Yesterday the 9th of March was National Social Prescribing Link Workers Day and proved to be a particularly busy day for the Middleton SPLWs at the Middleton PCN Hub. Over 50 patients attended during the day and with members of the public also popping in throughout the day, the feedback we received was excellent. This was the first significant event held at our newly opened Middleton PCN Hub on the 1st floor of the Middleton Shopping Centre but it certainly won’t be the last!

At the recent New Beginning event held on the 03rd March, there were numerous reasons for those attending. Many service users attended to speak to the professionals there, but also a group presented stage dramas using actions rather than words. This was related to their recovery and the system barriers they faced during that and in some cases still do. Several of those who attended had been successful in their recovery up to date, and spoke openly about their success and challenges and aims for the future. Colin had been coming to Petrus every day for breakfast and was seen by HART for support with his health and well-being. He had his eyesight checked by the optician and had 2 sets of glasses prescribed. Needless to say - he was thrilled to bits! Colin also attends the Petrus gardening group, which is the allotment next door to Croft Shifa and last week, he got his new glasses and a new pair of work boots!

The HART nurses were delighted to attend the Rochdale Recovery multi-agency event titled New Beginning on Friday 03rd March. The event was kindly hosted by the Sanctuary Trust and held at Champness Hall here in Rochdale. The event saw services throughout the borough come together to collaborate and have the opportunity to network and share information on services.

Join the Middleton Social Prescriber Link Worker team – Neelum, Mike, Zed and Samina at the Middleton Primary Care Network hub on the 1st floor of the Middleton Shopping Centre on Thursday 9th March 10 - 2 pm. We will be celebrating National social prescribing day and free health checks available on the day!!

February is National Heart Month. Did you know that almost 1 in 2 adults in the UK have raised cholesterol? Take action during Heart Month to reduce your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases. Know and understand your cholesterol levels. Take appropriate action and take on a Heart Month challenge to improve your heart health. https://www.heartuk.org.uk/get-involved/heart-month-feb-2023 #heartmonth

Who is Eligible? Members of the public can attend one of the three pilot centres for a chest x-ray if they meet the following criteria and are registered with a GP within either Bury or HMR locality. Age over 40 years and not had a Chest CT or X-Ray for the last 3 months, plus one or more of the following for more than 3 weeks: Cough Fatigue Shortness of breath Chest pain Weight loss Appetite loss Coughing up blood The three pilot centres are: Fairfield General Hospital Rochdale Infirmary Royal Oldham Hospital

Feeling lonely is something that all of us can experience at any point in our lives, which can have negative impacts on our health and well-being. There are lots of simple actions that you can do to help others who may be feeling lonely, including: Giving a friend or family member a call Inviting someone for a walk Reaching out to those you haven’t heard from for a cuppa You might find that reaching out to someone else could help you to feel less lonely too. Find out how you can help lift someone out of loneliness this winter www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/loneliness/#EveryMindMatters

As the picture says, we are now here for you evenings and weekends. From 1st October Rochdale Health Alliance is working with local Practices in the Pennines, Rochdale, Heywood, and Middleton areas to provide additional routine appointments outside of normal general practice opening hours, and it is now possible for you to access some same-day and pre-bookable routine appointments in the evenings and weekends at selected GP surgeries and these are: • Littleborough Health Centre, Featherstall Rd, Littleborough OL15 8HF • Whitehall Street, 90 Whitehall St, Rochdale OL12 0ND • The Phoenix Centre, Church St, Heywood OL10 1LR • Peterloo Medical Centre, 133 Manchester Old Road, Middleton, M24 4DZ We refer to these appointments as Enhanced Access and are bookable through your own GP surgery. They are available for general routine services such as cervical screening, childhood vaccination clinics and health checks etc. You will be able to see a member of the general practice team including a GP, nurse or other health care professional but it’s worth bearing in mind that as these appointments are outside of the surgery's normal working hours, therefore, means that you may not see your usual GP. Please also remember that these appointments are for routine consultations only and anyone who needs an urgent appointment outside of surgery hours, should continue to get in touch using the NHS 111 service

