The Penrose Scroll - Edition 3

Author

Kelda Manser-Smith
March 19, 2025

Welcome to the third edition of our Penrose Health newsletter – The Penrose Scroll. If you have any suggestions for the next edition, please let us know here! 👈

Latest News

You’re all Accurx aficionados

We’ve been looking into our Accurx usage across Penrose Health, and we’re delighted to see that you’re all making great use of this platform! Accurx is a powerful tool, and we’re glad that our teams are using it to the fullest. 🤩

We have a couple of tips for you on how to be more fragment efficient… but first of all, what is a fragment?

When an SMS is sent via Accurx, although it appears as one message to you and the patient, it’s split into chunks of text called fragments. We can send a maximum of four fragments in one SMS, which is a total of 612 characters (including spaces and special characters). We pay to send messages via Accurx based on number of fragments we’re using. Each time you go over a fragment boundary, you’re charged for the fragment above, i.e. 305 characters = 2 fragments, 307 characters = 3 fragments. 👇

  • 1 fragment = 160 characters

  • 2 fragments = 306 characters

  • 3 fragments = 459 characters

  • 4 fragments = 612 characters

You can see how many fragments you’re sending in the top right corner of the message. 👇

If you can make your message more concise, first of all it saves us money on fragments, but more importantly it means that the patient is only receiving the relevant information that they need!

We also have loads of template messages available to save you time and effort! You can browse the templates by clicking in the ‘Search for a template or questionnaire’ box, then clicking ‘Browse’. If you can’t find a template that meets your needs, let us know via our Accurx Template Request form and we can make one for you (the form is also linked in the Portal homepage 😊).

Our final tip is to please keep on using Accurx! It’s a great tool to be able to communicate with patients, and we’re glad that it’s being put to good use. These tips are simply to make you more aware of some even better ways to use Accurx. ✨

See our Portal page: Accurx for more guidance on how to use Accurx.

EMIS is now Optum

As of 17 March, EMIS has rebranded as Optum! They are gradually rolling out this change, so you will continue to see EMIS branding for some time (e.g. EMIS Web and EMIS-X are not being renamed for now), and the functionality of these platforms will remain the same. You may start to see Optum branding and logos appear in other places, for example, EMIS Now is now Optum Help Centre, and EMIS Academy is now Optum Learn. You can read more about this change here.

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New safeguarding registers

You may have noticed we’ve got some snazzy new safeguarding registers for all of our sites! You can find them in your surgery Team on Teams, in the top bar of the Safeguarding channel.

A big thanks to Addison for setting them up to help support our teams!

Learning & Development Updates

Don’t forget, you can find out all about L&D at Penrose Health, including how to make a training request, on our Portal page: Learning & Development!

Upcoming PLT dates…

Lambeth

21 May 2025

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10 June 2025

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10 September 2025

Lewisham

2 April 2025

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14 May 2025

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26 June 2025

Southwark

20 March 2025

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17 April 2025

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15 May 2025

Blue Stream Academy

We’re on the right track… let’s keep it going into the 90s! 🙏

Upcoming training events

20 March (9:30am - 12pm) - Male Allyship Workshop Session

Please contact Ola Shitta to register - [email protected]

25 March (9:30am - 12pm) - WAVE and Safe Haven Training

Please contact Ola Shitta to register - [email protected]

Every other Monday (4pm - 5pm) - Cardiac Webinars

April - November 2025 - Cardiometabolic Fellowship Programme (applications close 26 March)

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Lunch & learn webinars

Browse more upcoming lunch & learn webinars on the SEL WDH website here!

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If training falls within your normal working hours, please first agree with your Lead that you are able to attend, then submit a training request to our L&D Coordinator - the form is also on the Portal Homepage! 

Past events & recordings

And finally, you can check out these past training events whenever you have the time…

CHILDS Framework - Past Webinar Recordings

CESEL Education - Training Recordings

What’s New in the Penrose Portal?

New & Updated Pages

For those of you who would like some reference materials for medical terminology and abbreviations, we now have two pages on the Portal to help:

Please check them out, and if we’ve missed out a medication or abbreviation, let us know through the Penrose Portal/Academy Feedback Form.

