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Keep up to date with the latest news, events and announcements from your local Practice.
Due to a high volume of travel requests and limited nursing capacity, there is currently a delay in processing travel health assessments.
If you are due to travel within the next 3 months, please arrange your assessment through a private travel health service to ensure you receive timely advice and vaccinations.
For those who have already submitted a travel assessment request, please note that we are working through these and will contact patients as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Tier 3 Mounjaro Information
There has been significant media coverage of weight loss drugs, and we recognise that this has meant many enquiries to request to prescribe.
There are an estimated 3.4 million eligible patients nationally. The treatment for the management of overweight and obesity will be made available in phases to help manage demand on existing services and ensure staff are appropriately trained and able to give patients the support they require.
We are not able to prescribe this drug in primary care other than for those who are living with diabetes who need their therapy optimising and even for people living with diabetes, doses greater than 5mg need specialist recommendation (from the community diabetes service or Leeds teaching hospitals).
Tirzepatide for overweight and obesity has been approved for a small cohort of people for use in our specialist weight management service, or otherwise termed Tier 3 weight management clinics.
Tirzepatide will not immediately be available and will not be accessible to everyone who wishes to use it. Initially, Tirzepatide will only be available through NHS services to those who meet the criteria set out by the national institute of clinical excellence. They have prioritised groups who have greatest clinical need. Leeds Practices will be searching and proactively contacting eligible people.
Our Leeds specialist weight management services aim to be able to provide Tirzepatide to those eligible by mid-2025 at the earliest. Timelines are subject to further national guidance being made available and ICB implementation/decision making. We will contact these patients directly so there is no need to contact practices to request a GP referral at this stage.
There are a variety of options, non-medical, medical and surgical that may be suitable for treatment of overweight and obesity for people. Tirzepatide might not be suitable for everyone and not everyone who meets the eligibility criteria will want to use it to support their weight loss. A healthcare professional within the specialist weight management services will discuss the most appropriate care and support, based on individual patient’s need.
Some patients will want to try to access this drug privately. If you choose to explore this, we urge you to find a CQC registered facility with medical cover to help you and to inform us that you are taking any private weight management drugs so we can record this on your notes.
Weight loss drugs are just one option available to support patients in managing overweight and obesity. Information on local support available for healthy diet, weight and physical activity is available on the Weight Management Service (WMS) tab.
The NHS website provides advice and information to patients about improving their lifestyle and losing and managing their weight safely by eating a healthy, balanced diet and regular physical activity. Obesity – NHS.
For more information, visit the WY ICB website:
www.wypartnership.co.uk/our-priorities/medicines-and-prescribing
We hope this information helps you.
People with musculoskeletal (MSK) health issues affecting their joints, bones and muscles who are registered with a GP practice in Leeds can now use getUBetter, a new app designed to help people with MSK injuries and conditions manage their symptoms at home.
The free app gives users information, tips, advice, and exercises to help them recover and improve their health and lifestyle.
The getUBetter app offers people with joint and muscle issues:
- 24/7 support approved by your clinicians
- Easy to follow exercises
- Support to recover, live and work well
- Help when on a waiting list
- Advice on when to seek help from a GP
- Access to local treatments and services
- For more information
- Support for managing persistent pain
The app is not designed to replace the care and advice people with joint and muscle injuries and conditions get from their GP practice and medical specialists, but to complement the care they already receive.
To download the app:
– search ‘GetUBetter’ in your phone’s app store
– use the GetUBetter application on your computer at app.getubetter.com
– scan the QR code below using your phone
Are your medicines stacking up? Only order what you need
Every year, about £18 million worth of medicines goes to waste in West Yorkshire. This includes things like inhalers, pain medicine, and creams.
The NHS needs your help! Following these easy steps when ordering your medicines:
How you can help
- Only order what you need - before getting more, check what medicines you already have.
- Return extras – when picking up your medicines at the pharmacy, only take what you need. If you return something before leaving, it can likely be reused
- Stick to your routine – order your medicines when you're running low (7-10 days before its needed), and no earlier.
