At some point in their life some of our patients are diagnosed with a long-term condition (LTC), for example:
- Of a cardiovascular nature – Hypertension, Stroke/TIA, Chronic Heart Disease (CHD), Heart Failure
- Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
- Asthma
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Diabetes
- Non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH)
- Mind & Wellbeing (Mental Health)
- Dementia
(This list is not definitive; there are many other LTCs that a patient can be diagnosed with, but these are some of the most common ones.)
An essential part of the caring for a patient diagnosed with a LTC is regular monitoring to assess the impact the condition is having upon them.
At Lockswood we work with a dedicated Care Co-ordinator from the Coastal Primary Care Network (PCN) who assists with managing the care of our patients with LTCs. Our Care Co-ordinator takes a pro-active approach to the health and wellbeing of this cohort, inviting them to attend an annual review to help monitor the condition they live with.
These annual reviews are tailored to each specific LTC, therefore will differ slightly in their content. For patients who have more than one LTC, they will be invited to multiple reviews, involving different clinicians at the practice e.g. a doctor, a practice nurse, a health care assistant or one of the PCNs Clinical Pharmacy Team.
How does it work?
Our Care Co-ordinator will send patients with a LTC an invitation to attend review at the surgery (or multiple invites if they have more than one LTCs). This will be sent via SMS message to the patient’s mobile phone*. The message will contain instructions for the patient to follow concerning this annual review.
*For patients who have requested to communicate via letter rather than SMS message, you will be sent a letter.
When Will I Receive an Invite?
- 1st invite:
You will be sent an invite around the time of your birth month or possibly slightly sooner.
- 2nd invite:
If you haven’t been able to attend a review previously, you will be invited again. As mentioned previously, this will be sent via SMS message to your mobile phone*. The message will contain instructions for you to follow concerning your annual review.
*For patients who have requested to communicate via letter rather than SMS message, you will be sent another letter.
What happens if a patient doesn’t respond to their 1st or 2nd invite for a review of their LTC?
Don’t panic! If a patient hasn’t made arrangements to attend their annual review, having already received two invitations, they can complete an eConsult and use this to request the review. You can do this by using this link.
Can I change the time of my review to another month instead of my birth month?
Of course you can! If this month is not convenient then we can move it to another month. Simply complete an “Administrative Help” eConsult requesting this amendment. Please note that you will be invited for all future reviews in this month.
*If a patient would prefer to receive invitations by letter instead of SMS message, please submit an “Administrative” eConsult (using the link above) or speak to a member of our Reception Team, advising that the “preferred method of contact” for annual reviews needs to be changed to “letter”. Please be mindful that this will change ALL future written communications to letter.