Being a nurse in GP land during a global pandemic
Karen Landi is a GPN at the Speedwell Practice, North Finchley, Barnet.
The Coronavirus pandemic has been very challenging at times, meaning we have had to learn to work in different ways, while managing concerns for our patient’s health and wellbeing as well as that of colleagues and our own families. Initially many of us felt that we were protected in our practices, with potential Covid patients being seen in hubs rather than regular practices. We felt for our hospital colleagues and district nurses and we know that their workload was immense and scary.
But we stayed open, and we did our bit! We called all our patients aged 80 and over as well as contacting all our most vulnerable and shielding patients (twice), offering support and advice. We also changed reviews to telephone calls whilst diabetes checks and reviews continued - once we’d worked out about PPE and cleaning schedules etc. Nurses became receptionists while staff were either unwell or isolating. It was a steep learning curve!
HPV screening continued and we even took part in a pilot for self-screening. We never stopped immunising babies and children and expectant mothers. We also completed a project around the bereavement services we offer and have made some positive and effective changes to our practice. This happened as we continued to support nursing students throughout the duration of the pandemic – they found this very useful as many of their placements had been cancelled.
We developed a student welcome pack and shared it with all GPN colleagues in Barnet and we are currently working on a project to incorporate art in the surgery. The aim of this project is to help reduce stress and anxiety levels for both patients, their families, and our staff members.
Our GPN WhatsApp group has proven to be an invaluable source of information updates and support. I feel very fortunate to be working with the nursing team we have at Speedwell, however all members of staff have pulled together to help out during this time. A huge thanks to all my colleagues: GPs,receptionists, secretaries, prescription team, scanners, admin support and our pharmacist (I hope I haven’t forgot anyone!).
Our GPs have vaccinated all care home residents including housebound patients - and we had a very successful flu campaign too. One Sunday in September we vaccinated just under 1,000 of our patients aged 65 and over!
Challenges have been there of course as consultation room doors are closed with people consulting via phone. This then led to the communications between clinicians being very difficult. It felt like being a talking pamphlet some days and working in a call centre on other days!
Management has been inundated with streams of emails and changes have happened quickly - often with very little notice. Despite this their support has continued.
Without a doubt there are some changes in our ways of working that we will keep, and some we look forward to loosing. However, we will continue to look forward in hope and optimism to meet the challenges that working in GP land brings!
Last updated : 12 May 2021Thank you to those who responded to our data-validation exercise (21 May 2018)
A big thank you to all the practices who responded to the data validation exercise, which ran between January-March 2018. We asked practices to confirm the details of the GPs...Tips of the month May 2018 (21 May 2018)
We provide weekly tips based on common queries which come through to us from London GPs and practice teams. These are shared via social media and collated for...Seven London hospital trusts cease to accept paper referrals in June or July (21 May 2018)
From the 1 October eRS will be the only route for GP to Consultant-led first outpatient appointments, as part of the Standard Contract 2018/2019. However, Trusts have staggered paper switch-off...Free leadership coaching available for practice teams in London (18 May 2018)
The London Leadership Academy, a pan-London leadership development organisation, working across all NHS organisations offers a free coaching service for GPs and practice team members working in the NHS. Recent...Londonwide LMCs’ Buying Group new shredding service – sign up now (18 May 2018)
Almost a fifth of our practices have signed up to the new Londonwide LMCs’ Buying Group which means they can take advantage of offers such as a new shredding service...NHS Digital to increase threshold for data sharing with the Home Office (18 May 2018)
NHS Digital will now only share patient information with the Home Office in cases where an individual is being considered for deportation due to “serious criminality”. Previously NHS Digital had...Acting as a supervisor for a doctor with conditions (18 May 2018)
This month our GP support team pose a challenge: Ask not what your LMC can do for you – ask what you can do for your professional colleagues. Background GPs are...Londonwide LMCs conference 2018 round-up (18 May 2018)
On 2 May 2018 we hosted our annual conference – titled “London Calling” - at the Kia Oval. The day was a great success with an array of guest speakers...Londonwide LMCs' Buying Group - MIAB (16 May 2018)
Caring for those that care the most - expert insurance from MIAB It would be easy to think of MIAB as 'just' another insurance broker. As one of many in...May 2018 local election results and Lewisham East by-election (15 May 2018)
The local elections held at the start of May 2018 have brought about the following changes in local authority control for boroughs covered by Londonwide LMCs: The Conservatives gained...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
