We have now opened our electronic consultation system - Engage Consult
This is a new alternative route to the surgery instead of using the telephones.
We strongly recommend creating an account with this service as this enables two-way messaging.
- This can be used for non-urgent medical enquiries and administration queries.
- This is not for prescription requests or urgent medical problems.
- The busiest time for phone calls is 8-12am. The electronic consultation service is available during these times and may be a quicker way to access care and support
Please note the service may close earlier in the morning at busier times.
Please use this link or sign up for the NHS app to access this service.
If successful, we will aim increase the capacity of Engage Consult, so please be patient as we build on the service available.
What happens to my query?
The care navigators will initially review the query as they would have done with when answering the phone.
They will direct your query to the most appropriate person.
If you have been dealing with a particular clinician for your problem already, please let us know as we will aim to direct your query to them.
While many queries can be dealt with within 72 hours, some may be booked for a future routine appointment with the most appropriate clinician.
Why can’t I request my prescription through this system?
We already receive prescription requests through a variety of channels.
Engage Consult has limited capacity so we need to ensure it is used safely and efficiently.
To request a prescription electronically you can sign up to the NHS app or for online access via our reception team.
Otherwise you can request with the traditional paper slip.
We do not take prescription requests over the phone unless there are special circumstances as we have limited phone capacity and also there is more risk of errors.
Please BE KIND to our Teams
It has been a very difficult few years for everyone and we have really appreciated the kind words, patience and support towards our staff from so many people that use our services.
We can understand and share people's frustration at times.
Unfortunately we have had a rise in aggressive calls and this puts additional pressure on our already over stretched team.
Our trained team may ask for details when you call so they can direct you to the best member of the team to help you in the most appropriate timescale
We want you to have a safe sustainable service at Ball Tree - we work incredibly hard every day to provide this and we are doing our best in very challenging circumstances.
Please help us to help you by being kind to all the teams when you get in touch - we will always try to offer you whatever we can as soon as we can.
We operate a zero tolerance policy. Rude and aggressive patients are removed from the practice list and need to register elsewhere.
GP Appointments
We are aiming to increase our pre-bookable GP appointments, though much of our availability is still filled on the day. please check hear for updates coming soon.
Where needed, a GP will be able to speak to you on the day and the GP decide with you if a face to face appointment is needed. This will usually be on the same day.
Once we have reached a safe level of capacity each day we will then only be able to take GP requests for urgent matters.
The phone message will change at this time. Please note that we are still able to support questions and bookings for all other matters during the urgent only time periods.
We are sorry that this may cause inconvenience.
The demand on our service has increased substantially and we do not have any additional resources.
We want to operate safely for everyone's benefit and want to be available to you in a sustainable way.
Please call as early as you are able to help us plan our daily activity. Please stay on the line and we will reach your call as soon as we are able.
Please consider if you could also be supported by contacting NHS 111 online or by phone or by a local pharmacy before calling us.
Annual Reviews for Ongoing Conditions
We have moved back to our previous programme of annual reviews for people who have ongoing medical conditions. This means that we aim to contact people around their birthday month for one or two appointments to cover key areas of health. These may be by telephone or in person depending upon the type of review. We are required to send out at least two invitations per person per year for those who have ongoing conditions. These invitations will mainly come out by SMS or Email so please do ensure that we have your latest contact information.
If you have any concerns or worrying symptoms at any time you can book a review of your conditions with a Nurse or GP. It may be that we ask you to book an appointment with one of our healthcare assistants for a blood test or other checks before your review appointment so that the clinician has the most up to date information to support your care.
For people who are more frail and unable to leave their house we offer review appointments at home.
Please do not call us about COVID Vaccination Passports - we need our lines to be focussed on access for those who are unwell
COVID VACCINES
Currently @ Kingfisher Site
We are currently focusing on the over 75's and immunocompromised people for their Spring Boosters . Please call 119 or the surgery if you haven't yet booked your appointment.
Managing Your Long Term Health Condition - we have made some changes to the way we manage your Long Term Condition Annual Reviews (frequently called Year Of Care reviews or "YoC")
Disability Register: the Compass Card scheme for children and young people with SEND.
- The Compass scheme is run in West Sussex and Brighton and Hove by the charity Amaze. It includes the West Sussex Disability Register (a statutory duty for WSCC) and a free leisure discount card for all children and young people on the Register.
- The Disability Register is for 0 to 25 year olds who have an EHCP (Education Health Care Plan) in school/college or are eligible for DLA/PIP. Other children and young people, who have a disability that has a major effect on their daily living, may also be eligible. Data from the Register is used to inform and shape SEND services.
