💊🤒🩹 Almost all pharmacies now offer the Pharmacy First service, giving advice and, if needed, NHS medicines to treat seven common health conditions – and all without the need for a GP appointment.
Speak to your pharmacist if you suspect you have:
- Earache (in children) - Impetigo - Infected inset bite - Shingles - Sinusitis - Sore throat - Urinary tract infection (in women)
🗨️ Ask your local pharmacy for more information about this free NHS service.
Latest News
Due to patients request and to be fair, not only for patients with online access as the ones without it, the patient triage will now be open from 8:30am.
Online Record Access
Prospective online full record access will be given to all patients on 31st October 2023. If you wish to 'opt out' of being able to view your clinical record, please collect a form from the surgery.
Thank you.
Patient Triage
About Total Triage
From 10th July 2023, we are making changes to the way our patients access appointments with our GP’s, nurses, advanced nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other specialist clinicians.
Total Triage has been designed to ensure that patients are booked at the most appropriate clinic and at the right time according to their clinical needs.
Why are we making the change?
All of us at Caddington Surgery, along with NHS England (NHSE), acknowledge the increasing demand for appointments and our limited capacity to meet this demand. We understand how frustrating it can be for patients to wait in telephone queues or queues at the front door at 8 am to get an appointment. In order to address increasing demand for appointments and reduce frustration for our patients, we are changing our appointment system to Total Triage (also known as Patient Triage)
What is Total Triage
It is a new appointment system that involves a GP triaging all appointment requests before an appointment is given. This means that anyone requesting an appointment or advice will have to make their request by completing an online consult form. Our online consultation forms provide us with key information about your problem and enable our clinician and care navigator to either book you at the appropriate clinic or signpost you to the right service.
Online consult form can be submitted via our website. If you have any issues submitting an online consult, our receptionist can assist in completing this.
We understand that change can be difficult, but we believe that this new approach will ensure that patients’ needs are met safely and efficiently.
Online Consult System
To make Patient Triage more efficient, we will be expanding the use of our existing online consult system. Our online consult system is accessible to everyone, with no need to download an app or log in.
With a short and simple set of questions, your completed form will be sent to us, meaning that your appointment request will be triaged promptly, and you will receive a response from your GP in a timely manner.
What Happens Next?
The online consultation form will be reviewed against a triage protocol. The more information you provide us with, the better we can ensure that you are triaged to the most appropriate pathway. You may receive a text with the date and time of the appointment or ask for more information or photographs; you may receive a phone call from a clinician; you may be sent a text with a link to self-book an appointment in the coming days or receive a phone call to book an appointment. If you have a preferred clinician, please let us know.
Patient Care Navigator Assistance
We understand that a small number of patients may be unable to complete the online consultation form. If you are one of these patients, we ask that you call the practice, and a receptionist will complete it for you.
Summary
Our new appointment system, Patient Triage, will ensure that those who most need an appointment are able to get one. Our Online Consult system is quick, accessible, and easy to use, and it allows us to provide you with the best possible care.
Chiltern Hills PCN Ltd Minor Illness Service
Chiltern Hills PCN Ltd is made up of six local practices; Caddington, Eastgate,Kingsbury Court, Kirby Road, Priory Gardens and West Street surgery.
We work together to deliver outstanding care across the locality.
We appreciate that there have been some access issues in recent months, so to help with on the day demand, we have set up a Minor illness service to be delivered from the Grove View Health Hub, Court Drive, Dunstable.
The Clinic will be open from Monday- Friday, 9am - 8pm.
To access these appointments you will need to book directly with your practice.
The service will be delivered by a pool of ANP’s - advanced health practitioners who have undertaken additional education to enable them to provide advanced patient care and to prescribe. They are an important part of the general practice team. In providing the care for patients, they follow the ‘Core Capabilities Framework for Advanced Clinical Practice (Nurses) Working in General Practice / Primary Care in England’ which has been produced in conjunction with the Royal College of General Practitioners (GPs).
ANPs are experienced and highly skilled senior nurses with advanced clinical skills to enable them to:
• Take a full medical history, carry out physical assessments and examinations
• Make a diagnosis and carry out treatment, including the prescribing of medicines.
• Plan any required follow up treatment
• Refer patients where necessary
• Arrange admission to hospital if necessary
• Can advise whether your condition requires you to take time off work and can provide ‘Fit Notes’
If your appointment is directed to an ANP it is because they are trained to assess and examine you for the condition you have described.
ANPs have different areas of expertise. Our ANPs are all trained in Minor Illness and as such, are able to assess and treat conditions such as:
• Acute (not ongoing) Back and Joint Pain
• Wounds, Scalds, Burns and Rashes
• Shingles
• Oral Thrush
• Infections such as Chest, Ear, Throat, Sinusitis, skin infections such as boils and abscess’
• Diarrhoea and Vomiting
• Constipation
• Piles
• Depression
• Some Gynaecological conditions
This list is not exhaustive.
Scarlet Fever
Scarlet Fever
Scarlet fever (sometimes called scarlatina) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A streptococcus (GAS). The same bacteria can also cause impetigo.
Scarlet fever is characterised by a rash, which usually accompanies a sore throat. Bacteria that cause the infection produce toxins (poisons), which cause the rash, a red and swollen tongue and flushed cheeks. The scarlet fever rash can be confused with measles.
To read more about scarlet fever please click here.