Training Placement Updates:

This month we will be welcoming Denis Chan, a Year 3 Medical Student from Keele University. Denis will join us at the beginning of July for 2 weeks. It is vital we offer training placements to medical students, these may be our GPs of the future, gaining experience in a practice environment, practicing their skills and developing their knowledge and experience are all important parts of their training.

We are also pleased to welcome Niamh Pugh, a trainee Pharmacist from Liverpool John Moores University who will be joining us from 30^th July for a 4-month period. Niamh will be supported by our Pharmacist Partner, Tony Hewett.

We will also be welcoming our new GP Registrar, Dr Andrew Jones, to the practice on 7^th August. Andrew will be joining the practice for a 12-month period. GP registrars are fully qualified doctors that are training to become GPs. Llanfyllin Group Practice is an accredited GP Training Practice; GP registrars are assigned to one of the doctors here at the practice who will be their trainer for the period of time they are with us.

Practice Fundraising Campaign:

We have launched our practice Fundraising Campaign to help support and improve our dispensing service to our patients. Our aim is to raise enough funds to purchase a prescription collection unit for each of our three surgeries. The collection units provide a safe, quick and secure way for patients to collect their pre-ordered prescriptions from the surgery of their choice – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They will also help us future-proof our practice, manage increased demand on our services, improve our service, and support staff retention and moral.

If you would like to find out more about the campaign and how you can contribute, please visit: www.llanfyllingp.co.uk/fundraising

Shingles Vaccination Campaign:

At the end of 2023, we invited eligible patients in for their 1^st dose of the Shingles vaccine. We are now starting to invite those patients back in for their 2^nd and final dose, which is due between 6 – 12 months after the 1^st dose. If you have received a letter inviting you in for your 2^nd dose, please contact the practice on 01691 648 054 to book in to one of our designated clinics.

Shingles is a common condition that causes a painful rash. It can sometimes lead to serious problems such as long-lasting pain, hearing loss or blindness. You're more likely to get shingles, and it's more likely to cause serious problems, as you get older or if you have a severely weakened immune system.

You are eligible for the Shingles vaccination if;

• You are aged 50 and over and have a severely weakened immune system, or,
• You have just celebrated your 65^th birthday or are aged 70 to 79

If you think you fall into the above categories but haven’t received an invite for your vaccine, please contact the practice on 01691 648 054 to speak with our team about booking in.

Please note, from September 2023, all newly eligible individuals within the UK have been offered two doses of the new non-live vaccine Shingrix.  Anyone who received the single-dose Zostavax brand vaccine before September 2023 has had a complete vaccination course and so does not need a second dose and should not be revaccinated with the new Shingrix vaccine.  There is currently no need for reinforcing immunisation against shingles once the course has been administered, this applies equally to the single-dose Zostavax and the two-dose Shingrix.

Flu Vaccination Campaign 2024:

We are currently in the early stages of planning our 2024 Flu Vaccination Campaign at the practice. Once we have finalised plans we will update further via our usual communication channels. Keep up to date will all practice news by following our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/llanfyllinGP/

Medication Holiday Supply Ordering Reminder:

As we enter the summer months, we are noticing an increased number of patients ordering extra medication supplies to cover them while they are away on holiday. We are happy to accommodate these requests, but we politely ask that patients give us ample time to fulfil these requests. Repeat medication orders take 3 working days to fulfil, but we would recommend ordering a week in advance to ensure that your medication is ready before you go on holiday.

If you use our ‘Pre-ordered Dispensing System’ and have been given a date that falls whilst you will be away, please inform our dispensing team at least a week in advance so that we can ensure your medication is ready before you go away.

Practice Activity Data Update – May 2024

Please see below our monthly table of activity for the practice for May 2024:

Whilst this doesn’t cover all of the work completed at the practice it hopefully gives a sense of the monthly activity undertaken by our team - demand is higher than ever and we continue to evolve our ways of working to ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need are prioritised.

We continue an increase in demand across all areas at the practice. In comparison to May 2023, last month we saw a 3% increase in Face-to-Face appointments, a 6% increase in the number of items issued in dispensary, a 9% increase in referrals sent, and a 35% increase in the number of medication queries the team are dealing with. Finally, we have seen a massive 30% increase in telephone triage appointments, which continues to highlight the increased demand on our acute service for urgent appointments and medical advice.

Thank you to all our patients for your continued support to the practice.

Upcoming Practice Closure Dates:

PRACTICE TRAINING CLOSURES

• Wednesday 10^th July – Afternoon Closure from 1pm (phone lines close at 12pm)
• Thursday 15^th August – Morning Closure until 1pm (Medication collection re-opens at 2pm)

For urgent care during the hours the surgery is closed on the 10^th July & 15^th August, please call Shropdoc on 01743 455 364.

BANK HOLIDAYS

• Monday 26^th August – All day closure for the Summer Bank Holiday

For urgent care whilst the surgery is closed on the above bank holiday date, please call 111. If you are ringing off a mobile and unable to connect to 111, please ring 0345 46 47.