WELCOME TO BRIDGE STREET MEDICAL PRACTICE
Following the change in the government guidelines for coronavirus. We politely request for face covers to be continued to be worn whilst in the practice.
Since March 2020 we have done everything possible to keep Bridge Street as safe as possible for patients and staff. In accordance with guidance on Infection Prevention and Control our staff will continue to wear masks. We have a duty of care to our patients and our staff and we will continue to protect everyone who attends and works within our Practice.
We are still open and here for you
We are continuing to provide services as we have been doing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are prioritising delivering of care and services based on clinical needs
If you need medical advice or treatment, please ring us on 01509 261843 or, for non-urgent advice or treatment, send us your query via the website or email bridge.street@nhs.net
Telephone opening hours:
Appointment line 1 - 8.00am - 6.30pm
Prescriptions line 2 - 10.00am - 12.45pm
Results line 3 - 10.30am - 1.00pm
Secretaries line 4 - 10.00am -2.00pm
VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund
As part of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund, we are currently funding a helpline which has been established to provide support to parents of new-borns and young children in managing coughs, colds and chest infections.
This winter, the Boloh helpline is supporting parents of newborns and young children in managing coughs, colds and chest infections. Barnardo’s has partnered with the RCPCH to provide a support, advice, and signposting service to all worried parents, with a particular focus on Black, Asian and minoritized communities. The support we can offer includes:
Speaking to trained advisors about your concerns Practical support for food vouchers, digital equipment, and more..
Housing and finance advice
Understanding signs and symptoms, and appropriate care in the home when your child is unwell Information on how and where to access health support Accompanying you to speak to NHS111 and 999 Registering with GPs Parents and carers can call Boloh helpline on 0800 151 2605. Professionals can also refer their service users to the helpline and a helpline advisor will contact them. Referrals can be made via this link, and a helpline advisor will call them back: https://helpline.barnardos.org.uk/professionals/boloh_referral_form
Our helpline advisors are trained to provide advice about respiratory illnesses in children aged 0-3. Our advisors can provide a service in English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Albania, Polish, Luganda, Ruyankole, Rukiga, Rutooro and Kinyarwanda. Interpreters can be provided for other languages.
You can find information on Barnardo’s website: https://helpline.barnardos.org.uk/
You and your GP practice
A campaign developed by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland CCGs to help patients get the care they need from their GP practice.
You and Your GP Practice: Treating minor ailments
You and your GP practice is a campaign developed by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland CCGs to help patients get the care they need from their GP practice.
People’s relationship with their GP practice is constantly evolving and it can be confusing to work out what to do to get care. The campaign is designed to guide patients in how best to use their practice now. Over the coming weeks, the campaign will introduce several themes.
Supporting you to look after minor ailments
Our role is to look after all aspects of your health, either by providing that care ourselves and arranging specialist care where needed. We also have a role to play in supporting you and building your confidence to look after your own health, where appropriate.
Treating minor conditions yourself, avoiding the need to attend a GP practice, is also known as self-care. It also encompasses self-management of long-term conditions and prevention of ill health.
You will find links below to several animations, developed by the local NHS, that give you good advice about looking after common minor ailments yourself, without needing an appointment at the practice:
A survey of local patients carried out by the CCGs earlier this year, showed that people would like more support to look after their own health.
If people are generally in good health, there is no reason why they can’t look after minor ailments themselves. In most cases the illness will get better by itself and so an appointment at the practice isn’t usually required.
If you are suffering with any of these ailments, we would advise you to use the links above and follow the advice before contacting the practice.
People with long term conditions are generally advised to still contact the practice for advice if you develop a minor illness. This doesn’t need to be with a GP. There are a wide range of health professionals in practices nowadays and at this practice we have physician associates, clinical pharmacists, MSK specialist & social prescriber who are well qualified to advise you and are often specialists in managing long term conditions. When you contact the practice we will be able to advise who will be best to see.
Patients can find out more information about self-care and get advice about treating minor ailments by visiting www.leicestercityccg.nhs.uk/treating-minor-ailments.
You can also get fast and convenient advice about treating minor ailments at a local pharmacy. They are very knowledgeable about which medicines are best and whether they will conflict with any existing medication you are taking. If they think you need an appointment at the practice, they will tell you. Most people live near a pharmacy and they are often open in the evenings and weekends.
DATA PROTECTION
HOW WE USE YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS
We ask you for information so that you can receive proper care and treatment.