What is Enhanced Access? Enhanced Access offers appointments in the evenings, at weekends and on bank holidays. The Enhanced Access Service should be able to make it easier for you to get an appointment at a time that suits you. The service offers pre-bookable, routine primary care appointments with a range of clinicians including GPs, nurses and health care assistants. You MUST book an appointment through the reception team at your local GP practice as this is not a walk-in service. Please contact your GP practice in the usual way to request an appointment. If there are no appointment’s available at your practice, they may offer you an appointment with the Enhanced Access Service, if this is right for you. This service does not include home visits. Does this mean practices are opening seven days a week? Individual practices are not open 7 days a week. This service is an extension of primary care and you will be seen at one of the four Extended Access hubs detailed below. Even though you have made your appointment through your own surgery, please don’t go there, you will be advised as to which hub to attend. How do I cancel an appointment? If you cannot attend an appointment you have booked at an Enhanced Access hub, you should contact your own practice in the normal way during their opening hours to cancel. What can I be seen for? This service is for routine appointments only, not for urgent or emergency care. A GP Enhanced Access appointment is exactly like an appointment at your own GP practice. You will be seen by experienced GPs and nurses. If you would prefer to see your usual GP or practice nurse, please book an appointment with your usual practice during their normal opening hours. Will the GP I see have access to my medical record during my appointment? Healthcare professionals you see will have some access to your medical records as your own practice GPs and staff. That way, they can give you advice and treatment in the same way that your own practice would. All your information is held on a secure system and once you have had your appointment at the Enhanced Access hub your records will be updated and passed back to your own GP practice. The Enhanced Access hub no longer has access to your records once your appointment has been completed and your own GP practice has been informed of the advice or treatment that you received. If you do not wish the healthcare professionals working in an Enhanced Access hub to have access to your medical record, they will unfortunately not be able to see you and you will not be given an appointment. If I go to an Enhanced Access hub more than once, will I be seen by the same people each time? There is no guarantee that you will be seen by the same healthcare professional on each visit. Where will my appointment take place? Appointments are available for patients registered with any of the practices who are part of the following 5 Primary Care Networks, Pennines, Heywood, Middleton, The Bridge and Rochdale North, with a range of clinicians. Heywood (Phoenix Centre) Mon-Friday 6:30-8 pm & Saturday 9 am -5 pm Middleton (Peterloo Medical) Mon-Friday 6:30-8 pm & Saturday 9 am -5 pm Pennines (Littleborough Group Practice) Mon-Friday 6:30-8 pm & Saturday 9 am -5 pm Rochdale (Whitehall Street, 90 Whitehall Street) Mon-Friday 6:30-8 pm & Saturday 9 am -5 pm

As we should all know, it is vitally important that your cervical screening tests are kept up to date with your clinic. Recently there have been home testing kits been made available online costing upwards of £50. Please be aware that any results from these kits will not be recognised by the NHS – even if they have returned a positive result and will not be added to your patient records, you will still be required to attend your surgery when your smear is due. If you have cause for concern then make an appointment with the practice nurse at your local clinic, all of whom are female. It’s a relatively quick and painless procedure but if you are nervous then why not bring a friend or relative with you? Your practice nurse will be aware of any medical history and able to answer any questions you may have. If any further intervention is needed when your results return, your GP will be able to action this. Although you may feel home testing is a convenient way of keeping up to date with vital screening, at this moment these results, positive or negative, would not be recognised by the NHS and all you will be doing is wasting £50 and who can afford that these days?

This year’s GP Patient Survey has seen two of our surgeries ranked extremely highly. So, it’s a well done to them and a thank you to you their patients, for thinking so well of them. Milnrow Village Practice in Rochdale has had excellent feedback from their patients – 100% of those surveyed rated their overall experience as good. This means that the practice is ranked 11th out of 6418 practices in England. Meanwhile, over at the Trinity Medical Centre in Rochdale, they have had similarly great feedback – 97% of those surveyed said they felt their dealings with the centre had been good. This puts them firmly in the top 100 practices in England ranking them 67th out of 6418. The past year hasn’t been easy and there have been a number of significant changes within Primary Care and how patients are treated. Thank you for recognising that we always try our best in what are very trying conditions.