Letter to Patients

Dear Patients,

We would like to thank you for your understanding and co-operation over the past few weeks with the significant changes that we have had to introduce to keep vulnerable patients safe and avoid the spread of Coronavirus.

NHS England asked us to speak to patients on the telephone first and to only see patients face to face when absolutely necessary. This has led to increased use of telephone calls, video calls, emailed photos and the use of our interactive website. We have designated our South Cerney site as a safe place for patients that have received the Government’s shielding letter to be seen.

We believe there are three core pillars to providing effective care in General Practice;

  • Timely access to health care
  • Continuity of care where important
  • Promotion of self-care

The Coronavirus pandemic has provided us a chance to reflect on how we have been providing care in the past, and given us the opportunity to make a few necessary changes to help improve our service going forward.

We have felt frustrated as clinicians that at times we have been unable to spend as much time as we would like with the patients that really need our help. There is also a national shortage of General Practitioners which can make recruitment challenging.

With this in mind we have begun increasing our team with associated medical specialists such as Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners and we will soon aim to recruit two musculoskeletal practitioners. These are highly skilled individuals who, in appropriate situations, can deal with patients more appropriately than GPs. We hope that our team will continue to grow over the next few years, with these allied health professionals who will be supporting your named GP to deliver the care you need.

To assist us with this, we ask that where possible you provide as much information as you can to our reception team about your concern, so that it can be prioritised and directed to the most appropriate health care professional to help you. This may not always be your Doctor, however the GPs will still have oversight and will always be available when needed. We would like to reassure you that our receptionists keep all information confidential and are extremely professional.

We have also found value in the website, video calls and emailed photos and will aim to develop this more to help working people access health care which we understand can be difficult.

Once again we thank our Patients for your ongoing support and wish everyone good health in these uncertain times.

With best wishes,

Phoenix Health Group