The Enhanced Access has been launched in East Lancashire and will be provided by East Lancashire Alliance to increase the number of appointments available to patients in the area.

 Every GP practice in Burnley, Rossendale, Hyndburn, and Ribblesdale will be involved in the new Enhanced Access scheme.

 The Enhanced Access scheme means that patients can make an appointment via their registered practice to see a variety of Health Professionals such as GPs, ANPs, PNs, HCAs and Clinical Pharmacists which are delivered F2F and remotely Mondays to Fridays from 17:00 – 20:45, and 09:00 – 17:00 on a Saturday. This service has been set up by East Lancashire Alliance on behalf of Primary Care Networks to improve services available to patients outside GP core hours.

 The Clinicians will be able to access patients full medical record (including their practice notes), request tests and investigations, as well as completing referrals for them into further services and care. Anything added to the patients record during the Enhanced Access Consultation will go straight back to their registered practice so they can be kept up to data with anything that may have changed or been updated on the record.

 Appointments for services provided to all the patients in Rossendale Practices are available from the below locations:

• Irwell Medical Practice, Bacup Health Centre (Irwell Mill/Rochdale Rd, Bacup OL13 9NR) – Monday and Thursdays
• Ilex View Medical Centre, Rossendale Health Centre (Bacup Rd, Rossendale BB4 7PL) – Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays

 If you would like one of these appointments, please ask your receptionist team at your practice for more information.

Message from Dr Ailsa Cormack 28th October 2022

 I would like to announce, that after much consideration I will be retiring from Irwell Medical Practice at the end of December. This has been a difficult decision. It has been a privilege and pleasure to be a part of Irwell Medical Practice since its beginning in 2005. I have always felt welcomed by the Bacup community and it has been a pleasure to meet and get to know so many of you over the years.

I have worked at Irwell Medical Practice for over 16 years as a GP, having previously trained as a GP in Rossendale I then worked over the border in Todmorden before my return to East Lancashire.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made my work so satisfying and rewarding. I have come to think of many of my patients and their families as friends, and am honoured that I have cared for two, and even three, generations throughout my time here.

I have been part of a great health care team which has certainly changed over the years. I am grateful to have worked in such a friendly and supportive environment and I would like to thank all my colleagues, clinical and non-clinical, past, and present who have enabled me to enjoy my work so much.

I will certainly miss seeing my colleagues and patients. I will continue to be involved in the education of the next generation of doctors in my role at UCLan which will also enable me to keep in touch with my colleagues and friends at Irwell Medical Practice when our paths cross through training.

I will be taking a short break with my family and friends at the end of December and will then focus on my work with UCLan.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone and wish you all the very best.

Dr Ailsa Cormack.

For the most up to date information regarding COVID for the Rossendale area, please go to the below website:

https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/every-rossendale-area-records-new-18898475

Medical Records

Lancashire and South Cumbria has been chosen by NHS England to be a national pilot for the digitisation of Medical Records.  Scanning these paper based records and making them digital will enable better utilisation of space, creating more clinical space, staff areas, multi team space and video hubs, removing the need for some practices to build extensions. In addition it will also make your record more easily and speedily accessible to clinical staff within your practice.

Your complete GP medical record will be digital and stored in a secure cloud based clinical system (only accessible by your GP practice) with the paper based records being securely destroyed following BS EN 15713:2009 Secure destruction of confidential material.  Your GP will still be able to access your records easily within this system. The scanning and destruction of the paper records will follow strict data protection guidelines adhered to by the NHS.  As with paper based records, digital records are stored for the durations specified in the Records Management Codes of Practice for Health and Social Care. For GP patient records, this states that they may be destroyed 10 years after the patient’s death if they are no longer needed.

If you wish to discuss the scheme, please inform the Practice direct either by letter or via e-mail irwellmedicalpractice@nhs.net       

A national GP survey indicates that more patients in Rossendale rated their GP practice as ‘good’ than the national average.