Our friendly Living Well Team recognises that a person’s health and wellbeing can be determined by a range of social, economic and environmental factors. Social Prescribing looks to address a person’s needs in a holistic way, allowing the patient greater control of their health.

Referrals to the team can be made by clinicians, family members or patients themselves by contacting the team directly on 01249-462775 or 01249-470703.

Alternatively you can contact them by email: bswicb.livingwell.hathaway@nhs.net

The team are available to support patients with non-clinical matters such as:

• Carer support
• Basic support with PIP & housing issues
• Dementia support
• Heating concerns
• Hoarding issues
• Lonely and reduced wellbeing
• Mild or low level mental health problems
• Multiple long-term health conditions
• Recently bereaved
• Socially isolated
• Struggling with household bills, affordability etc
• Young Adults

There have been huge changes in primary care and increasingly the best person for you to see may not be your GP but a specialist such as a physiotherapist or mental health practitioner. A primary care network or PCN consists of groups of general practices working together with a range of local providers, including across primary care, community services, social care and the voluntary sector, to offer more personalised, coordinated health and social care to their local populations.

Lodge Surgery has joined together with Rowden, Hathaway, Porch and Box Surgeries to form the Chippenham, Corsham and Box Primary Care Network (CCB PCN) and we are finding new ways to work more closely together. We have not merged with these practices and patients continue to be registered with us at Lodge.

The PCN aims:

• to focus services around local communities,
• to help rebuild and reconnect the primary healthcare team across the area,
• alleviate workload,
• to be practice-led, as ensured by LMCs (local medical committees) and CCGs (clinical commissioning groups) and
• to allow GPs and primary care practitioners to deliver a new model of care for their patients and communities.

Examples include receiving same-day access to a physiotherapist working in another practice across our network and being seen in our “Hot Hub” where we are reviewed any suspected coronavirus patients in a separate, clean and safe environment. 

To enable the practices in the PCN to work more closely together, we need to improve the way that we access our patients’ notes. In September 2020, we adopted a process called “Shared Administration.”

This means that clinicians and administrative staff who have been granted permission, will be able to access the notes of all of our patients in all of the five practices across our PCN. This will allow us to provide improved care to patients.

Examples include our “Hot Hub” where we reviewed any suspected coronavirus patients in a separate, clean and safe environment away from the other five practices to ensure everyone’s safety. Patients can also benefit from same-day access to a physiotherapist working in another practice across our network.

How secure is my data and who can access it?

We want to reassure you that all of the GP practices in our PCN have very strict rules about how and when our patients’ notes can be accessed and that your ongoing privacy is of the utmost importance to us. If you still have concerns or questions that have not been answered on here please contact the surgery and we will do our best to help you.

Can I opt out of this?

It is possible for you to opt out of this new way of sharing access to your medical notes, but this may restrict the ways that we are able to provide care for you. If you do wish to opt out please contact the surgery on 01249 479809 or email us at enquiries.lodgesurgery@nhs.net and we will update your records.