Preparing for Travel with Medication

If you’re planning to travel abroad and take regular medication, please take the following steps to ensure a smooth and safe journey:

• Advance Notice: Contact the surgery at least 8 weeks before your travel date to discuss your medication needs.
• Medical Summary: A summary of your medical conditions and current medications can be requested at reception. If you require a formal letter signed by a GP, this will incur a £15 fee.
• Prescription Copy: Carry a copy of your prescription when travelling.
• Packaging: Keep all medication in its original, labelled packaging. It’s best to pack most of your supply in hand luggage, with a spare amount in your checked baggage in case of delays or loss.
• Liquid Medications: If you are carrying liquid medication over 100ml (including inhalers), check with your airline and departure/destination airports about any documentation you may need. Always declare these items at airport security.
• Needles and Syringes: These must be carried along with the relevant medication. Do not carry syringes on their own.
• Storage Advice: If you’re travelling to a hot climate, speak to your pharmacist about appropriate storage for your medication.
• Medication Restrictions: Some countries have strict regulations on certain medications. Please check with the embassy of your destination to confirm whether any restrictions apply, especially if you take controlled drugs.

Benzodiazepines for Flying

Jacksdale Medical Centre does not prescribe benzodiazepines (e.g., diazepam) for flight-related anxiety or sleep during flights. This is based on the following reasons:

• Medical Guidance: These drugs are not recommended for treating phobias or mild anxiety.
• Safety: Side effects like drowsiness and impaired coordination can pose serious risks during air travel, especially in emergencies.
• Legal and Ethical Concerns: Prescribing for non-clinical use, such as sedation during travel, goes against clinical guidelines and may present legal implications.
• Alternative Support: We recommend patients struggling with fear of flying consider professional support, such as therapy for anxiety or phobias.

Introducing Heidi AI at Jacksdale Medical Centre

At Jacksdale Medical Centre, we are committed to delivering the best possible care to our patients. To enhance the quality and efficiency of our consultations, clinicians may use Heidi Health AI Scribe during your appointment. Below, we explain what this is, how it works, and how your consent is managed.

What is Heidi AI?

Heidi is an AI-powered medical scribe that listens to consultations in real time and converts them into structured medical notes. This allows your doctor or nurse to give you their full attention without needing to type extensive notes during your appointment.

How does Heidi AI work?

• Live transcription: Heidi listens and transcribes your consultation as it happens.
• No recordings stored: The tool does not keep any audio recordings—only the notes the clinician chooses to save.
• Integrated into medical records: Saved notes are securely added to your electronic health record within the NHS system.

Your Privacy and Security

Your privacy and comfort are our top priorities. Heidi AI only processes information discussed during your appointment and operates within strict privacy and data protection regulations.

• Your consent is required: Before using Heidi, your clinician will explain its role and seek your verbal consent. You have the right to decline or withdraw consent at any time.
• Data security: Heidi complies with UK data protection laws, including GDPR, ensuring your information is handled securely and confidentially.
• No external storage: All data is securely stored within the UK, and no recordings are kept.
• Data protection review: The Data Protection Impact Assessment has been conducted by Dr Hussain Ali, who is the Data Controller and Responsible Authority for the practice, and has been approved by the Data Protection Officer for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB.

Your Control

• If you prefer not to have Heidi AI involved in your consultation, simply let your clinician know.
• Choosing not to use Heidi will not affect the quality of your care in any way.

Why are we using Heidi AI?

• To allow clinicians to focus fully on patient care.
• To ensure accurate and efficient documentation of consultations.
• To reduce administrative workload, meaning more time for patient interaction.

If you have any questions, please speak to a member of our team.

Jacksdale Medical Centre Policy on Shared Care Agreements with Private Providers

Our Approach to Shared Care

At Jacksdale Medical Centre, we aim to provide safe and effective care within the NHS. This includes decisions about shared care agreements, where responsibility for a patient’s treatment is shared between their GP and a specialist. For treatments started by private providers, we have decided not to enter into shared care agreements.

Why We Don’t Enter into Shared Care with Private Providers

This decision wasn’t taken lightly, and we understand it may be disappointing. However, there are several important reasons for this policy:

1. Safety First
   • Private providers may not follow NHS guidelines or offer the same level of monitoring as NHS specialists. This can affect the safety of your treatment.
   • If private care stops (e.g., if payment isn’t made), we may not have the information or expertise needed to safely continue your treatment.
2. Specialist Monitoring
   • Some treatments, like ADHD medication or gender-affirming treatments, need regular checks (e.g., blood tests or heart checks). These are the responsibility of the specialist who started the treatment, and we aren’t trained to take this on for private prescriptions.
3. Fairness and Resources
   • We are funded to provide NHS services, not to support private treatments. Accepting private shared care requests would take resources away from other NHS patients.

