📞New Telephone System 📞

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Constable Country Medical Practice has a new phone system going live. Our new system is more advanced and uses the latest cloud based technology to improve our patient experience and will help us manage patient demand which is higher than ever before. 

So what’s new? 

💬 An option for an SMS message to be sent to you if calling from a mobile phone to book an appointment via e- consult to avoid waiting on hold at all. 

☎️ A call back option when call demands are high. 

👥 Clear & simple options so you speak to the right person or department within the practice. 

📞 Don’t worry our phone number is still the same 01206 298272

💻 Want to find out more about the system we will be using and how it works? Click the link below:- 

https://www.x-on.co.uk/healthcare-telephony/surgery-connect/

📣 Please be patient with us why we move over to our new system. All the team are working really hard and have been newly trained to improve our overall patient experience 😁. 

Published March 2024

We have extended our boundary lines for registering as a new patient, this is seen in the image right.

We do still accept OOA (out of area)  patients who fall outside of the boundary lines but we are not able to offer them home visits like we do with patients who are within the boundary. 

We are now getting back to normal following the pandemic. However, we can’t be complacent as Coronavirus is still in the community and we could be affected by new variants. We have re-opened our waiting areas but please continue to socially distance.

We continue to operate a telephone triage system when patients need to speak to one of our doctors or advanced nurse practitioners. They will phone to discuss your problem and arrange to see you in person the same day if they need to. This on-the-day system has been in operation since before that pandemic and, based on patient feedback, works well.

Please note that we have an extended team of clinicians including a pharmacist, paramedic and practice nurses. Our reception team will refer you to the clinician most suited to addressing your problem. They may also refer you to a local pharmacy if they are best placed to help you.

The preferred method of contacting the practice for non-urgent problems is eConsult. We will respond no later than the end of the next working day, and many issues can be dealt with without the need to speak to a clinician or come to the practice, e.g. referrals, medication issues, fit notes etc. though you will be contracted if we need any further information from you. Please see our website for further details.

We meet regularly with our Patient Participation Group. They are an invaluable link with patients and help us understand what works well and how we can improve the service we provide. Please send feedback to them via the comment cards available at each practice site or via email. Their contact details are on our website. The PPG are also looking for new members so please contact them directly if you are interested.

Published June 2022

Over the past five years the GP Partners at Constable Country Medical Practice have invested in refurbishing and upgrading the Capel surgery premises in order to prolong the life of building. We have also been actively developing the practice including attracting NHS and private practitioners to offer their services locally and becoming an approved GP training practice. More recently, we have been working collaboratively with four other local practices to successfully undertake covid vaccination clinics and have secured funding and approval to employ both a full-time pharmacist and a full-time paramedic. 

However, as we grow the practice team to improve the services we offer, clearly we need additional space to accommodate our clinical and admin staff. The planned residential developments across the area will also increase the practice list size significantly over the next 5 to 10 years. We are aware that residents at Capel St Mary have also expressed a desire for fit-for-purpose health facilities in the locality. With this in mind, the GP Partners and management at Constable Country Medical practice have invested a lot of time working with the CCG, NHS England, our Patient Participation Group and Parish and District councils to try to secure support and funding either to further improve and expand our current premises or, preferably, secure new premises perhaps as part of one of the new residential developments in the area.

After much lobbying, many meetings, and the commissioning of a comprehensive independent study, we have been told that unfortunately there is no viable option to alter the current premises at either site, and no funding for premises development will be available to the practice for the foreseeable future. This is a big disappointment to the practice as our desire is to further develop the range of services available to our patients and to deliver these services from premises which are modern and fit for purpose. Despite this setback, we will continue to lobby the CCG and NHS England in the hope that they will revisit their decision. We will keep you posted if anything changes but as of now we do not expect any significant shift in the position from higher authorities with regard to this issue. 

The GP Partners and Practice Manager

Constable Country Medical Practice

Published August 2021