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GP services in Northumberland

Tell us about using GP Services

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We are helping the NHS in our area to find out more about your experiences of using GP services in Northumberland. We’d like to know which healthcare professional at your GP practice you prefer to see, how quickly you would like to be seen and how far you would be willing to travel for an appointment.

We’d also like to know if weekend and evening appointments are useful to you and if you prefer a telephone or video consultation or a face to face appointment with your GP, nurse or other healthcare professional at your surgery.

Your views are really important as they will be used in decisions about any future changes to the way people access GP services in Northumberland.

You can tell us your views online, over the phone by calling 03332 408468 or texting 07413 385275 for a callback, or ask us for a postal copy with freepost return.

There is the chance to enter a prize draw to win a £100, £50 or £25 High Street voucher as a thank you for sharing your thoughts. Please leave your views or send any paper copies back to us by Friday 25 February 2022.

This piece of work has now finished.

To keep up to date with all of our work and how you can get involved, sign up to our monthly newsletter.

Hospital reception area

Transport implications for health services in Coquetdale

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As part of the 2016 proposal to close the inpatient beds at the Rothbury Community Hospital, Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group produced a Travel Impact Report. An updated report was presented to the Rothbury Hospital Review Group in January 2019.

This report, and any examination of public transport timetables in Coquetdale, immediately demonstrates two key facts: for many people in the upper dale there is little or no public transport and the only towns directly accessible from Coquetdale are Alnwick, Morpeth and Newcastle.

We would add that such a study should also consider the reality of using services as well as their availability and we have looked in more detail at the most likely journeys to be taken. We also consider the issue of public transport provision in the future in the face of likely reductions in funding for concessionary and non-commercial services.
We consider some of the issues of using private cars, for example, the percentage of individuals of different ages that hold driving licences and the assumptions about car usage at different income levels.

Transport implications for health services in Coquetdale

 

young people in group

Insight Report – Young People’s Mental Health Services

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This report shares the insights from Healthwatch Northumberland’s on-going work to understand the different mental health services available for young people and the barriers they may face in using them.

Using the combined evidence from young people themselves and professionals in the statutory and voluntary sectors our aim is to highlight good practice and promote positive solutions to the commissioners and providers.

Read the full report here.

Great North Museum Hancock

Free Guided Tours of The Great Exhibition of the North – GNM:Hancock

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Would you like to have a free guided tour around the new and exciting exhibits in the GNM:Hancock? Four free tours have been arranged for different groups who may need particular assistance to access and enjoy the Great Exhibition of the North.

 

  • Wednesday 27 June, 3.30pm – 4.30pm

A tour for blind, partially sighted and visually impaired people with a tour guide who can give both description and information about the various exhibits as well as audio description as the tour takes place.  Places must be booked in advance (details below) and bookings need to be received by no later than 12.00pm on Monday 25 June.

 

  • Wednesday 4 July, 3:30pm – 4:30pm

A tour for people with learning disabilities or who consider themselves to be on the autistic spectrum. The tour guide will have received training in communicating with a wide range of people and will be able to answer most questions that may be posed about the exhibition.  Places must be booked in advance (details below) and bookings need to be received by no later than 12.00pm on Monday 2 July.

 

  • Tuesday 10 July, 3:30pm – 4:30pm

A tour for older people or those have dementia. The tour guide will be aware of specific communication and interpretation issues that older people may have and therefore the tour will cover as much of the exhibition as possible in the time available.  This will mean people attending the tour will not feel rushed or hassled and can enjoy their museum visit fully.  Places must be booked in advance (details below) and bookings need to be received by no later than 12.00pm on Friday 6 July.

 

  • Wednesday 18 July, 3:30pm – 4:30pm

A tour for deaf people and those with significant hearing loss. The tour guide will have worked with communication support including BSL interpreters so will be fully aware of all related issues. Bookings must be received by no later than 12.00pm on Wednesday 4 July,  to allow enough time to secure the services of any communication support including BSL interpreters.

Bookings can be made by via email to: robert.latham@twmuseums.org.uk or by telephone: 0191 277 2313.

There are up to 16 places available on each tour which includes support workers, guides or assistants.  Please book early to avoid disappointment.  Further information about the Great Exhibition of the North can be found here.

 

Man talking to doctor's receptionist

Access to healthcare: online survey

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The NHS in Northumberland was awarded ‘vanguard’ status by NHS England in 2015, after being chosen as one of eight areas across the country to take a national lead on transforming care for patients. Over the last year, the Northumberland Vanguard has introduced three new models of care across the county to transform local services:

1. Implementation of new access models across all GP practices including frequent attendees and long term conditions

2. Blyth Enhanced Care Model where multidisciplinary teams work with patients with complex needs to avoid admittance into emergency care

3. Integrated pharmacy service where pharmacists work in the community as part of multidisciplinary teams with complex care patients and in care homes

To ensure that pathways of care are designed around people’s needs and informed by what people are saying about accessing NHS services, an evaluation of these new models of care is being carried out. Northumberland CCG has commissioned independent research agency, Explain Market Research, to gather feedback from staff, patients and carers to establish how these models have impacted on these three key groups.

An online survey to seek peoples’ views about how they currently access GP and pharmacy services can be accessed below. The survey will run throughout August and September.

 

Northumberland Vanguard Survey