- When families register (for free) on the Compass scheme they receive a discount card giving access to leisure activities for local disabled children and young people (at 300+ venues in non-Covid times). It Gets Me Out, an independent evaluation of the West Sussex Compass Project by the University of Brighton in May 2020, demonstrates that the Compass Card significantly improves children and young people’s physical fitness, mental health, and confidence.
#BeKind
The Living Well Programme is a free self-management course for adults living with long term health conditions – physical and/or mental – to learn the skills of self-management of a long term health condition. The courses are led by volunteer tutors, all of whom have long term conditions and are therefore have lived experience of the common problems faced by participants, and how to manage them. The courses run online with around 10 participants over 6 weeks, with regular weekly sessions of 2 hours. When it is safe to resume face to face contact the courses will start in the community again.
More information about the service, and contact details for self-referral can be found here: Living Well Programme at Sussex Community services
ALL Paperless Prescriptions - Electronic Prescribing Service
Across the UK paper prescriptions are being phased out.
Please ensure that you have nominated your preferred pharmacist to benefit from the new paperless system
All you have to do is ask your local pharmacist to make them your preferred choice for receiving the digital prescriptions
You can also ask our reception team to add the name of a pharmacist when you next come in to order medication.
We have upgraded to the next phase of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) which mean that almost all our prescriptions will be processed electronically from Wednesday 2nd September 2020
Electronic prescriptions help save the NHS money.
You will receive your prescriptions in the same way as you do now.
Read more about EPS on the NHS website.
You can still order repeat medication on paper
We would prefer it if you could order repeat medication online if this is possible for you - via the NHS app or Patient access.
Local GP Access Hubs - Evening and Weekend Appointments!
GP and Nurse appointments are now available during the evening and at the weekend at local GP access hubs
- Urgent appointments for a new illness
- Same day and next day appointments
- Access to your GP medical records with your consent
- Appointments booked via Ball Tree
- Clinical are operated by IPC which is a not for profit company owned by local GP practices
Talk to our reception team and they can advise you further!
If you are offered a GPAH appointment - please do take this - we will lose this service if it is not used.
Travel Services not available
We are sorry that we will not be able to offer travel services until further notice due to staff shortages. Our nursing team will be focusing on essential services for the time being. There are commercial travel services available in the area.
Ear Wax Removal - Changes to Service - March 2020
Along with practices across West Sussex Ball Tree is changing services for ear wax removal
From March 1st 2020 we we will now be able to provide ear irrigation services in the following circumstances
1) We have received a written request from the hospital ENT or Audiology departments
2) Your GP considers that it is clinically appropriate
We recommend that you self care in other circumstances - this works in the majority of cases.
You can download our simple guide to help you here [PDF]
On our guide you will find the contacts for local NHS companies where you can purchase ear irrigation services
Our policy on this may change if we are funded differently for ear wax removal services and we are sorry for the inconvenience caused in the meanwhile.
Please download this useful guide to GP referrals to other NHS Services
New Text Messaging System - Reply with KEYWORDS
If you have a mobile number on our system you will be able to reply to text reminders for appointments if you need to cancel them
In addition, you will be able to say no thank you to invitations for Flu vaccinations or Annual Reviews
The system is not for general messaging - however it will help to save you a call and so long as you reply it will mean that you have fewer unwanted invitations.
Please do make sure we have your latest mobile number - we receive HUNDREDS of bounce backs every week.
You only need to reply with JUST ONE KEYWORD - such as DEFER or DECLINE - nothing else - as this is read by a computer and not by a person.
Allow up to 7 working days for repeat prescriptions
Due to increased demand on the surgery please allow up to 5 full working days for your prescription to be ready.
Please see our guide for when your prescription should be ready.
Please do not add to the pressures on the surgery team by calling to chase - we are working as efficiently as we are able within the resources that we have.
We are sorry that we are not able to turnaround prescriptions as fast as we would wish.
You can help us by signing up for paperless prescriptions and online services - this allows us to process your requests faster and ensures that your prescription goes directly to your preferred pharmacy. If you do not sign up for these services, due to limitations in the computer system beyond our control, we cannot guarantee where you will need to go to collect your paper prescription.
Please help us to help you:
Register for EPS Electronic Prescription Service - Go Paperless - this means that you won't have to collect a paper prescription. It is really quick and easy - just ask at reception or you can do this at your pharmacy.