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Ask Aunty Portal…

The L&R Team try to keep an eye on our communication channels, in the hopes of supporting staff when they have questions and making best use of the resources we have available.  It’s very likely that if one person has a question as to how to do something, than others probably have the same question.

Here’s a question that we spotted this week that we thought would be helpful to answer…

Q. I have read the portal guidance on how to get in [to the London Bridge office] if I am here first, just before I enter - where is the alarm panel as that’s not clear on the portal page?

A. The portal page Opening and closing process at 9 Holyrood Street has now been updated to explain where the alarm panel is - thanks for giving us the opportunity to make this better!

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Significant Events Heads Up

Significant events present a valuable occasion for learning, and honing our systems. Here, we discuss recent Significant Events and highlight the lessons learned and actions taken to reduce the risk of them happening again.

1️⃣ Unlabelled specimen when test requested offline

Event: After requesting blood tests via offline form, some requested blood tests reports came back as unlabelled specimen; the blood sample tubes were not labelled.

Not labelling samples correctly, or at all, wastes time and resources. Many patients do not like having tests done in the first place, and having to repeat one because a sample was not labelled correctly can be distressing for them. Also, consider the amount of your work time wasted by having to repeat a procedure unnecessarily.

The recent problems with TQuest have resulted in greater use of offline forms.

✨ Learning point ✨

Ensure staff know the correct procedures for specimen collection and labelling, especially when arranging tests offline, including:

  • emphasising the importance of double-checking patient details

  • ensuring that samples are labelled at the bedside before moving on to the next task.

Regular reminders on the importance of accurate specimen labelling should be incorporated into team briefings/staff meetings to reinforce awareness.

See our Portal pages: TQuest and Samples for all you need to know about arranging laboratory tests.

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2️⃣ Needlestick injury post injection

Event: A patient attended the surgery for administration of a Prostap injection. The nurse administering the injection did not record the batch number and expiry date of the injection from the injection container box. The patient then left, taking the box with them.

The nurse had not immediately disposed of the syringe into the sharps bin and therefore got the batch data directly from the syringe. As the nurse was recording the data, a needlestick injury occurred because the safety cover failed.

A doctor on site was informed, the nurse attended Occupational Health for a Hepatitis B booster, and the patient had to have a blood test for blood-borne viruses and a risk assessment by the doctor.

✨ Learning point ✨

Ensure strict adherence to SOPs for safe disposal of sharps, including the following:

  • remember to get the data required in the safest way - from the injection box if possible

  • record all relevant data prior to injecting

  • never attempt to re-sheath a needle

  • don’t leave sharps lying around

  • needles and syringes must be disposed of together (do not separate).

See our Portal pages: Needlestick injuries (recently updated to reflect this event), Safe use and disposal of sharps, and Waste management

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Significant Moments

As SEs tend to identify our natural human vulnerability of being flawed, another part of being human is our impressive ability to show empathy, kindness and caring, often beyond the call of duty. There is no better indication of this asset than feedback from those on the receiving end of it - our patients.

To celebrate the wonderful things our staff do, here’s some patient feedback (written as a screenplay) - bask in the glory, people! 🎥🍿✨

Scene 1. KINGFISHER SURGERY

The parent of a non-verbal child requires an urgent appointment and gets one within an hour (already impressive, KF!)

PATIENT’S PARENT

“Staff responded with remarkable efficiency and sensitivity, immediately recognizing the urgency of our situation.”

Scene 2. DOCTOR’S OFFICE

The Doctor listens to the patient’s parent and thoroughly examines patient. (as all of our doctors would!)

PATIENT’S PARENT

“The doctor who saw us…showed incredible patience, expertise, and understanding when dealing with my non-verbal son. Her attentive care and thorough examination gave me complete peace of mind…address[ing] all my concerns with compassion and clarity. As a parent of a non-verbal child, having medical professionals who truly listen and understand our unique challenges means everything.”

Scene 3. PATIENT’S HOME

Patient’s parent is sat at computer, composing an email.

PATIENT’S PARENT

“Your team demonstrated exceptional skill in managing…sensitive situations involving children with communication difficulties. There's something special about the atmosphere at Kingfisher…[that] makes patients feel genuinely supported and valued.

