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A new online system to help patients get the right care from their GP Surgery – eConsult - has saved nearly 500 appointments at Bridport Medical Centre since being introduced in early November. eConsult is an online system which enables patients to complete a confidential online form which is then sent to their GP who will respond by 6.30pm the following day to offer advice, referral to an alternative service or an appointment if necessary. Forms are triaged by practice staff then results are added to a patient’s medical records and a ‘virtual appointment’ is scheduled with their GP where the [...]

With the colder weather conditions and the seasonal increase in slips, trips and falls upon us, NHS services across Dorset are encouraging the public to make appropriate health care choices should they or a loved one sustain a minor injury. Peter Swallow, Emergency Department consultant at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, said: “Patients experiencing a genuine life or limb-threatening injury or illness should typically arrive at A&E by ambulance. If you are well enough to self-present, it could be that your illness or injury could be dealt with more appropriately and often more quickly elsewhere. “Every winter, we see lots of patients suffering [...]

From 1 December 2019, Crescent Surgery in Boscombe will be moving to a new premises a short walk away from the existing site and adjacent to Providence Surgery on Walpole Road. All staff and clinicians will be moving to the new location, and patients that previously attended Crescent Surgery do not need to do anything to continue to receive their normal services. Dr Ni’Man said “For some time we have been operating as a branch surgery of nearby Providence Surgery in order to increase our resilience in the face of ever-increasing demands on general practice and to ensure we can provide [...]

On 2nd September Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre – the new home for staff and patients of Carlisle House Surgery opened its doors thanks to the commitment and dedication of its project partners. An evening event was arranged on 7th November to mark the official opening of Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre, providing an opportunity to recognise those involved in the project and enabling partners within the local community to find out more. Dr Nelms opened the evening which saw attendees from NHS partners including NHS England and NHS Dorset CCG along with other local organisations including the Greendale Construction, Simpson Hilder [...]

Patients registered at Bridport Medical Centre can now get more help with non-clinical problems thanks to the Bridport Health Champions. Bridport Health Champions are volunteers who follow a Social Prescribing approach - a means of improving a patient’s health and wellbeing by linking them with services and groups in their local community that may be of benefit to them. Health Champion Tessa “When people think of healthcare they immediately think ‘clinical’ however there a lots of other factors which can affect a person’s health such as financial issues, housing problems or their environment and personal issues for example the breakdown of [...]

Poole based Shore Medical narrowly missed out a national award at the recent National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) awards, having been shortlisted in the Primary Care Network of the Year category. The NAPC awards celebrate high standards of care across a number of categories including clinician of the year, Primary Care Manager of the Year and Primary Care Home of the Year. Primary Care Network of the Year is a new category for 2019 which recognises networks which have made outstanding progress since their formation in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and GP Contract. This year’s winner [...]

Dorset Cancer Partnership is delighted that users of cancer services across Dorset have rated them as some of the best services in the Country, in a recent national survey. Robert Allam, a former Dorset patient said “I cannot thank Dorset NHS enough for the service I received. From seeing my GP, to getting my bowel cancer diagnosis and receiving surgery and treatment - everything was first class. The staff were fantastic and saved my life!” Dr Richard Sim is the Clinical Lead for the Dorset Cancer Partnership and he said “I am very pleased that the hard work that all involved in [...]

NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and its local authority partners are reviewing Children’s Speech and Language Communication Needs Services in Dorset. The objective of the project is to deliver a whole system approach to improving speech, language and communication services for children and young people under 25 years old living in Dorset, to ensure services are sustainable in the future. The project is in its first year and is currently focused on carrying out an initial review of existing services.  At the same time as collecting this data, we recognise the importance of gathering views and experience from service users [...]

Lifeboat Quay Medical Centre opened today – the new home for patients and staff who have previously been registered with or worked at Carlisle House Surgery in Poole. The new purpose-built Medical Centre which can accommodate up to 13,500 patients features state of the art facilities including ten clinical rooms along with a bespoke interior that is designed to be dementia friendly. Access for patients and visitors will be improved with up to 84 available parking spaces on site and a bus stop within a short distance of the surgery. The Practice was opened to patients on Monday 2nd September.  [...]

People holidaying in Dorset are being encouraged to find out where they can get urgent care if they need it and make the right choice to help both themselves and local NHS organisations. Sue Sutton, Deputy Director of Urgent Care with NHS Dorset CCG said “We often hear of emergency departments being used where treatment could have been provided elsewhere, for example ordering a repeat prescription or cleaning minor grazes. We do fully understand that any medical concern can be considered an emergency to that individual and that is why we have a number of services that can help in these [...]