Some medicines still need to be printed. Ensure that if you have this sort of medicine you have arranged for your pharmacist to have your prescriptions collected from us. Make sure that your pharmacist collects from us every day. If they don't, then you may receive some of your medicines via EPS and still be waiting for them to collect the paper prescription for the medicine that has to be printed out.
Please complete our latest full survey - it takes 3 -4 minutes only - we read every comment and take action wherever we can.
NHS Medicines Costs - Please help the NHS
As you are likely aware due to the cuts in funding all of the NHS needs to find ways to reduce its costs. You can help with this important task in a few ways.
1) Only ever order the medicine that you actually need – there is lots of evidence that many of us over order and have stashes of unused medicines in our cupboards
2) Take the medicine that you are prescribed as directed by your GP – there is lots of evidence that many of us start to take medicines but then forget or take it or don’t take it as instructed
3) If you have stopped taking a medicine – please let us know. If you don’t need it, please don’t order it.
4) Many medicines can be bought directly from the pharmacist for a low cost and often less than the cost of a prescription. Even if you don’t pay for your prescriptions it may be that it would be possible for you to buy your medicines over the counter. For example, some paracetamol will cost you about 50 pence however a prescription for paracetamol will cost the NHS over £10 due to how the system works. If many of us choose to purchase over the counter for these types of products then it will save millions of pounds over the whole NHS.
5) You may see that there is a change to the packaging for some of your medication. We have a team of pharmacists working in the area to help change medications from ‘Brand Name’ to ‘Generic’. This is the same as Kellogg’s Cornflakes compared with Supermarket Own Cornflakes – however with medications there is NO difference at all in the ingredients of the medicine. Changes to generic medicines can help save the local NHS many hundreds of thousands of pounds. For some medicines the change will just happen. For other medicines we or the pharmacist will write to you to let you know.
Do you have COPD or Asthma? - Register for airAlert to find out when pollution may affect you…
airAlert is a free service for people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma and COPD, and heart conditions. Anyone can register for the service and can receive airAlerts by text, email or voicemail (to a landline). Alternatively by downloading the free airAlert app alerts can be sent via notifications through the app. Visit http://www.airalert.info/Sussex/ for more information.
Patient and Staff Safety
We aim to be respectful towards all of our patients and we expect the same respect in return.
Unfortunately, there have been an increasing number of instances where we have been made to feel very uncomfortable by the behaviours of some patients.
This includes unrealistic expectations and aggressive behaviour and language. We now have a policy that anyone who is rude to our staff will receive a warning letter.
If that patient repeats such behaviour they will be asked to register at a different surgery.
Further to consultation with NHS England, we have unfortunately had to take the decision to install CCTV cameras at the surgery.
This is for the protection of staff and patients. Information will be stored in strict accordance with the data protection act.
Video footage will be used as evidence to support removing patients from the surgery list where their behaviour or language is not acceptable.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing us today...
Visit: Antibiotic Guardian Website for more information...
Why it is relevant to you: without effective antibiotics many routine treatments will become increasingly dangerous. Setting broken bones, basic operations, even chemotherapy and animal health all rely on access to antibiotics that work.
What we want you to do: To slow resistance we need to cut the unnecessary use of antibiotics. We invite the public, students and educators, farmers, the veterinary and medical communities and professional organisations, to become Antibiotic Guardians.
Call to action: Choose one simple pledge about how you’ll make better use of antibiotics and help save these vital medicines from becoming obsolete.
Antibiotic Guardian supports the UK Antimicrobial Resistance strategy, European Antibiotic Awareness Day (18 November) and World Antibiotic Awareness Week (14-20 November 2016)
going digital - email and text invitations and communication from Ball Tree
We are moving towards the goal of a reduced paper NHS...
This will have several benefits
- We will be able to get information to you faster via email and text
- We can save money on postage - which is necessary given our reducing budget and increasing costs
- We hope to have two way communication by email before too long - but only when we have the resources to keep this communication safe (e.g. we need to be sure that if someone emails us with medically important information that someone will have seen the email)
How you can help
- Please can you ensure that you have given us your correct mobile number and email address
- Tell us when you change it
- We will not know if you have not received an email or a text and we do not have the technology or resources to follow up.
It is your responsibility to keep the information up-to-date. You can do this easily if you register for our online services
Do you have HRT? - Hormone Replacement Therapy ...
Have you had a check in the past year? We recommend that your medicine is checked every year. If you have not come in for a review, please make an appointment with your GP.
£ Paying by card...
We are now able to take card payments from most major providers. We can also accept contactless and ApplePay.