If You Are Receiving Private Treatment

If you’re getting treatment from a private provider and need ongoing care, we recommend:

• Asking your private provider about their long-term care plans.
• Discussing referral to an NHS specialist, if appropriate. Once your care is transferred to the NHS, we can often take over prescribing under an NHS shared care agreement.

What This Means for You

• If you choose private treatment, you’ll need to continue getting prescriptions and monitoring from your private provider.
• For medications commonly available on the NHS, we may ask you to get the first prescription privately before we review whether it’s appropriate to switch to NHS prescribing.

Supporting Your Care We’re here to help you navigate your options and ensure your care is safe. If you have any questions, please speak to one of our team, and we can guide you on the next steps.

Jacksdale Medical Centre Policy on Sedation for Scan Requests

At Jacksdale Medical Centre, we understand that some patients may feel anxious about having radiological investigations, such as MRI scans. However, we do not prescribe sedatives, such as diazepam, for these procedures. This policy is in place to ensure your safety and to align with best practices in healthcare.

Why We Don’t Prescribe Sedatives:

• Monitoring Requirements: Sedated patients need to be closely monitored to ensure their safety. General practices are not equipped to provide the continuous monitoring required, which can only be safely delivered in a hospital setting.
• Unpredictable Effects: Sedatives, even in low doses, can have unpredictable effects. Some patients may experience agitation or other side effects rather than the intended calming effect. This unpredictability increases risks during procedures.
• Timing Challenges: Sedatives are typically taken an hour before a procedure. If there are delays at the hospital, the timing of the sedative’s effectiveness may be compromised, leading to further complications.
• Hospital Expertise: Hospitals have the expertise, trained staff, and necessary equipment to provide sedation safely if it is needed. Hospital consultants can prescribe appropriate medications and ensure the right support is in place during your scan.
• The Royal College of Radiologists’ own guidelines on sedation for scans does not mention any GP involvement and states:  “Safe and effective analgesia and sedation should be delivered by an appropriately trained and credentialed team with good access to anaesthetics, pre-procedure assessment, sedation plan and checklist, with appropriate monitoring and availability of resuscitation equipment and reversal agents.” (see this link for more information).

What You Can Do:

• Discuss with the Hospital Team: If you are anxious about your scan, inform the hospital team managing your care. They are best placed to assess your needs and provide appropriate support, including sedation if necessary.
• Explore Relaxation Techniques: Many patients find that relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or guided imagery, can help manage anxiety about medical procedures.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. If you have further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak to a member of our team.

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are partnerships between General Practice surgeries who care for neighbourhoods of between 20,000 to 100,000 people. They work together to provide services designed for the specific needs of their communities.

A key focus of PCNs is to empower people to live well by supporting them to achieve personal health and wellbeing goals. These include feeling connected, maintaining employment, living independently, raising a healthy child, caring for a loved one, being active in family-life, participating in the community, and contributing to the local economy.

There are six Primary Care Networks across Mid-Nottinghamshire, and each one is led by a Clinical Director.

Jacksdale Medical Centre is part of Ashfield South PCN, who you can find further information about here.

To view our Public Health National General Practice profile including Quality and outcomes framework information, please Click Here

We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish. You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.

If a clinician wishes to conduct an examination with a chaperone present but the patient does not agree to this, the clinician must clearly explain why they want a chaperone to be present. The clinician may choose to consider referring the patient to a colleague who would be willing to examine them without a chaperone, as long as the delay would not have an adverse effect on the patient’s health.

A chaperone will only be present for the examination itself, and rest of the consultation will take place while the chaperone is not present. Please be reassured that all practice staff understand their responsibility not to divulge confidential information.

All our chaperones are suitably trained and have had a DBS check.

As is required for all GP practices, every patient has a designated “accountable GP”.

This named GP takes responsibility for the co-ordination of all appropriate and delivery of services for their assigned patients. They also handle correspondence received from hospitals and other healthcare services regarding your care, as well as reviewing any repeat medication you have.

Having a named GP does not mean you cannot see any other doctor at the practice. If you need an urgent appointment and your named GP is not available, you may be assigned to another GP for that appointment. You can also request not to see your named GP if you would prefer.

If you are unsure who your accountable GP and would like to know, speak to our reception staff and they will be able to assist.