GP Bulletin - March 2015

New-NHS

Whittington Health GP bulletin

March 2015

This bulletin is emailed each month to GP practices in Islington and Haringey. It contains useful information and updates from our GP medical director about Whittington Health. If you have a news item, event or update you would like to share with other GPs through this bulletin, please email communications.whitthealth@nhs.net

In this edition

A note from Dr Greg Battle

Spotlight on… trauma and orthopaedic service

New pharmacy service for older people

New integrated health and social care teams in Islington

New Islington foot ulcer clinic

New cancer referral forms

A note from Dr Greg Battle

Welcome to the March edition of Whittington Health's GP Bulletin.

We are approaching the end of the financial year - it's been a positive year for the Trust with the development of new services, such as the ambulatory care centre, TB centre, in Islington and Haringey, and improvements made in pathways, service design and patient experience.

As we head into 2015/16 I feel very positive about our future and look forward to working with you all.

Best wishes,

Greg

Dr Greg Battle
greg.battle@nhs.net 07808 174 569

Spotlight on… trauma and orthopaedic service

The department of orthopaedic surgery sees over 18,600 outpatients annually and has seen a significant growth in demand over the past couple of years. The department provides outpatient, inpatient and day surgery services.

The service has made a number of improvements to support better access and waiting times for patients, with more clinic appointments and further choose and book slots available. The process for medical investigations and appointments has also been reviewed and strengthened.

The service now has 11 consultants, offering a range of specialist services. Two additional locum consultants have recently been appointed, Mr Arvind Mohan, hand and wrist specialist and Mr Ioannis Palaiologos, lower limb surgeon and a substantive spinal consultant will join the team shortly.

New pharmacy service for older people

Two new pharmacists have joined the Whittington Health team. They will specialise in optimising medication for older people, working closely with GP practices, Integrated Community Ageing Team (ICAT) and residential and nursing homes. They will:

Educate patients on their medication and getting the most from their prescribed treatment
Review medicines to optimise therapy and minimise adverse effects or drug interactions
Identify problems with medication adherence or wastage and address these
Health promotion including smoking cessation
Signpost to local services where appropriate (such as Expert Patients Programme).

Referral:
Please complete the ICAT pharmacy referral form available on request by email.

Essential criteria for patient referral:

Resides in Islington (own home, or care home covered by an Islington GP)
Over 18 years of age (those over 75 will be prioritised)
Has consented to a pharmacy review

For further information about the service contact:
Tel: 020 7288 3702 or 3732 or email: whh-tr.pharmacyicat@nhs.net

New integrated health and social care teams in Islington

From 30 March a new access and advice team will be the single point of contact for all adult social care and community rehabilitation services in Islington.

Intermediate care and rehabilitation staff from Whittington Health will come together with Islington Council Social care staff, into the Islington social care and rehabilitation service. The team will provide good quality advice, guidance and signposting which will support people stay independent for longer.

The service will have two teams - based in the north and south of the borough, at Vorley Road and Calshot Street. These offices will no longer be open to the public.

To refer
All referrals to adult social care and community rehabilitation (REACH and CRT) should now go through the access and advice team. The map of medicine has been updated to reflect this change.

The access and advice team will be moving from Calshot Street to the Council’s Customer Centre at 222 Upper Street. The contact details are the same as the former access team:

Tel: 020 7527 2299
Email: access.service@islington.gov.uk

If you have any questions about the new health and social care teams in Islington, please email moving.forward@islington.gov.uk

Haringey:
The referral process to adult social care for Haringey residents has not changed. GPs should continue to refer patients using the central referral form and sending it to the Haringey integrated access team as specified on the form.

Tel 020 8489 1400
Fax 020 8489 4900
E-mail IAT@haringey.gov.uk
.

New Islington foot ulcer clinic

A new foot ulcer clinic is now running in Islington.

The clinic runs from Holloway Community Health Centre every Wednesday. It will see patients with new or longstanding wounds to their feet.

Patients will be assessed and treatment plans devised. Onward referral to the acute setting will be done if needed.

The clinic will run from:
Holloway Community Health Centre
11 Hornsey Street
London
N7 8GG

Haringey
Patients within Haringey can attend the foot ulcer clinic in Tynemouth Road Medical Centre.

To refer:
For both Haringey and Islington - please refer patients that require input for their foot ulcers to the community podiatry team, using the existing referral form. Please clearly state that the patient has a foot ulcer. If your patient requires urgent MDT care, please refer them to the appropriate acute setting.

New cancer referral forms

The London Cancer and Transforming Cancer Services Team for London have updated a number of referral forms for various suspected cancers.

These will have been cascaded down to practice managers by the CCG.

The original rationale for changing the forms was to ensure all the telephone and fax numbers are correct and to update clinical information.

A pan London patient information sheet for urgent referral of suspected cancers has been produced and is available to download here.

Study dates

Whittington Education Centre, Magdala Avenue, London N19 5NF.

	Dermatology update Wednesday 29 April
	ENT update Wednesday 21 May

If you would like to attend any of these study days, please email carolobrien@nhs.net

Feedback

If you have any feedback about a Whittington Health service, please feel free to email me. I’ll find the right person to help you.

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Last updated30 Mar 2015