If you think your child has measles, please call the surgery on 01939 232424. To check whether your child is up to date with their measles vaccination please check their red book, if you are unable to do this please complete an admin request, using our 'contact us online' form . Appointments are now available for MMR, please note we do not offer separate vaccinations.

We understand that some of our patients may have been unable to view certain documents (e.g. letters from the hospital) when using online services due to a software problem. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are pleased to inform you that this issue has been resolved; any new documents added to your electronic GP health records will be visible and it may take up to a month for older, affected documents to become visible.  

Your GP team will have been able to access the letters, so your care will not have been affected during this time. 

We know from your valued feedback how difficult it can be to get through to the practice on the telephone to arrange an appointment. Despite increasing our phone line capacity and employing more receptionists to take calls, waits can still be long at peak times and often throughout the day.

We have now completed our review of our existing booking system and listened to patient feedback from our Patient Participation group. After careful thought we have made the decision to move to an online system for requesting appointments and for any administrative queries. 

From 8^th April 2024 patients will be asked to submit a simple online form to contact the practice rather than phoning or coming into reception to book. 

The form is clearly displayed and available on our website. It can be accessed via a smart phone, computer, or tablet. Once received our clinical and admin teams will review the forms the same day, and patients will then be contacted with the appropriate appointment or advice.

This model of practice is called Total Triage and helps us to prioritise urgent care and utilise the many members of our skilled primary care team appropriately.

All requests for any type of appointment, and all other queries can be quickly and easily submitted via the online form.  

Below is a link to the form, and a link to a short video tutorial on how to complete the form. 

Contact us about your request (accurx.com) 

Patient Flash Demo: How to submit a medical request in Patient Triage (youtube.com) 

If you do not have access to a smartphone, or computer, or are unable to use the online form you will still be able to telephone the practice. A receptionist will be able to submit the form on your behalf by completing it with you over the telephone. However, it will greatly improve our access on   the telephone if all those patients that CAN use the online form do use it.  Completing the form online will be quicker than waiting on the telephone to speak to a receptionist.  

Patients who attend the practice to book an appointment or have an administrative request will be signposted to the online form or assisted to complete it by one of our reception team. 

If you would like to find out more about using the online form, we will be holding several interactive help sessions, supported by our PPG, where you will have the opportunity to try it for yourself. You are welcome to drop in at any of these sessions.  Dates will follow in due course and will be on the patient noticeboards and our website.

We are committed to providing excellent access to appointments for all our patients and are excited about incorporating new technology that we feel will improve our patients’ experience of contacting the practice.

Yours sincerely, 

For and on behalf of The Partners Wem and Prees Medical Practice

A big thank you to everyone who attended the Womens Health Saturday both patients and staff.

The event was a huge success and the patient feedback has been excellent, many ladies appreciated the availability on a Saturday and the relaxed atmosphere. Lots of lovely comments about how friendly everyone was, a big thank you to the PPG who helped with the refreshments which has had lots of mentions in the feedback and how it made a difference to the experience.

A few suggestions were made about making more appointments bookable online (noted thank you). The drop in appointments were appreciated and the advice available on HRT/Menopause and Contraception.

We have a suggestion box in reception and on our website. We are always keen to hear from patients that would like to help us improve the health and wellbeing of our patient community.

https://www.wemandpreeshealth.co.uk/suggestions

Here are a number of videos that were playing on Saturday on or TV screens
https://youtube.com/shorts/EpPNT6ZvWoM?si=3X0g_pKMKuKFds0O  breast exam

https://youtu.be/JFJtUtKQCuM?si=u3ZdxyZH5P7MNUo_  pelvic floor exercises

https://youtu.be/achc7de5N3Y?si=yxHKbCzNYPb1de7d ovarian cancer awareness

https://youtu.be/4zfdCNdtSio?si=9JbpcmJ9d4CD-4Cj Dr Sophie menopause and HRT

https://youtu.be/EjLOHxGqu5Q?si=5bKpk-0s9eSlO4HZ mindfulness

https://youtu.be/qpX8fE4FGhk?si=BRZBO0N7DmOblrB4 alcohol

https://youtu.be/W8glz3zMXA0?si=UOzTudmGT3OCijdp osteoporosis

What this means for you:

• Total Triage ensures that your query is directed and dealt with appropriately making this a better and more efficient experience for you.
• Ensures greater continuity of care, the doctor will review your medical record and wherever possible book you an appointment with the same clinician that has dealt with the problem previously.

We have a range of health care professionals working at the practice who may be more appropriate for you to see, rather than the GP. Our reception team have had specialist care navigation training and may offer you an appointment with the team members listed below:

• Nurse
• Health Care assistant
• Physio
• Social Prescriber
• Mental Health Occupational therapist
• Cancer care coordinator
• Community care coordinator

Care Navigation improves access to primary care services for patients and reduces GP pressures all in one. When you contact the practice to book an appointment you will be asked for a brief outline of the problem. This allows our trained reception team to gather information for the doctor to review your request and they will may also provide patients with information about local health and wellbeing services, both within and outside of primary care, in a safe, effective way. 

This is because we want to offer our patients choice and help to access the most appropriate service first which is not always the GP. It also means that patients will find it easier to get a GP appointment when they need one.

How do I contact the practice/request an appointment?

• Use Accurx
• By Phone
• By email for routine administrative queries

Tired of waiting on the phone? Use Accurx!

• Accurx is our online consultation platform accessible via NHS App or here.
• Submit a medical or administrative request
• Please see the link below for a video on how to use Accurx.

Watch a video about how online triage works

What happens to my request?

• Medical requests are triaged by a clinician, who will decide on the most appropriate action and timescale, which may include, telephone or face to face appointment, advice or signposting to another service.
• Urgent medial requests- we will respond to you the same day
• Routine medical requests- we will respond to you within 2 working days
• Admin requests are viewed by a receptionist and directed to the most appropriate team member for action

Why we are making this change:

• New Government guidelines, developed to help you make an appointment with us.
• This change should make it easier to submit requests to the practice and ensure that requests are seen by the most appropriate member of staff and dealt with in an appropriate timeframe. Appointments will be prioritised according to need, rather than who gets to the appointments first.