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7th February 2023: Memory Support Worker

For anyone who has a diagnosis of dementia or has memory problems, there is now a designated support worker in our area. The support worker is called Carolyne Threadgold and she is part of the Alzheimer's society. She can be contacted via email or mobile phone between 9-5pm Monday to Friday. She can help with information regarding dementia, advise on benefits, recommend local activities and visit you at your home. She is also having a twice a month session at Crossley street surgery that anyone can book into for support through the surgery reception.

These are the important contact details :
Mobile: 07980 970693
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Alzheimer's society: 0113 2311727

17th January 2023: A message from our practice manager:

We have noticed recently that large volumes of patients are queueing outside the surgery from 7:30am ready for when the doors open at 8:00am. Most of these patients are wanting to see the on-call GP for what they describe as an acute need. While we appreciate that people may have different ideas about what is and isn't urgent, the on-call GP will only see walk-in patients that they deem as medically urgent. All other pateints will receive a phone call, and the on-call GP will then make the clinical decision as to whether they will need to be seen in person. There is therefore no need to attend the surgery in person to simply book a telephone call with our on-call GP.

Patients who attend the surgery in person to speak to reception will not be triaged any differently to patients who call the surgery on the phone. If your need is urgent, you will be able to speak to a GP. We appreciate that there are often long queues when calling the surgery, however the telephone queues are only being exacerbated by an increasing number of patients showing up to speak to reception at 8am, as this takes our reception staff away from answering the telephones.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sarah-Jayne Humphries
Practice Manager for Crossley Street Surgery

Blood Test Only Clinics

There are changes coming to Crossley Street Surgery in the new year: there are going to be 2 Healthcare Assistants doing Blood Test ONLY Clinics on Monday mornings 8am-1pm and Wednesday afternoons 1pm-5pm, offering lots of appointments, with a smaller clinic on a Friday 3:30pm-5pm.

From January, appointments for just blood tests will ONLY be available at these times. If you are unable to make these times then an ICE form can be provided for you to go to Sainsbury’s or Harrogate District Hospital which both offer a walk-in service.

Please note that due to strict timings, Healthcare Assistants will not have capacity to carry out any other examinations during these Blood Test Only Clinics, such as blood pressure or weight checks. We have a self-service POD which you can use to record your weight or take your blood pressure.

Finally, the nurses and Healthcare Assistants will still continue to take bloods during other appointments such as CHD reviews and NHS health checks, but they will no longer have appointments for just blood tests outside of the Blood Test Only Clinics.

Strep A & Scarlet Fever

This video discusses scarlet fever and the bacteria that causes it, known as strep A. There has been in an increase in infections in England, including in the most severe form, which can potentially become life-threatening .

For most children, scarlet fever is thankfully a mild illness, easily treated with antibiotics.

Here’s what you need to know, so you are aware when to worry and when you may need to seek help.

National Bowel Scope Screening Programme

Harrogate, Leeds and York Bowel Cancer Screening Centre has been selected as a Third Wave site for the commencement of ‘Bowel Scope screening’ for all men and women aged 55 years. Patients who are registered at this practice aged 55 years will be invited to participate in the new bowel cancer screening national programme. Eligible participants will be invited for screening approximately 2 months following their 55th birthday.

Invitations will be sent out offering a one-off appointment for a Bowel Scope (flexible sigmoidoscopy) test. Participants will need to confirm they are attending the appointment using the confirmation slip attached to their invitation letter, or by ringing the North East Bowel Cancer Screening Hub. Appointments can be changed if the date or time is not suitable. If the invitee chooses not to participate at the time of their 55th birthday they can opt in at any time up to the age of 60.

For more information, click here to read the Bowel Scope Screening information leaflet. This leaflet aims to help you make a choice about whether to have bowel scope screening. It includes information about why the NHS offers bowel scope screening, what to expect from it, and the possible benefits and risks for you.

Audiograms

Please note, that we will no longer be performing audiograms in the surgery. These are available free on the NHS at the following locations for adults 18 and older.

Free Hearing Tests on the NHS:

Boots Wetherby or Harrogate 0845 270 1600
www.bootshearingcare.com

Spec Savers Wetherby 01937 545 370
Spec Savers Harrogate 01423 564 515
www.specsavers.co.uk

To clarify, you DO NOT need a GP referral in order to have a hearing test at one of the above locations. If however, after the hearing test, you need a hearing aid on the NHS, this will require a referral from your GP (unless you choose to have a hearing aid fitted privately). Please speak to reception if you need a referral for a hearing aid.

Accessible Information

The Accessible Information Standard is a new ‘information standard’ for implementation by all organisations that provide NHS or adult social care. It aims to ensure that people who have a disability or sensory loss receive information that they can access and understand, for example in large print, or via email, and professional communication support if they need it, for example from a British Sign Language interpreter.

Individuals most likely to be affected by the Standard include people who are blind or d/Deaf, who have some hearing or visual loss, people who are deafblind, and people with a learning disability. However, this list is not exhaustive.

