Dear Patients of Cobbs Garden Surgery
Further to our communication in early September we wanted to update you on the progress that we have made since then. We have had a busy time, and these are some of the key developments.
We are delighted to announce that we have appointed Julia Boyd as our new practice manager. Julia has a vast amount of experience having been a practice manager for over 25 years at a practice in Cambridgeshire. She is already looking into patient access and our appointment systems.
I am very pleased to inform you that we have just appointed a new full time clinical GP partner with 30 years of experience in general practice. He has a specialist in interest in diabetes and practice management. He will be starting in the first quarter of 2024.
Furthermore, Dr Lucy King will be joining us mid January as a salaried doctor. She has a specialist interest in women’s health and menopause.
Sadly, Dr Brady has decided to return to her previous practice in Bedford. However, as a result of our recruitment program, we now have several other doctors interested in joining us in salaried or partnership positions. This will help us move away from relying on locums and improve continuity of care.
We now have an experienced team of paramedics, Pete & Natasha, plus Michelle who is an Advanced Care Practitioner. Their role is to see patients with the type of problems patients would normally see a GP for. In addition to this we also have Donna and Kate who are both minor illness nurses. The Minor illness nurses can deal with a range of on the day conditions such as respiratory infections, ear infections, urinary tract infections as well as chronic disease and learning disability reviews. Where needed they will liaise closely with the doctors.
We would like to introduce Ben, a very experienced physiotherapist who has recently joined us. In January Karen, a social prescriber, will join our team. Her role is to direct patients to the wide range of support services available locally and nationally.
We are also looking to appoint another Nursing Associate (who can deal with Chronic Disease Management, complex and normal dressings, stitch removal, blood tests, ECG’s etc) and a mental health practitioner.
We recently met with our Patient Participation Group (PPG) and we are pleased that a number of new members have joined the group. The PPG have an important role to play in representing your views and communicating with you. They will have a key role to play with the many changes taking place. They are still keen to attract new members (and particularly younger people to represent all age groups). Please contact them if you are interested atcobbsgardenppg@gmail.com
We are aware that Milton Keynes University Hospital currently has extremely long waiting lists for routine appointments and we intend to offer referrals to both Bedford and Northampton Hospital if they have shorter waiting times. We have also been in discussion with the Saxon Clinic in Milton Keynes and Ramsay Health Care in Blakelands, Kettering and Banbury who are able to offer a range of investigations and surgical procedures with substantially shorter waiting times.
We will continue updating you regularly as changes occur.
Kind regards
Dr Katie and Dr Chris Herman
Cobbs Garden Surgery
01234 988590