COLUMN: GP Matters

I would like to start with a heartfelt thank you from the practice to every patient who took the time to share feedback through the GP Patient Survey.

Results for every practice across the country, Leighton Road Surgery included, will be published on Thursday (July 11).

The survey helps us and the wider NHS understand what is working well and where we need to make further improvements in patient care and experience.

Our results will be published on the practice website.

Working closely with our fantastic Patient Participation Group (PPG), we listened to your comments via last year’s survey and made changes including a new telephony system with a call-back option, instead of waiting in a queue, and worked to schedule appointments across different times to give patients more choice.

We will make further positive changes based on your contribution to the 2024 survey.

The national survey takes place once a year and provides an excellent overview but do please also continue to share feedback on a regular basis.

You can share feedback at any point through the practice website and we also send feedback surveys to patients following appointments.

Your insight is so valuable and we consider patient comments year-round in planning and providing patient care. You are our experts by experience.

Without your comments we would not know what we are doing that works for you or what causes frustration and needs attention. Thank you.

It was Armed Forces Day on June 29 and providing the right support for the town’s armed forces veterans is incredibly important to us.

We are proud to have achieved Veterans Aware accreditation, a standard to support the NHS in understanding the needs of veterans which can include mental health and physical health issues related to the unique demands of having served.

The accreditation process ensures our team are aware of veterans’ health needs and challenges. We also always ask our patients ‘have you or a member of your family served with the armed forces?’

Finally, it has been fantastic to see doctors working from our Leighton Road and Grove View sites.Our GPs had been holding appointments at Grovebury Road but started to work from our second site at the start of this month.

The change has gone smoothly. It follows a successful recruitment programme – and it is great news that we have staff numbers which mean we need to maximise our working space.