, and they can choose who they wish to share this
with.

PKB is not yet widely used by health care teams in North-East England but is
commonly used in other parts of the country. In these areas, patients can
communicate directly with their health and care teams, access a library of
tailored resources and see test results with advice and explanations about what
they mean.

The Education version of the platform is separate to the main PKB platform so
your data will not be shared outside of the Medical School.

Next steps
If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at
sme.teaching@newcastle.ac.uk  for more information.

Insulin Safety Week 

As this is Insulin Safety Week we wanted to remind you of our ‘Diabetes and Insulin: The Essentials ‘ resource that was developed together with NHS Leeds Diabetes Partnership for people using insulin to manage their diabetes.  This leaflet sets out the care and support that  everyone using insulin to manage their diabetes should expect.  As well as providing vital information for people living with diabetes, this resource can also support healthcare professionals to help improve consistency and quality of care.

Download the new NHS app, the new simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

If you are a patient at our practice you can now use the new NHS app to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record and more.  Go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp for more information.

 For instructions please click on the link below:

NHS App Registration Instructions.pdf

On 12^th October 2021, the practice was presented with the Carer Friendly Employer Award.

Working towards the Carer Friendly Award was very rewarding. We continuously review what we have in place to support our team and Darlington Carers Support guided us to additional resources and policies that we have implemented to support our team members who also have a carers role. We carried out a self-assessment, implemented a 'Carers In The Workplace' policy, identified a number of employees who are unpaid carers, established carers passports for these employees and also took advantage of the Employers For Carers Digital platform. Implementing this additional support for those employees in a caring role was a simple and easy process and has gone a long way in reassuring our team that support is available and offered whenever this is needed. Being presented with the Carer Friendly Employer Award is a great achievement for the practice and I would encourage all local organisations to engage with this.