Having been registered with two other GP practices previously, I can say with confidence that the level of care at Kingfisher…sets the standard for what medical care should be.

You previously encouraged me to leave a review on the NHS website...But…(with humour) perhaps I shouldn't praise you too highly in public! If everyone knew how exceptional your care is, you might be overwhelmed with new patients! Of course, I'm joking, but the quality of service…is genuinely remarkable.

Thank you again…Your team is making a real difference in our lives.”

Beyond First Impressions

Tenacious Theresa, a treasure to our team…

Theresa Murfitt

Theresa has been a mainstay of Penrose Health for the past six years. A confirmed giraffe lover, she is no stranger to sticking her own neck well above the parapet to help someone else or to ensure the completion of a task. We have come to rely on her for so many things, but do we really know very much about her? Let’s delve a bit deeper…

What's inspiring you in life right now? 

As the weather is getting better, it is giving me the incentive to be more active.

Sweet or savoury? 

I definitely prefer sweet, I am a confessed chocoholic.

What’s your favourite board game? 

Cluedo, I love anything that is murder mystery and working out who done it!

What’s your guilty pleasure? 

I love watching football supporting both Newcastle United and Arsenal. It can get a bit tricky when they are playing against each other, all the family up north think I will be shouting for Newcastle, however, it is Arsenal I want to win.

Where would we find you this weekend? 

I like to spend the weekend relaxing, reading a good book, snuggled up with my husband on the sofa. Some of the weekend is also spent on food shopping, cleaning and preparing food for the week ahead and going for a walk on a Sunday.

What’s your favourite underground line and why? 

I don’t think I have a favourite line, however, I have do have a love of the underground, it has always fascinated me, I have read lots of books about the infrastructure, if I had to choose, I would say the Piccadilly Line as this goes to all my favourite places.

What’s one thing you had to learn the hard way? 

As you get older your balance is not the same as when you are younger, as I found out to my detriment, two weeks into a new job, getting fit deciding to roller-skate around the work car park, fell over and broke my wrist, at least everyone then knew the new starter Theresa!

If you were not a PA, what would you be doing? 

I would have trained to be a midwife or nurse as I have always enjoyed caring for people and I am always at my happiest when helping others.

Thank you, Theresa for taking the time to let us know more about you. We did a bit of looking into giraffes and discovered that they are known to be friendly, peaceful, gentle creatures, working in packs to keep each other safe. It is easy to see why you love them so much…you are our very own gentle soul, looking after all of us at Penrose. No doubt, you would have been a wonderful midwife or nurse, but we are supremely lucky and glad to have you ‘giraffing’ over us!

Next time…we’ll hope to find out more about one of our Paramedics!

The Shout Out 📢 

Let’s give a big Penrose Health 🙏🏼Thanks to…

Stacey James is an exceptionally hard worker and has been a stalwart in the reception function, especially during times when co-workers have been absent for various reasons. She is resilient, practical, and consistently cheerful, even in difficult situations. We are very fortunate to have her on board!

We think all of our employees are invaluable, but if you think a member of your team deserves a shout-out for something special they’ve done or achieved, let us know here.

Mindfulness (or mind-less-mess!)

Staff well-being is a key tenet of the Penrose Health ethos. In order for you to perform at your best, you need to feel ‘at your best’. Doing something that takes you to an oasis of calm can work wonders for your physical and mental health. So, we’re sharing some local activities and services that could help you reach that Zen inner peace. ☮️

  • Spend some R&R time at the Community Sauna Baths! In case you need any more convincing, they offer an NHS discount…

  • The Carnegie Library Hub is a thriving centre of activity in Lambeth, providing learning, fitness and wellbeing, cultural and social activity. See all the activities they have on here: Carnegie Library Hub Events

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If you know of any activities or services available to our teams, let us know here so we can share it with everyone else!

And finally, did you know that... 

  • Penrose Health will contribute £30 towards the cost of your eye test, and £80 towards the cost of a pair of glasses! See our Portal page Glasses & Eye Tests for more information. 🤓

  • Nandos offers 20% discount to NHS staff (up to an order value of £20)!

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If you know of any discounts local to your surgery, let us know here so we can share it with the rest of the team!