NHS PRESCRIBING OF WEIGHT LOSS INJECTIONS

The new weight management ‘Tirzepatide’ medication (brand name Mounjaro®) is being made available to NHS patients to support weight loss.

South Yorkshire ICB are working as quickly as possible to set up this new services to deliver this in our area.

Please don’t contact your GP before we confirm the new service is available in our area, as we won’t be able to prescribe the medication to you at the moment.

The drug will be made available on a phased basis. When the service starts, the first group of people eligible under the national criteria will be people who: 

• Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 kg/m² or more (or 37.5 kg/m² for people from minority ethnic family backgrounds)

and

• Have at least four of the following long-term conditions:
   
  1.    Type 2 diabetes
  2.    High blood pressure (Hypertension)
  3.    Abnormal blood fats (Dyslipidaemia)
  4.    Heart disease
  5.    Obstructive sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep) 

  Thank you 

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The Named Dementia Awareness champion for Royston Group Practice is

Samantha Jackson & Kirsty Cole

We have had a number of patients enquiring about the sharing of their medical records been sold, this is not true. For information regarding this please follow this link:

General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) - NHS Digital

Patient Appointments

You may have seen in the media that "Patients have won the right to Face to Face appointments".  We at Royston Group Practice would like to assure our patients that we have always been, and will continue to offer, face to face appointments for patients where required.

Due to the nature of the pandemic we have had to limit access to the practice in order to make the building 'covid secure'; a waiting room that could previously hold a large number of patients can now only hold a small number if they are to socially distance properly.  We also have a duty of care to protect not only our staff, but patients who may be more vulnerable to the consequences of catching covid.  We are aware that although restrictions are easing in England, there are still increases in infection rates in certain strains of the virus.

No correct guidance has yet been released to practices on what is required, and until such guidance is issued the practice will continue to operate as it has been.  We are currently encouraging patients to phone the practice in the first instance rather than just walk in, and patients will be triaged by a member of the clinical team.  Face to face appointments will continue to be offered where required.

We thank you for your continued support.

*PLEASE NOTE*

Royston Group Practice staff receives abuse on a daily basis, this is now more than once a day. This negatively affects their mental health. We have a zero-tolerance policy to abuse and aggression. If you telephone the surgery and are abusive to a member of our staff, this could result in your call been terminated. Please treat our staff with respect. Although we understand your frustration, please do not take it out on our receptionists. Thank you!

We are letting you know about a very useful website called Germ Defence which was created by a team of doctors and scientists to give you advice that has been proven to reduce the spread of viruses in the home. It can help you plan how to protect yourself and members of your family from infection by COVID-19 and ‘flu.  

 It’s easy to use and only takes 10 minutes - just click on this link: 

 www.germdefence.org

 (If this link does not open when you click on it, please copy and paste it into your web browser.)

 Please pass details of the Germ Defence website to your friends and family.

There’s a button at the bottom of the Germ Defence website for sharing by social media.

My Best Life

Are you lonely, socially isolated, struggling with housing or money problems and do not know where to turn. The 'My Best Life' service may be able to help.  My best life was started in April 2017.  The two major benefits for people referred to the My Best Life service will be an improvement in their health, wellbeing and quality of life and a reduction in social isolation, exclusion and loneliness; with a special focus on improving mental health and wellbeing, the scheme will enable people to manage their own health, improve social networks and develop their self-confidence. 

If you feel you or someone you know would benefit from 'My Best Life' you can either contact the surgery on 01226 700400.

We would like to draw your attention to the Friends and Family test, which is under the “Have your Say” tab on this website.  We have recently implemented this short survey with a view to obtaining more patient feedback, so we can constantly monitor how we are doing.   

If you are able to spare a couple of minutes, we would really appreciate your input.

Thank you in advance.

Staff Announcement

Cancellations

 We are currently dealing with an increasing demand for appointments, yet are still experiencing a high volume of DNA's (did not attend).  

Could you please ensure that you contact us as soon as possible when you are unable to attend in order that we can allocate your appointment to someone else.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Conditions for which Prescribing is Restricted

At the end of May 2018, NHS England announced that certain medications would no longer be routinely available on prescription.  A full list of the conditions this affects is given below:

1. Probiotics
2. Vitamins and minerals
3. Acute Sore Throat
4. Infrequent Cold Sores of the lip.
5. Conjunctivitis
6. Coughs and colds and nasal congestion
7. Cradle Cap (Seborrhoeic dermatitis – infants)
8. Haemorrhoids
9. Infant Colic
10. Mild Cystitis
11. Mild Irritant Dermatitis
12. Dandruff
13. Diarrhoea (Adults)
14. Dry Eyes/Sore (tired) Eyes
15. Earwax
16. Excessive sweating (Hyperhidrosis)
17. Head Lice
18. Indigestion and Heartburn
19. Infrequent Constipation
20. Infrequent Migraine
21. Insect bites and stings
22. Mild Acne
23. Mild Dry Skin
24. Sunburn
25. Sun Protection
26. Mild to Moderate Hay fever/Seasonal Rhinitis
27. Minor burns and scalds
28. Minor conditions associated with pain, discomfort and/fever. (e.g. aches and sprains, headache, period pain, back pain)
29. Mouth ulcers
30. Nappy Rash
31. Oral Thrush
32. Prevention of dental caries
33. Ringworm/Athletes foot
34. Teething/Mild toothache
35. Threadworms
36. Travel Sickness
37. Warts and Verrucae

If you have any queries around this, please speak to your GP.

Working Win Trial 

SYHA have recently launched a new Trial aimed at getting people back into work following long term sickness.  If you are interested in learning more about it or taking part, please look at the Working Win webpage by following the link below.  You can self refer, or speak to one of the GP's next time you visit the practice.

 https://www.workingwin.com/category/health-led-trial

Have your say  - Join our Patient Reference Group

The next meeting for the Patient Reference Group meeting will be held on  

If you would like to come and join in with this meeting please let a member of the reception team know so we can arrange for you to attend 

Named Accountable GP

All patients will have a named accountable GP who will be responsible for patients' overall care at the practice. This does not stop you from seeing any other GP or Nurse Practitioner in the practice. Where a patient wishes to see a particular GP, they may have to wait longer to see their preferred practitioner. We will inform patients of their accountable GP opportunistically when patients contact the surgery. If you wish to know who your named accountable GP is, please contact the practice