The right care from the right person, first time
As a practice, we are very pleased to be moving forward with Care Navigation. Dr Dickinson has put an announcement on our telephone system that will help guide patients with any future appointments.
When you call the surgery to book an appointment, you might notice our administration team will ask you certain questions about how we may be able to help you. Drs Khandavalli, Dickinson and Magapu and the wider clinical team have requested that staff now ask all patients for a brief indication of what their appointment is for.
This is because we have launched a new scheme called Care Navigation. This means our admin team has been trained to make sure they can assist you to find the best service for your needs, so you can receive the correct care, faster. Any information that you disclose with our team will remain completely confidential. As a result of this high-quality training, our team will be skilled in directing you to the most suitable clinician or service for your care.
Our admin team will in no way give clinical advice. Instead, this new system is about offering our patients the option to see more suitable health professionals in our surgery team, or even somewhere else within the community services, such as Podiatry, Dental Services, Minds Matter, Support Groups and Pharmacy. If these additional services can assist with your problem directly, you will often be quicker and may mean that you will not need to see a GP at all.
By working this way, it helps to free up time for GPs to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions that can only be managed by a doctor. More importantly, it means people are seen first by the clinician that is best placed to help you with your health needs.
Helping you to choose
The choice is always the patient’s and is completely up to you if you wish to disclose information to our administration team.
Patients will never be refused an appointment with a GP, but we trust that the next time you contact our surgery and speak with our administration team that you will see the value of consulting with alternative healthcare professionals
Some of the links below may support you in assessing which care is best for your acute medical needs:
https://www.nhs.uk/pages/home.aspx
https://www.wuth.nhs.uk/news/latest-news/2018/02/parents-urged-to-think-pharmacy-first/
Does this mean that I will not be able to see a GP when I need to?
No, if you do not wish to answer further questions about your needs or your reason for requesting an appointment to see a GP and don’t wish to explore other professionals, our care navigator will arrange a telephone appointment with A GP for you.
Care Navigation encourages a patient to speak to someone other than their GP about their needs – how is their patient confidentiality protected?
All our staff at The Chorley Surgery are bound by duty to protect your confidentiality and so each telephone discussion with a patient will be handled with the correct attention to confidentiality. Care Navigators will need to access your care record to document what advice or signposting has been given to you. Our Care Navigators will handle all conversations with our patients sensitively by ensuring they take place in a private space.
Is this ‘triage’ or ‘navigation’?
This new scheme is not triage, and the Care Navigator will not make any clinical decisions. Your conversation with our care navigators will usually involve some short, brief questions that look at other services that you may find helpful to support your overall well-being and lifestyle. You will always have the choice to see the GP.
What about patients who book appointments online?
Currently our Care Navigation will only be operated face to face, or over the telephone.
What if the receptionist makes the wrong decision?
Our Care Navigators do not make clinical decisions. Based on the information that you contact the surgery with and are requesting support with, our admin team delivering Care Navigation can offer a choice of what is available. Patients can always choose whether to take up the offer that is provided or choose to see their GP if requested.
Will it mean patients being put on hold for ages, waiting to be put through to other services?
The Chorley Surgery telephone systems will not experience any additional delays in being able to respond to our patients’ queries. A recorded message from one of our GP Partners has been installed informing our patients that the ‘Care Navigator’ will ask several brief questions about the problem they are calling about. All our care navigators are fully supported by the GPs who have provided an extensive list of ailments and best care routes.
Please find outlined below the numbers for services that our patients can self refer into –
Physiotherapy 01772 520900 OPTION 1
Antenatal 01772 524726
Inspire drug & Alcohol Service 08081698673 OPTION 4
IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therpies) 01772 64451
Continence Team 01772 777480
Mindsmatter 01772 643168 or visit
https://www.lscft.nhs.uk/mindsmatter2-contact-us-self-referral