We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again.
We may use some of this information for other reasons: for example to help us protect the health of the public generally and to see that the NHS runs efficiently, plans for the future, trains its staff, pays its bills and can account for its actions. Information may also be needed to help educate tomorrow’s clinical staff and to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone.
Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information: for example, to notify a birth.
You have a right of access to your health records. All requests for access must be in writing using the form provided by the practice.
Please see below details of our privacy policies
Privacy Notice Care Quality Commission
Privacy Notice for staff
Privacy Notice Emergencies
Privacy Notice for Direct Care inc referral
Privacy Notice NHS Digital
Privacy Notice Public Health
Privacy Notice Risk Stratification
Privacy Notice Safeguarding
Privacy Notice on Telephone Recording
Privacy Notice for Staff Vaccination Information
Children Privacy Policy
Easy Read Privacy Policy
Overarching Privacy Policy Version 3
Supplementary COVID-19 Privacy Information
CONFIDENTIALITY
Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential
You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit we may need to share some information about you.
We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it in your and everyone’s interests. Whenever we can we shall remove details that identify you.
The sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law.
Anyone who receives information from us is under a legal duty to keep it confidential.
Under 16s
The duty of confidentiality owed to a person under 16 is as great as the duty owed to any other person. Young people aged under 16 years can choose to see health professionals, without informing their parents or carers. If a GP considers that the young person is competent to make decisions about their health, then the GP can give advice, prescribe and treat the young person without seeking further consent.
However, in terms of good practice, health professionals will encourage young people to discuss issues with a parent or carer. As with older people, sometimes the law requires us to report information to appropriate authorities in order to protect young people or members of the public.
Young Persons Guide
HOW WE SHARE YOUR DATA – Local & National Schemes
Provision of Information to Third Parties
The practice may share your personal information with other NHS organisations where this is appropriate for your healthcare.
In other circumstances we may approach you for specific consent to release personal information to third parties.
In some circumstances there are statutory or ethical obligations to disclose information to others (such as public health issues) which may not require your consent. However you will be consulted about these in advance unless there is an over-riding public interest in not doing so.
SUMMARY CARE RECORD
What is a Summary Care Record (SCR)?
Your Summary Care Record is an electronic summary of key information from your GP medical record. If you need healthcare away from your usual doctor’s surgery, your SCR will provide those looking after you with this information to help them give you better and quicker care.
This can be especially useful:
- in an emergency
- when you are on holiday
- when your surgery is closed
- at out-patient clinics
- when you visit a pharmacy
Summary Care Record – your 3 options:
You can choose how much information is shared through your Summary Care Record. You are much more likely to reap the benefits of SCR if you choose the enhanced version (option 2).
You can choose to have a ‘core’ Summary Care Record
All patients, unless they have opted out, have a ‘core’ Summary Care Record including basic information about their current medications, allergies, and bad reactions they have had to medicines.
You can choose to have an ‘enhanced’ Summary Care Record
This means your record will contain the ‘core’ information plus extra information that you think would be helpful for the healthcare staff who treat you. You must give your explicit consent for this.
That extra information could include:
- Information about your long term health conditions – such as asthma, diabetes, heart problems or rare medical conditions.
- Your relevant medical history – clinical procedures that you have had, why you need a particular medicine, the care you are currently receiving and clinical advice to support your future care.
- Your healthcare needs and personal preferences – you may have particular communication needs, a long term condition that needs to be managed in a particular way, or you may have made legal decisions or have preferences about your care that you would like to be known.
- Immunisation information – details of previous vaccinations, such as tetanus and routine childhood jabs.
You can choose not to have a Summary Care Record.
Information from your GP record concerning your current medications, allergies and bad reactions to medicines will not be readily available to other services treating you. Fewer than 5% of patients have chosen to opt out.
For more information, or to request an enhanced Summary Care Record, please talk to the staff at your GP practice. You can change your mind about what information you share at any time.
How will having a Summary Care Record help me?
Essential details about your healthcare can be very difficult to remember, particularly when you are unwell. Having an enhanced Summary Care Record means that healthcare professionals treating you will be better informed about you, which will increase the quality of your care.
You may already have seen the benefits of having a core Summary Care Record. One common benefit is when a patient is admitted to hospital and the Clinician treating them is able to see they are allergic to a particular medication and so prescribe an alternative.
How will my information be kept safe?
