NHS GP practice supporting patients during COVID19

I'm so proud to be part of this fab NHS GP practice. here is an article outlining some of the work we are doing.

HIYOS (Firstcare Practice) responds to patient survey by launching webinar series and using social media and video conferencing to support patients through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. 

HIYOS (Healthy In Your Own Skin), an NHS GP practice in Hounslow formerly known as Firstcare, conducted a survey asking its patients how it could support them and what they wanted from the practice during the COVID-19 outbreak. It had nearly 2,000 responses from patients.

Between 20 and 30% of patients from different vulnerable groups said they wanted to know more about the Coronavirus and how to stay well. As a result, staff at the practice created ‘COVID-19 Mins’ – a series of webinars lasting no more than 19 minutes on topics chosen by patients, where clinicians and experts answer live questions from patients based on what they are most worried about. 

The series included a webinar to support pregnant women, as 29% of expectant mothers said they would like more information. Click here to watch the webinar.

The team at HIYOS worked together to create interactive group sessions to improve wellbeing and have so far covered the following topics: cooking for diabetic patients, a quiz for kids, mindfulness for the elderly and food banks for families. The practice plans to do more sessions in the coming weeks, including an interview with a real life commander of an American nuclear submarine, giving useful tips for social isolation! 

As part of plans to reduce demand on NHS services and achieve better outcomes for patients, staff at HIYOS used data from the CQC and the survey results to identify the preferred methods of communication for different population groups, in order to tailor communication to meet the needs of different patient groups. 

A GP at HIYOS, Dr Tal Mahmud, said: “At this time of crisis, it’s critical that patients are given the specific support they need via their preferred channels. It’s our job to work hard to make it easy for patients to engage with us.”

The practice is now communicating with patients by text message, social media and Zoom, and plans to implement a chatbot in WhatsApp to help patients with queries. Texts and phone calls are still preferred methods of communication, but some patients did say that they would like to use other channels such as Facebook and Skype. The practice plans to initiate at least 1,000 interactions with patients every week. 

HIYOS has also created a set of ‘profiles’ which are designed to help staff build a better understanding of patient behaviours. The profiles include information not only on a hypothetical patient’s health, but also on their profession, lifestyle, family, hobbies and education. The profiles are now being used by staff to provide services and information which is much more tailored to the needs of particular patient groups. 

Click here to watch a video with a summary of the survey results. 

https://youtu.be/C2jaTyn-qkE