News

Since Monday 13^th May, we have been working across both our Farnborough and Southwood sites delivering routine and urgent care to over 18,000 patients following our practice merger.

We are still very excited about the future of Voyager Family Health and all the benefits this brings, but we have inevitably had a few teething problems which we are trying to iron out.  We sincerely apologise for any technical issues that patients may be experiencing, but can assure you we are working hard to fix these processes and kindly ask you to bear with us whilst we are adapting to the new way of offering our services across both sites.

The Southwood branch practice are offering an urgent care system, where patients who need to be seen on the day will be seen by the relevant clinician (Doctor, Nurse Prescriber or Paramedic Practitioner).  They also offer some routine appointments during early evening clinics.

The Main branch site (formerly Milestone) will offer routine appointments – with Doctors, Nurses, Clinical Pharmacist, Advanced Orthopaedic Practitioners, Midwives, Health Care Assistants and Paramedics – which are pre-bookable in advance.  Patients visiting the main site will need to park in the multi-storey car park opposite the practice or one of the car parks in Farnborough.

For the period 13^th May – 17^th May we were able to see:

URGENT CARE  = 131
ROUTINE APPOINTMENTS = 997
TOTAL = 1128

We are still very much working towards all being ‘housed’ in one building in the first half of 2020.
Thank you again for your understanding as these changes settle in.

Patient Information

 

We want to improve your experience as a patient with Voyager Family Health and so we will soon be changing the way we provide appointments.

We have been running a pilot of this new service at our Main Surgery (Milestone) since November 2018 where we have made it much easier to make an appointment for those with urgent problems that need to be seen that day and have had excellent feedback from patients.

We now want to make this service available to all Voyager Family Health patients, the service will start on May 13^th 2019.

We are setting up a new Urgent Care service at our Branch Surgery (Southwood) and most patients needing an urgent/on the day appointment will be seen there.

You will book your appointment through your normal practice reception team and you will be seen on that day by one of our GP’s or another member of our urgent care team – nurse practitioner/prescriber, paramedic practitioner or first contact physiotherapist.

Why are we doing this?

At Voyager Family Health we want to make sure you are provided with the most appropriate treatment, in the best place, in a timely manner.

We have a responsibility to improve the quality of care provided to patients and to use NHS resources appropriately. One of our reasons for the recent practice merger was the opportunity it gave us to employ health care professionals with a range of skills and improve both routine and urgent care.

What will change?

Urgent/same day appointments:

1. If you need a same-day appointment, phone your practice as normal.
2. The receptionist will ask for some information so we can provide the right care for you.
3. If a same-day appointment is needed, you will be booked into an appointment at our Branch Surgery (Southwood) or be booked a phone call for you to speak with a relevant health care professional.

Routine Appointments:

All our patients will now have access to routine pre-bookable appointments and most of these appointments will be at our Main Surgery (Milestone):

1. If you need a routine appointment, phone your practice as normal.
2. The receptionist will ask for some information so we can provide the right care for you.
3. You will be given two choices, the first available appointment with an appropriate clinician or the next available appointment with the clinician of your choice. You will still be able to choose to see the doctor or nurse who you have seen before.

 

What about confidentiality?

We understand you may not feel comfortable telling the person at the other end of the phone about your health. Whilst you do not have to share any information you aren’t comfortable with, all staff who work in the practices treat your personal information sensitively and in confidence. The GPs at the practice have asked all staff to help them provide the best service possible and by sharing this information with the practice team, you can be seen by the right person more quickly.

What about contacting my GP for other things?

What about contacting my GP for other things?

For any routine request, such as test results or prescriptions, please contact

your GP surgery in the normal way.

Can I consult with my GP online?

Yes, go to the Voyager Family Health website https://voyagerfamilyhealth.co.uk/

On the first page you will find econsult. eConsult is a platform that allows patients to consult with their own NHS GP simply by completing a quick online form. It helps GPs to deliver better access to registered NHS patients by providing a round-the-clock portal where patients can enter their symptoms and receive instant self-help advice, together with signposting to NHS 111, pharmacies and other healthcare services.

Who do I contact with questions or feedback?

We understand that we have made some big changes recently and your views are very important to us.

If you have any concerns or comments relating to this service, or would like to provide some

feedback, please contact our practice managers – (contact details).

How do I get to my appointment?

See Maps of both of our locations: https://voyagerfamilyhealth.co.uk/contact-us/

For parking at our Main Surgery (Milestone) – Kingsmead Multi-Storey Car Park Kingsmead Farnborough Hampshire GU14 7SJ

For parking at our Branch Surgery (Southwood) there is ample parking nearby GU14 0NA

 
Important Announcement for all Patients of the Southwood Practice and the Milestone Surgery

We would like to update you about important changes to your GP surgery. Milestone Surgery and Southwood Practice are merging on 1st April 2019 to become one single practice called Voyager Family Health. You do not have to take any action as a result of this letter.

As often covered in the national media, there are many challenges currently faced by the NHS and GP practices. As a consequence, it is necessary for us to develop and adapt in these changing times. Milestone Surgery and Southwood Practice share the same commitment to provide high quality care to our patients and our goal is not simply to maintain the quality of care and services, but to improve it. We have therefore decided the best way forward is to merge both Practices into one.
In merging, we will be able to share working arrangements and work together to preserve and develop general practice and associated services in this area.

From the 1st April, our name will change to Voyager Family Health. We will continue to work from the same two sites initially with our joint team. Your registration will not be affected and you will be able to see the most appropriate member of our clinical team from one of the current premises. We hope to move to new purpose designed premises in the near future. Our new website is https://VoyagerFamilyHealth.co.uk

Our vision is to deliver an efficient healthcare service to meet the changing needs of our local population. We aim to improve access for our patients so that they are able to see a clinician with the right expertise to deal with their problem. We feel the best way of achieving this is through innovative collaborative working in a skill mix team. You may have already seen the start of this within both practices; Nurse Practitioners; Surgery Paramedic Practitioners; the Paramedic Practitioners who run our daily home visiting service (for the housebound), a Clinical Pharmacist and the Advanced Orthopaedic Practitioners. All these roles will be needed in addition to our more traditional workforce of GP’s, Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses and Health Care Assistants.

We plan to merge our computer systems on 15 April 2019 into one single system. This will unfortunately mean that some patients will not be able to book future appointments in the few days leading up to this date. We would also ask that any repeat prescription requests are given to us early to allow time for their preparation. We are grateful for your understanding during this time.

If you have any specific queries please contact our Practice Managers:

Helen Gledhill – NEHCCG.Southwoodpractice@nhs.net
Rachel McCrady – NEHCCG.Milestonesurgery@nhs.net

This is an exciting time for us all as we become Voyager Family Health and we are committed to continue our improved healthcare relationship with you all in a modern forward-looking practice.

Yours faithfully

The Partners at Voyager Family Health

Dr G Micklethwaite | Dr A Whitfield | Dr N Hughes | Dr D Moodley | Dr A Pal