Primary care latest updates

Did you know you can still get NHS support over the Spring Bank Holiday? (27th May to 29th May inclusive)

There are a range of services available to support patients with urgent but not life threatening illnesses and injuries, and NHS 111 online can direct patients to the most appropriate service to meet their needs. And because it's available through your phone it is quick and convenient saving you time and energy.

Options include:

NHS 111
NHS 111 is available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day for urgent health concerns, giving you advice and reassurance without needing to leave your home. If needed a healthcare professional will call you back. Visit 111.NHS.UK

If you are contacting NHS 111 about a patient aged 5 or under please call 111.

Enhanced access (GP out of hours)
Bookable appointments with a healthcare practitioner such as a doctor, nurse or physio are available during weekday evenings and weekends but you may have to travel - book through your practice or 111.NHS.UK

Local pharmacy
Your local pharmacy can help with minor illnesses like coughs, colds and red eye. They are open late and on weekends and Bank Holidays with no appointment needed.

Local pharmacies will be open throughout the Spring Bank Holiday period. Pharmacy opening times are available on the NHS England website

Corby Urgent Care Centre
Corby Urgent Care Centre is open every day between 8am and 8pm and can help with minor injuries/ illnesses such as lacerations, sprains, strains, minor burns or scalds.

Further details about Corby Urgent Care Centre can be found on the One Medical Group website

Urgent mental health support
If you are feeling unwell or are worried about someone, there are a range of support options available. Please visit the Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust website for information about what support is available

Accessing dental services
If you think you need urgent dental treatment over the Easter period, contact your usual dentist. If you can’t, or you don’t have one, use 111.nhs.uk

If an urgent appointment is needed you will be provided with details of your local out of hours service.

Remember you can get the answers to hundreds of health questions, including seasonal advice via www.nhs.uk

Remember if it is a life-threatening emergency or  if you are concerned about an immediate risk of harm, either to yourself or someone else please phone 999.

Read NHS support during the Spring Bank Holiday…

As part of developing their cancer strategy, University Hospitals of Northamptonshire would like feedback about what is important to patients and carers.

UHN is inviting all patients and carers to take part in a short five-minute survey.

This quick survey will help in shaping future cancer care and your feedback really matters.

You can access the survey using the link below:

https://forms.office.com/e/jAaDLaEgYJ

Please consider uploading this to your practice website. 

Read Help shape cancer care…

A new course looking at how autism can be different for girls, and women, is being offered free of charge and people are encouraged to attend.

Recovery College NHFT, alongside the Autism Champions Network, is offering the new course called ‘Women, Girls and Autism: Understanding the challenges and inspiring hope’ looking at how women and girls with autism are underdiagnosed, and how to recognise autism in females.

It will also explore how and why women and girls often ‘mask’ autism in social situations, and aims to inspire hope by raising awareness and understanding of the female presentation of autism.

The course takes place Wednesday, 17 May 2023 from 10am to 1pm at Lotus House, Campbell Square Northampton, NN1 3EB and will be led by Sara Lyon, Autism Quality Practitioner at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and expert peer trainer Emma Warren, who, living with autism herself, will share the barriers she has needed to overcome in order to feel empowered to have a voice and speak out.

Sara said: “Autism presents very differently in females which can lead to women and girls being underdiagnosed. This can lead to a lack of understanding and support, which in turn, may lead to crisis. The aim of the course is to provide students with an insight into what it is like to be female and autistic, the challenges faced and how to overcome them, inspiring hope for the future.”

Emma said: “This course is for everyone - partners, parents, carers, professionals, and people with autism themselves. It may help autistic women and girls to cope and understand themselves a little better. We want to shine a big bright light on autism in women and girls to raise awareness of the different way autism presents in females. The female presentation of autism is currently poorly understood and has led to many females with autism being misdiagnosed or undiagnosed and only receiving support and being recognised once they reach crisis point. We hope that raising awareness can make a difference to lives of autistic females.”

To book a place on the ‘Women, Girls and Autism: Understanding the challenges and inspiring hope’ course visit www.nhft.nhs.uk/recovery-college and click ‘enrol with the college’, or book directly here if you are already a registered student.

Earlier this year, Recovery College NHFT celebrated its fifth birthday. Approximately 1,625 students are currently enrolled at the College, benefiting from learning alongside service users, carers and other staff.

The College offers courses on a range of topics. All courses are free – with both in-person and online sessions on offer. They are available for over anyone over 18 years old who is a current or previous NHFT service user, their family and friends, carers, members of partner organisations, and NHFT staff. People who have been referred to NHFT, but who are currently awaiting treatment, are also eligible to attend the courses.

Find out what courses are on offer, and other information about how to register and enrol, at www.nhft.nhs.uk/recovery-college or email recovery.college@nhft.nhs.uk or call 03000 270470 (phone lines are open 9am-4.30pm Monday-Friday).

Read Women and autism the topic of new course…

We are delighted to welcome Michael Reilly to our next Leadership Matters Conversations (LMC) session, taking place on Wednesday 24 May at 10.30am.

Michael’s session will focus on his view that the COVID-19 pandemic has created the biggest change to work since Henry Ford introduced the assembly line. As a qualified psychologist Michael has had director level roles in product development, business development and strategy at several organisations including BT, Orange and SiteKit Health.

In 2000, Michael was awarded his PhD in which he explored the relationship between actual management behaviour and exposed organisational values communicated by senior leaders in divisions of BT plc. Since 2005 he has worked in the digital transformation of healthcare development and supported with the deployment of innovative digital technology that delivers evidence-based improvements for both patients and clinicians.

As a psychologist Michael is trained is Gestalt Therapy. This is a client centred type of therapy that gets clients to focus on understanding what is really happening in their lives currently rather than what they perceive to be happening based on past events.

Join us on Wednesday 24 May, at 10:30 to understand more about how the pandemic has inherently changed the way we work.

Register for this Microsoft Teams session on Eventbrite

Read Register for FREE Leadership Matters Conversation with Michael Reilly…

On Friday 12 May 2023 it is International Nurses Day.

NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) will be hosting a virtual ‘Coffee, Cake & Conversation’ session for all nurses and midwives (currently on the register or retired) who would like to join Northamptonshire ICB Chief Nurse Yvonne Higgins and ICB Directors of Nursing Fiona Barnes and Mandy Staples to celebrate the profession. The open session on Microsoft Teams will be informal and there will be an opportunity to meet the senior nursing team at Northamptonshire ICB and acknowledge the ‘theme’ of this year’s celebrations – #NursesDay – the vital role that nursing makes.

All nursing colleagues are welcome to join Yvonne and the team on Friday 12 May between 10am and 11am. Please contact Anish Shah at anisha.shah1@nhs.net for the Teams invite.

Please can we ask that you forward on this invite to any nurses and midwives who may be interested in attending.

Read Join ICB senior nursing team for informal #NursesDay event…