Our digital 'front door' -
get a response by the end of the next working day or sooner!
For all medical and administrative problems and requests.
To find out about Patchs, full details here
For Repeat Prescriptions, Tests Results, Medical Records. Register for this service and download the App.
You will need to register a personal account (quick and easy). This allows you to receive secure messages and to keep a record of all previous request and responses, like email. Integrate Patchs with your NHS App. account to make it really easy - here is a good video to show how.
Please try it even if you did not like eConsult: patients are finding it much easier! Do send us your comments and suggestions.
Why do we use online access as the main way to access our services, rather than direct appointment booking? Click here
Dr Lloyd has retired
Willow Tree has lost a major bough: Dr Rhiannon Lloyd has retired after 32 years of incredible service to the people of Kingsbury and the surrounding area. She is a fantastic and hugely experienced doctor and has been a source of great knowledge and wisdom and a wonderful colleague and mentor to all levels of our team. We'll all miss her energy, humour and advice. She has a razor sharp memory and we often refer to her rather than computer! Our surgery will not be the same and it will take time to adjust.
We know many of her patients will feel they have lost a friend as well as a source of great professional support. Many patients have traversed huge events in their lives with her care and others will be grateful for her timely and expert medical intervention.
If anyone wishes to send a message we'll pass it on to her.
Meanwhile we wish her all the very best for a long, happy and fulfilling retirement and we'll certainly be keeping in touch.
And the rest of the news:
Flu jabs
These have arrived and you can get yours now! We are calling up at risk people for booked clinics and walk-in slots. We are calling up patients by SMS and offer a self- booking link or walk-in option. We look forward to having our patients protected as soon as possible.
Check if you are eligible and for more information here: 
During the Doctors' strike days and on days when we are very short of clinicians due to sickness we shall switch off overnight Patchs submissions in order to help us manage expected increases in demand (whenever there is a holdup in one bit of the complex NHS machinery it has an impact downstream).
Beat the Phone queues!
Phone queues have shortened with staff recruitment but we are we are sorry for any delay you might experience. Though we have managed to recruit more admin staff, some didn't work out and we still have vacancies (also a nurse, and IT staff in particular) and reliable locum GPs are still in short supply, so staffing continues to be a problem we are trying hard to fix.
1. Use Patchs for a quick and easy way to request assistance.
2. Patchs Telephone Assistant - avoid the phone queues!
We have started trialling a revolutionary new Telephone Consultation system, called Patchs Telephone Assistant (we are only the second practice in the country to start this!) See below for more details .
3. 'Patient callback' saves you hanging on the phone - the system will automatically call you back when your queue position is reached. You won't be forgotten!
For any medical or admin help, Patchs is the quickest way - most queries are responded to on the same day of receipt. Patchs is not available from Fridays 6.30pm until Mondays 8am and on public holidays. This is to safely manage demand. It is available at all other times, so you have plenty of time to explain your problems. When we are closed please use the extensive self-help advice on NHS.UK (Patchs will recommend items).
We've been using Patchs Online Consultation system as our digital front door for over a year. Over 75% of people use this to access our services, the rest contacting us by phone and a tiny number coming to the surgery reception desk. Hanging on the phone just to answer questions copied by the receptionist into our Patchs system is not an efficient use of time for you waiting on the phone, or for our overstretched reception team. The Patchs Telephone Assistant asks exactly the same questions the receptionist would or you would write yourself, online and it writes your spoken words into text. It also send the voice recordings so the clinician or administrator can check it has transcribed accurately.
You will have the chance from the main phone menu to select this option, so why not give it a try and avoid the queue?
We operate a 'Total Triage' system. Here is an explanation of Triage and why it benefits our patients.
NHS information about Online Consultations
Additional evening and weekend appointments from our Primary Care Network (PCN) , Harness
Harness provides additional appointments at weekends, 10am - 4pm and on weekday evenings up to 8pm and also some extra day-time slots. Out of hours can booked via 111 or by phone 07541 490200 and in hours via our practice reception.