Your Summary Care Record can only be viewed by authorised staff who have an NHS smartcard with a chip and PIN. They must also ask for your consent to view your Summary Care Record, unless you are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate and they believe that accessing your record is in your best interest. All access to your Summary Care record is documented and audited by the Privacy Officer of the organisation to ensure it is appropriate.
An enhanced Summary Care Record is not a copy of your whole record. Sensitive informationsuch as fertility treatments, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy terminations or gender reassignment will not be included, unless you specifically ask for it to be.
RISK STRATIFICATION
What is risk stratification?
There are two kinds of risk stratification:
The first kind is a process for identifying some patients within a Practice who might benefit from extra assessment or support with self-care because of the nature of their health problems. The process is a mixture of analysis of information by computer followed by review of the results by a clinical team at the Practice.
The analysis can, for example, help predict the risk of an unplanned hospital Admission so that preventative measures can be taken as early as possible to try and avoid it. In the end, it is the clinical team of the GP Practice that will decide how your care is best managed.
The second kind is a process for identifying patterns of ill health and needs across our local population. This will be done by pulling together all the information in an anonymised file (where your identity has been removed) to look at patterns and trends of illness across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as a whole. This will help our Public Health Department and those in the NHS who are responsible for planning and arranging health services across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (known as commissioners) better understand the current and possible future health needs of the local population. This will help them make provision for the most appropriate health services for the people of this area. This group of staff will not be able to identify you as an individual under any circumstances.
In both cases secure NHS systems and processes will protect your health information and patient confidentiality at all times
What information about me will be analysed?
The minimum amount of information about you will be used. The information included is:
- Age
- Gender
- GP Practice and Hospital attendances and admissions
- Medications prescribed
- Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that may affect your health such as height, weight for example.
How will my information be kept secure and confidential?
Information from your GP record will be sent via a secure computer connection to a special location called a ‘safe haven’ at NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (NHS Arden & GEM CSU) in Leicester This safe haven carries special accreditation from the NHS. It is designed to protect the confidentiality of your information. There are strict controls in place. It enables information to be used in a way that does not identify you. The GP Practice remains in control your information at all times.
Before any analysis starts, any information that could identify you will be removed and replaced by a number. The analysis is done by computer. The results are returned to the GP Practice. Only your GP Practice can see the results in a way that identifies you.
What will my GP Practice do with the analysis?
The results can help the clinical team decide on some aspects of your future care. For example, if the clinical team at the Practice think that you might benefit from a review of your care, they can arrange this. You may then be invited in for an appointment to discuss your health and treatment. If the Practice thinks you might benefit from referral to a new service, this will be discussed with you firstly.
What if I want to opt out?
If you do not wish this to happen then it is important that you let us know.
Opt Out Form
How do I enhance my Summary Care Record with additional information?
Enhanced SCR Consent Form
Patient Information leaflet
How we use your personal records
Access to Records
DCR Registration Application Form
Request copies of your medical records:
Subject Access Request Form
COVID vaccination information
Please book your Covid vaccination / booster through the below link:
https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/pre_timescreen.php?id=$2y$10$LCHwVfLrruwrvDONu5jpTOWXWkgHgALJeuj3Y7F8GKCmTHR8RYRgC
Third doses of the Covid vaccine for people with suppressed immune systems
People aged 12 and over and who had severely weakened immune systems at the time of their first or second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine are eligible to receive a third dose. They may not have generated a full immune response to the first two doses and therefore may be less protected than the wider population.
Conditions which mean you might have had a suppressed immune system include:
a blood cancer (such as leukaemia or lymphoma)
a weakened immune system due to a treatment (such as steroid medicine, biological therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy)
an organ or bone marrow transplant
a condition that means you have a very high risk of getting infections
a condition or treatment your specialist advises makes you eligible for a 3rd dose
Please check the full list here to see if you are eligible. You will receive correspondence via letter or text message. For any further enquiries please contact the practice.
This third dose is part of the primary course of vaccinations. It is not the same as a booster dose, which is given later to extend the duration of protection after the primary course of vaccinations.
Vaccinations for children aged 12-15 who are at increased risk from Covid-19
Children who are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable to Covid-19, or who live with someone who is more likely to get infections, can now get their Covid vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine will be given.
If your child is at increased risk from Covid-19 and you haven’t already been contacted to book your appointment, please contact the practice for further information.
