Nairn Health Group January Newsletter

Staffing

Nairn Healthcare is delighted to announce that our Assistant Manager, Tanya Bowie, has accepted the role of Practice Manager. Tanya has been a part of the team for 21 years and we wish her well in her new post. 

We also welcomed back Dr Amy Carter from maternity leave. Dr Carter will be available from the 18th January. 

Artwork

Patients may have noticed Nairn Healthcare’s waiting room is exhibiting a new arrange of artwork.

The art exhibition has been loaned to us from charity organisation, Art in Healthcare (AiH). Art in Healthcare’s aim is for original, contemporary art to be accessible to everyone in care environments for the enhancement of health and well-being. 

Dr Audrey Banks, Lorraine Lynch (Office Supervisor) and Enita Wesmoreland, Collection Manager from AiH selected paintings for the waiting area and Nairn Healthcare has them for a period of 2 years. 

Apparently this is the first time it has come to the Highlands!

Healthy eating and exercise

Now that the festive period is over the New Year resolutions start, a lot of which involve diet and exercise. Exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cancer by up to 50%. It can also boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy and reduce your risk of stress, depression and dementia.

A healthy diet contains food from the four major food groups to give us the energy and nutrients we need. There is a lot of conflicting information on  healthy diets. However a balanced diet with low or no added sugars will  

improve your health. Drinking plenty of fluids with no added sugar and  

eating fresh food will help your overall wellbeing.

Christmas Jumper Day

After a successful Christmas Jumper Day on the 16th December, Nairn Healthcare managed to raise £125.68 for The Archie Foundation. We would like to thank all patients that kindly donated to the children’s charity. 

RPIW Workshop

Back in October, Nairn Healthcare participated in the Rapid Process Improvement Workshop (RPIW). The aim was to improve patient access to the surgery and to ensure that our patients are able to see the right person at the right time. We were also hoping to inform patient’s of other services that are available to them.

We are now 90 days in to the process and have come up with some positive changes for patients.

Signage and Zoning

There is new signage in our waiting area. Our waiting area houses 22 consulting rooms and is extremely large. We found that patients were sitting at the opposite end of the room they were being examined in therefore we introduced more appropriate signs and divided the waiting area into four zones. Patient’s time with the clinician has increased as they are now getting to the desired room quicker. Also, by introducing signage to encourage patient to use self check-in, the waiting time at the reception desk has been reduced.

 Did not attend (DNA) rates

Nairn Healthcare has introduced a text reminder service. We also have a new practice policy so patients will receive a letter if they fail to attend two appointments within the year. If they continue to fail to attend their appointments, they will no longer be allowed to pre-book an appointment and an appointment date and time will be allocated by the surgery. Since the introduction of our new text reminder service and letters our DNA rate has improved by 50%. If you would like to be included in the text reminder service, please call the surgery on 01667 452096 and inform the receptionist of your mobile number. 

 Appointment Changes

Since the introduction of our new appointment system, we are offering more pre-bookable appointments and telephone consultations. As a whole, our appointment capacity has increased by 18.5% and telephone consultations by 57%. If you require medical attention, you will be spoken to by a nurse or a GP to start with so that you can discuss the best way for your problem to be dealt with.