If you have information or communication needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss, or if you are a parent or carer for someone who has such information or communication needs, please ask reception for a Communication Needs form and we will ensure that your needs are recorded.

Patient Experience Survey

Click here to view our Patient Experience Survey Results 2016/2017. The practice has reviewed all the results in detail with both staff and the PPG and is now working towards making improvements in those areas where patients have expressed concerns.

Thank you to all patients who took part in this survey.

Risk Profiling

Crossley Street Surgery is taking part in a new NHS service that helps your GP to spot whether you need more help to manage your health. This service is called “Risk Profiling”.

Using information from your health records, a secure NHS computer system will look at any recent treatments you have had in hospital or at this surgery, and any existing health conditions that you have, and alert your doctor to the likelihood of a possible future hospital admission. This information will help you get early care and treatment where it is needed.

If you don’t want your information being used in this way, or have any other concerns, please contact Beth Congreave, Senior Data Administrator, at the practice.

Details

Last Updated: 12 May 2023

You are said to have a:

• High risk - if your score is 20% or more. This is a 2 in 10 chance or more of developing a cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years.
• Moderate risk - if your score is 10-20%. This is between a 1 in 10 and 2 in 10 chance.
• Low risk – if your score is less than 10%. This is a less than 1 in 10 chance.

What treatments are available to reduce the risk?
If you are at moderate or high risk of developing a cardiovascular disease then treatment with medicines is usually advised, along with advice to tackle any lifestyle issues.

This usually means:

• Treatment with medication, usually with a statin medicine to lower your cholesterol level. No matter what your current cholesterol level, treatment with medicines is advised. In terms of targets, your level of cholesterol has to be viewed as part of your overall cardiovascular health risk. The cardiovascular health risk from any given level of cholesterol can vary, depending on the level of your HDL cholesterol, and on other health risk factors that you may have.
• Treatment with medication to lower blood pressure if it is high. This is even if your blood pressure is just mildly high.

For more information, click here for a patient decision aid on taking statins.

Where relevant, to encourage you even more to tackle lifestyle risk factors. This means to:

• Stop smoking if you smoke.
• Eat a healthy diet - including keeping your salt intake to under 5g a day.
• Keep your weight and waist in check.
• Take regular physical activity.
• Cut back if you drink a lot of alcohol.

The British Heart Foundation provide some really useful information about keeping a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise, reducing salt intake < 5g per day, reducing alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding smoking. This advice is important whatever your CVD risk is. This information is accessed via BHF website to www.bhf.org.uk and linking to Risk Factors from the home page.

At present NICE advises that treatment in the form of medication called Statins should be considered if your Qrisk2 is > 10 %, as well as addressing any lifestyle issues. Information regarding this medication can be obtained on the BHF website. If your QRISK2 remains elevated after lifestyle changes are introduced we will discuss the need for medication. If you would like to discuss medication in more detail, please speak to our pharmacists, Richard Laybourn or Alia Awni, or make a telephone appointment with a doctor for a prescription.

Information re modifying all risk factors and support offered locally is available through One You Leeds at www.OneYouLeeds.co.uk. You may also find www.patient.info helpful.

Help with stopping smoking can be accessed via phoning 0800 169 4219

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Last Updated: 12 July 2024

Hello to all Crossley Street Patients and welcome to the Patient Participation Group web page

Our purpose is to try to keep Crossley Street patients up to date with the work of the group through this web page and by our Newsletter.

Please do read our PPG Newsletter as it will keep you up to date with the latest Surgery News.

Read the latest PPG Newsletter

About the Patient Participation Group

Crossley Street Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a partnership between patients of Crossley Street Surgery and the doctors, medical workers and administrative staff who look after our wellbeing.

The aim of the group is to encourage a positive working relationship between patients and surgery staff to ensure that the best use is made of resources, such as our clinics, and doctor specialities, also that organisation and policies reflect patients’ views.

The practice has produced a Patients' Charter, which sets out the rights of our patients and their corresponding responsibilities. View and print out a copy of the practice Patients' Charter.

If you are interested in joining the group, – we particularly need some younger members – would like to contribute any ideas, or have any other queries you would like to contact the group about, please send us a message on our Patient Participation Group Contact Form. (We cannot deal with personal complaints, as there is a separate protocol for this).

PPG Meetings

We meet in the surgery on the third Thursday of each month with the exception of August and December.

We send all patients and staff our best wishes and send all those working at our surgery our grateful thanks for their efforts to help keep us all safe and well.

To read the minutes from the PPG meetings, click below.

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Last Updated: 22 March 2025

care.data is a new information system, which will make increased use of information from your medical records with the intention of improving health services.

This information along with your postcode and NHS number but not your name, will be sent to a secure system where it can be linked with other health information. This allows those planning NHS services or carrying out medical research to use information from different parts of the NHS in a way which does not identify you.

You have a choice. If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything. If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening, please speak to practice staff or ask at reception for a copy of the leaflet How Information About You Helps Us To Provide Better Care. This can be downloaded here .

For further information please go to www.england.nhs.uk/caredata

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Last Updated: 16 November 2013