You will need to submit a Patchs request and may then be offered a F2F appointment, video etc. You can book smear tests, childhood immunisations, in fact pretty much anything you would book at our surgery. The doctor, nurse or HCA will have access to your records.
More info here
A new GP partner!
We are delighted to announce that Dr Vaidehi Kataria has joined our partnership! Many of you will already know her and have benefitted from her excellent care, as she's been with us for over a year, first as GP Registrar in training under Dr Dodhia who leads our postgraduate education and then as a locum. She has now decided to settle at the practice which is fantastic news for us, as a strong partnership allows a practice to develop and improve its service to patients.
Few young doctors choose to enter into partnership these days, citing the stressful healthcare environment with a heavy administrative and organisational burden and often overwhelming responsibilities. However, it is a wonderful opportunity for a young doctor to establish themselves professionally and share in the shaping and growing a service and to get to know and help patients over many years. Our oldest partner has been in place for over 37 years and this level of continuity is becoming increasingly rare, so I am sure you will share our excitement and hopes for a more secure future!
A new Associate GP!
Good news this month comes in pairs, like the buses, with a warm welcome to Dr Abdul Ghani who has joined initially as an Associate GP. He is a highly experienced and skilled GP who was, until recently, a partner in another London practice and is a GP trainer, so will boost our team enormously. We look forward to working with him and his contribution to patient care and improving our practice.
Covid Spring Boosters available now
These are available, initially for all over 75yr olds, those living in an adult care home, those with a severely weakened immune system over the age of 5yr.
You can now book these online from https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/covid-19-services/covid-19-vaccination-services/book-covid-19-vaccination/ or by ringing 119.
It is anticipated that Covid may increase again (though case numbers are still moderately high). It is certainly recommended to keep your immunity up, especially in view of the changing variants.
If you have missed your first or second doses, it is vitally important to catch up and you can have these administered locally, too.
Here is information about local vaccination sites.
A sad 'goodbye' to Nurse Varsha
Nurse Varsha has moved out to another part of the country and has had to leave our practice. She has provided an excellent service to our patients for 11 years and is a well-loved and popular member of the team, so will be much missed.
We were already at least one full-time nurse short and will now only have a locum available. Finding a new practice nurse will be very difficult - there are nationally in very short supply - but we are lucky to have found Sian who will start in a part-time capacity in May.
In the meantime apart from the limited locum nurse availability we can book appointments in the access hub.
Polio boosters for children
We have sent out call ups for children aged 1-9 to have additional boosters of polio vaccine or complete an incomplete course (sadly some parents have not understood the importance of having their children fully vaccinated). This is due to live polio virus being found in London's water supply, indicated the risk of infection in the community for any unvaccinated children or with low resistance to polio. Polio is of course a serious, potentially fatal or life-changing disease we eradicated through vaccination in the UK many decades ago. Information for parent here.
Covid-19
It is still around and we have patients still becoming unwell and sometimes needing hospital care, so please come to the surgery only if you have an appointment or have been asked to and use Patchs - or phone- to request any admin or clinical help. We see everyone who needs a F2F appointment but many things can be dealt with more efficiently by other means and we use Patchs to help us offer you the best option.
If attending the surgery, it is still advisable to continue precautions such as wearing a properly fitted face mask and using hand sanitiser when entering. We still need to protect vulnerable patient attending the surgery. You should have had your booster vaccine to protect yourself, your family and others.
National advice on all aspects of Covid-19 from Gov.UK
COVID VACCINATION MYTHS AND MISINFORMATION - It's a very safe and effective vaccine - do not delay!
Beware of Covid vaccine fraud
Your COVID Vaccination Status
To show others that you’ve had a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine. This important especially when travelling abroad to some countries or territories.Use the free NHS App (not the special Covid tracking App), easy to sign up to online.
If you do not have a smartphone you can request this on paper from 119 (takes 5 days)
Please do NOT contact the surgery for COVID-19 status - we cannot provide letters showing this.
If you are travelling the rules change frequently in each country and are complex, so check gov.UK website
Link your Patient Access account and use all our digital services including Patchs.
Objection to the CQC rating
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