Conditions that mean your child may be at high risk and can get vaccinated include:
- a severe problem with the brain or nerves, such as cerebral palsy
- Down’s syndrome
- severe or multiple learning disabilities (or they’re on the learning disability register)
- haematological malignancy
- sickle cell disease
- type 1 diabetes
- congenital heart disease
- a condition that means they’re more likely to get infections (such as some genetic conditions or types of cancer).You can find a complete list of conditions here.Children aged 12-15 who are not classed as clinically extremely vulnerable are not eligible to receive their vaccination at the practice. They will receive a single dose of the vaccine via other routes, for example at school.
Eating disorders are devastating mental illnesses that affect 1 in 50 people in the UK
There are several definitions for eating disorders available, all of which refer to food, but there is no simple definition that encapsulates the unique experience from the cause and contributing factors, to behaviours, experiences, and recovery.
According to NICE ‘Eating disorders are characterised by persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviour which leads to altered intake or absorption of food and causes significant impairment to health and psychosocial functioning.’
The DSM-V, a psychiatric manual for diagnosing mental illness, details 4 eating disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), including:
- Anorexia Nervosa, identified by restriction of energy intake, fear of weight gain, disturbance in body weight and shape, as well as a low body weight.
- Bulimia Nervosa, identified with frequent episodes of binge eating followed by methods of purging the food to avoid weight gain.
- Binge Eating Disorder, identified by recurring episodes of eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, compared to most people in similar circumstances.
- Atypical eating disorders, also known as ‘Other specified feeding or eating disorder’ (OSFED). This diagnosis is given when symptoms do not fit the above criteria, for example weight for anorexia nervosa or frequency of binges and purges for bulimia nervosa
Warning Signs
The National Eating Disorders Association (2022) have a list of warning signs and symptoms organised by emotional and behaviour, and physical signs. Don’t forget, there will be different warning signs for each eating disorder, but some commonalities include:
- A preoccupation with food, exercise, body size and/or weight
- Refusal to eat certain food groups
- Eating in secret
- Food rituals about how (e.g., types of cutleries) and when (i.e., meals at specific times of the day)
- Skipping meals or only eating small portions
- Withdrawal from friends or social activities
- A fluctuation in weight (up or down)
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleep issues
- Feeling cold often
- Muscle weakness
- Dizziness
Keep in mind, there is a difference between disordered eating and eating disorders. Disordered eating is characterised by engaging with behaviours that do not honour hunger, or perhaps rest, such as dieting or excessive exercise, but is not a preoccupation that impacts and interferes with life (Zucker, 2022) Therefore you or someone you may know may identify with a few of the above and not have an eating disorder.
Useful Links
Beat Eating Disorder UK: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
Supporting someone: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/support-someone-else/
SEED (Support and Empathy for people with Eating Disorders): https://seed.charity/
NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/
Self-help guides: http://www.selfhelpguides.ntw.nhs.uk/canterbury/leaflets/selfhelp/Eating%20Disorders.pdf
The NHS App is now available on iOS and Android on the NHS App you can:
- Get up to date advice about coronavirus
- Order repeat prescriptions
- Book appointments
- Get health advice
- View your medical records
- Register your organ donation decision
CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY >
Patient Participation Group (PPG) 
Would you be interested in joining our Patient Participation Group? This is an important partner group to the practice. The PPG is made up of patients of the practice, just like you and act as critical friends for the surgery. Currently the PPG meets about once a month to consider, discuss, inform and activate issues relation to both the Practice and the NHS nationally. Anyone interested in becoming a member should contact reception and will be made most welcome. |
Help us to plan our services by sharing your experiences Over the last year, the impact of Covid-19 has meant that we have had to rapidly change our approach to delivering general practice services whilst keeping our patients and staff safe. As such we are asking local residents to share their views and experiences of services provided at their local GP practice and local health centres by taking part in a short online survey. The survey has been designed to help local health providers to understand what has been working well, and equally areas that could be improved upon particularly during the pandemic. It’s vital that we hear from patients, carers and service users to help inform the planning process as we emerge from lockdown restrictions. To complete the survey click here: www.bit.ly/PrimaryCareLLR, the survey will be open until Monday 12 July 2021 and all responses are anonymous. For further information or support in completing the survey email: beinvolved@leicestercityccg.nhs.uk.
Please click on the link below to read our full CQC report |
(Site updated 26/04/2022)