Welcome to Elm Surgery

With patients' needs at the heart of everything we do, our website has been designed to make it easy for you to gain instant access to the information you need. As well as specific practice details such as opening hours and how to register, you’ll find a wealth of useful pages covering a wide range of health issues along with links to other relevant medical organisations.

Elm surgery are pleased to announce a new service called 'Social Prescribing'.

Social prescribing, sometimes referred to as community referral, is a means of enabling GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services.

Recognising that people’s health is determined primarily by a range of social, economic and environmental factors, social prescribing seeks to address people’s needs in a holistic way. It also aims to support individuals to take greater control of their own health.

Social prescribing schemes can involve a variety of activities which are typically provided by voluntary and community sector organisations. Examples include volunteering, arts activities, group learning, gardening, befriending, cookery, healthy eating advice and a range of sports.

What they can help with:

• Care Advocacy
• Befriending and Counselling Information
• Support Groups & Networks
• Housing Support
• Employment & Volunterring
• Benefits Support and Debt Advice
• Education Training & Learning
• Healthy Promotion

If you need help with any of the above, all you need to do is contact The Wolseley Trust - Healthy Futures on 01752 203673. A link worker from the Trust currently attends the practice every Thursday but will change to a Friday from 21st September 2018.

Zero Tolerance

As a Practice we are very aware that visiting your GP can, at times, be stressful and concerning for patients. Delays in obtaining appointments and delays in surgery times, due to unforeseen emergency appointments, can also add to these concerns.

We always strive to meet patient expectation and deliver the highest standards of healthcare. For the vast majority of our patients we achieve this, despite the finite resources and steadily increasing demand for services that exists today within the NHS.

Our staff come to work to care for others, and it is important for all members of the public and our staff to be treated with respect.

In line with the rest of the NHS and to ensure this is fully observed we have instigated a Dignity at Work and Zero Tolerance policy, whereby aggressive or violent behaviour towards our staff will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Any patient who verbally abuses a member of practice staff will be sent a letter from the Practice Manager confirming that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Any future violation of this policy may result in removal from the Practice patient list. The Police will be called in all cases of violence.

The Practice feels sure you will understand that proper behaviour is absolutely necessary for our staff and patients and that non observance will not be accepted.

Click here to download your latest version of our Practice Leaflet

Patient's Rights & Responsibilities

Online Services

Please follow the link 'The Waiting Room' to access our online services where you can request a repeat prescription online, book an appointment with a doctor and access some parts of your medical record.

There is a new enhancement which will allow you to logon and view your medical record summary. You will need to contact reception for this service to be activated when it is up and running.

Improved Access

Devon Doctors will be providing pre-bookable ROUTINE appointments on weekday evening and weekends at Mount Gould (Plymouth) treatment centre.  To book an appointment call Devon Doctors on 01392 822354. For more information, visit nhs.uk/GPaccess

Sound Health Alliance

Elm Surgery is a member of Sound Health Alliance. This is an informal federation of 15 practices, serving 112,000 patients serving some of the most deprived areas of Plymouth. The group is bound together by a mandate which describes a set of principles by which practices will work collaboratively.

Vision:

Our vision is to create an environment that enables general practice to thrive.

Aims & objectives:

We aim to use our collective clinical and management expertise to:

• Provide coordinated representation on behalf of member practices to the wider health and care system.
• Explore opportunities to work together in order to strengthen capacity, maintain and improve quality, and deliver improved care outcomes for the population we serve.
• Develop and design opportunities for working at-scale to
  • release pressure on individual surgeries and across general practice
  • provide resilience across surgeries and primary care
  • make primary care an enjoyable place to work
• Improve system integration across practices and the wider health and care system.
• Develop training and education capacity whilst increasing recruitment opportunities.

Federation structure:

The activities of the federation are overseen by a Federation Board, represented by a GP and a practice manager from member practices.

For more information https://www.soundhealthalliance.co.uk/