At the time of writing we are preparing to go through our ‘CQC inspection’– The Health sector equivalent of the ‘Ofstead school inspection’. So if you have seen us looking flustered in the corridors, that is why! The outcome will take up to 50 days, so please don’t hold your breath.
The process has not only made us realise just how much has changed in the last 10 years since we were last inspected (we have 25% larger population, have become a hub for training new GPs, new clinical team, new three letter ackronyms with ICBs and PCNs replacing CCGs)… but also what has remained core to Kingstone. We still strive to hold on to excellent, kind, patient centred care from a team who like to know our patients and community.
Inspections have been flavor of the month, here. We recently also had our ‘Infection Control’ inspection audit from the Integrated Care Board (ICB). Nurse Sonia Trickett is our lead on this and keeps us all in shape from month to month. In fact, in such good shape we passed with not only flying colours, but the inspector wrote ‘The hard work of staff, the general environment & a designated IPC lead at the surgery is testament within the audit results. In all my 20 years of working within IPC & undertaking many audits, this by far has been the easiest audit I’ve ever had to write up!’ No apologies for the immodest inclusion of that in this newsletter…
In the spirit of keeping up the good work, can I again remind you to wear masks if you are visiting the surgery when you are experiencing any respiratory symptoms. Let’s keep those infections from spreading.
Updates from our Social Prescribing team this month include:
*Jo has started a walking group from Kingstone Surgery. This is open to all and is a 1.5 mile circular route beginning in the surgery car park at 10am every Tuesday morning.
* The second round of the chronic pain group held by Emma and Jo will be taking place at Ewyas Harold Memorial Hall for Kingstone and GV Practice patients beginning in March. See the notices in the surgery for more details
* The Household Support Fund are now able to offer one-off grants of up to £300 to unpaid carers on a low income who provide more than 35 hours of care per week. See https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/household-support-grant for more information
* Our team will soon be completing Swap to Stop training to help us support those patients who wish to swap from cigarettes to a vape. This will be delivered to us by Herefordshire Healthy Lifestyles.
The Meadow Art-for-Health team (remember them when they took over the surgery for a photography project last year?) have also asked us to pass on some new activities:
‘We are running a couple of collage workshops using some of the portraits that Cordelia took in October to do some community based creative activity and consultation. They are free, drop in and open to everyone.
Sat 22 Feb 12-2.30pm at Peterchurch Village Hall https://meadowarts.org/event/golden-valley-collage-workshop/
Friday 7 March 12-2.30pm at Abbey Dore Village Hall https://meadowarts.org/event/collage-abbeydore/
Finally, thanks to the Prothero family who raised donations for the surgery charitable trust at Mr Anthony Protheros’s funeral recently. We were touched and grateful and we are sure the Trustees will put it to excellent use.