By doing this, you will:
• Get the right medicines and care
• Help reduce waste
• Save NHS resources
• Help reduce environmental harm
It’s also safer! Keeping too much medicine can cause confusion especially if your prescription changes and harm to children and pets in the home if they come into their reach.
You are encouraged to speak with your GP or pharmacy team if there are repeat medicines you no longer need or want to take anymore. A more appropriate plan will then be discussed with you if necessary.
If you have any questions, your GP, practice team or pharmacy team can help. Reach out to them for advice.
Find out more by visiting the website: www.wypartnership.co.uk/orderwhatyouneed
Important information about accessing Mounjaro (tirzepatide)
We’re aware of recent media coverage about the weight loss treatment Mounjaro (tirzepatide).
This medication is being rolled out gradually across the NHS in a phased way. That means not everyone who may benefit will be able to get it right away.
At first, it will only be offered to people with serious health risks linked to their weight. If you are eligible, the NHS will contact you directly.
Please do not contact your GP practice about this treatment.
We understand that it may feel frustrating or disappointing if you're not eligible for Mounjaro at this time - even if you’ve been hoping for this kind of support. Please know that other help is available, and we are committed to offering compassionate, personalised care to everyone who needs it.
If you need further help with weight management, please see our dedicated page here.
Due to ongoing GP collective Action; unresourced and inappropriate transfer of work to GPs is an ongoing issue, and this is being addressed through recent BMA collective action, BMA guidance Quality First:
Managing workload to deliver safe patient care, and recognised by NHS England, with Making Time for General Practice, General Practice Forward View and in hospital contracts since 2016, https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/02-nhs-standard-contract-fl-ps-2324.docx
Alwoodley Medical Centre will no longer by taking in Treatment Advise Notes and or prescribing any medications requested by Hospital clinicians or Specialist Clinicians if the patient has not been started by that clinic.
- Patient must be stabilised on medication before it can be considered suitable for GP prescribing
- Medication should only be prescribed by a specialist with appropriate expertise and skills
- Medication required, because of a test organised by the hospital should be issued on a hospital prescription.
Update - 17:00
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Patchs - Performance Issue Resolved Starting at 8am this morning we identified that Patchs was running slowly and in some cases not loading. After investigating the issue in detail we have implemented a fix to resolve the issue and normal performance should now be restored. While we previously reported a much higher volume of requests than usual post a Bank Holiday, Patchs was already prepared for this and it was not the direct cause of the issue. Instead, the higher than usual number of requests uncovered a performance bottleneck with a database query which had not been seen previously. We have now fixed the bottleneck and are checking for anything similar that could cause issues in future. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and want to assure you that addressing these issues are our highest priority. We are committed to ensuring this does not recur and appreciate your patience as we continue to enhance Patchs. If you have any questions or are still experiencing issues, please do not hesitate to reply to this email. Kind regards |
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Your Patchs Health Team |
06th May 2025 – Technical issues
As of 8:30 this morning Alwoodley medical centre has been struggling to access the PATCHS system and the telephone system which has also affected the patients accessing this as well.
Both PATCHS and the phones are intermittent, unfortunately all callbacks are no longer accessible which if you have requested a callback we apologise as we cannot action them due to this error.
Once we have any further information regarding a fix to the issues, we are facing we shall update this page.
We thank you for your patience and understanding and being kind to the team when calling the surgery or visiting reception whilst we fix the access problems and deal with the patients we have already received and booked in appointments.
If you need urgent assistance, please contact 111, 111online or you can speak to the local pharmacies as they can assist with many conditions.
Vicky - Patient services manager.
Road Closures 1st April – 29th August 2025 – King Lane, Alwoodley
Road to be closed between 09:30am – 15:30pm
The works are intended to take place between Tuesday 1 April 2025 and Friday 29 August 2025, subject to variation due to adverse weather conditions. The closures will be in force between 09:30 and 15:30 hours on weekdays and between 07:00 and 18:00 hours at weekends.
Individual closures will only be in place as and when required during the overall works period. Local diversions will be in place and advanced road closure warning signs detailing the days and times of the closure/restrictions will be placed on the road.
Access to premises and for emergency vehicles will be maintained.
