Lakeside Healthcare Headlands

06/08/2025

High pollen levels can trigger asthma symptoms in children, especially at this time of year.

You can help reduce the risk of your child becoming unwell by taking four simple steps to manage their asthma.

Find out what you can do at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/asthma.

04/08/2025

Flu and Covid-19 vaccine invitations are on their way!

If you are eligible, you will soon receive a text message, letter or NHS App notification inviting you to pre-book your flu and Covid-19 booster vaccines.

These vaccines help protect you and those around you from serious illness this winter. They can usually be given at the same appointment.

What to do when you get your invite:
• Follow the booking instructions in your message, letter or NHS App
• Pre-book your appointment at one of our vaccination clinics running in October
• Please book as soon as you’re invited to make sure you get a time that works for you.

If you’re unsure whether you’re eligible or have any questions, please visit our website or contact us: https://www.headlandssurgery.co.uk/news/winter-flu-and-covid-19-vaccine. We are here to help.

Your GP. Your Vaccines. Your Protection this Winter. 🛡️

01/08/2025

Here's Di, who has taken up the new role of Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)and Additional Services Manager across Lakeside GP practices.

She and her colleagues meet regularly with our QOF team; sharing ideas, discussing issues, identifying key areas for improvement and helping our team to focus their efforts where they will have the greatest impact.

Di said: ‘Having a close working relationship with site teams allows us to tailor strategies to their specific needs. They are used to being on the ball themselves, and now they are getting used to the fact that they can just reach out and say, "can you give us a hand or support us with this?"

'We also make sure everyone is up to date with the latest BMA guidance and any new changes happening. It is about targeting the right patients in each clinical group, making the most of our resources and capacity.’

Di Woods

23/07/2025

Looking for something fun to get the kids moving?

Fitness coach, Joe Wicks MBE, has just released a new online series for children and families called Activate. It's a free animated series to keep them physically active over the summer. Each workout is for five minutes and is led by Joe dressed as an animate character.

➡️ You can watch the first episodes of Activate online now: https://ow.ly/3MWj50WsyFf.

18/07/2025

Welcoming Louise to the Headlands team

Advanced nurse practitioner Louise Armstong has fulfilled her ambition of working in Primary Care after a career in urgent and emergency care. She made the change after the death of a colleague made her determined to pursue her dream and she is now working at Headlands Surgery in Kettering, with ambitions to complete further training and development.

She described being offered the role on Christmas Eve as the ‘best present ever!’ and has settled in well to the ‘friendly and welcoming’ team. To prepare she undertook training in minor illnesses and she is keen to do more. ‘I am interested in women’s health, sexual health and contraception so I am currently doing an online course in that. I mainly see adult patients but am going to be completing a paediatric course soon to expand my role further.'

She was a hospital ward manager for seven years, moving to same day emergency care after the Covid pandemic as a trainee ACP, and although she always wanted to move into General Practice, she never found the right time or role: ‘When a long-standing colleague died suddenly and unexpectedly last year it made me re-evaluate. To be a nurse practitioner within Primary Care is what I wanted to do all along and I know Headlands is a good surgery with a lovely team.’

She has spent time shadowing colleagues in Kettering and Corby to prepare for the role: ‘Obviously having my Master’s in Advanced Clinical Practice puts me in good stead, and I see a lot of the minor illness cases, such as coughs, colds, ear, nose, throat and skin problems. I am currently doing my immunisation training to get ready for winter. It is definitely busy and can be stressful, and is very different to the role I had before. Getting used to different systems has been a big learning curve but the staff and GPs here have been really supportive.’

15/07/2025

We’d like to thank more than 400 patients who took the time to complete our recent survey.

We have also looked at the latest national GP Survey which had similar questions and which had 107 responses.

Our patient survey showed an improvement on all measures, for the second year running and the national GP survey had some very encouraging results, and we plan to build on this positive momentum.

Recent changes have included:

• Three new GP Partners joining us in the past year, including one with a specialism in women’s health, HRT and menopause management and family planning
• Training provided to the nursing team to provide asthma, COPD and travel advice appointments
• An increase in the amount of face-to-face appointments offered
• An increase in the number of First Contact Physiotherapy appointments, which have been extended by an additional day per week
• The appointment of a Practice Manager and Advanced Nurse Practitioner
• More capacity in our Management Support team
• Updated and easier to navigate website

Our patient survey results this year showed:
• 49% of respondents said that their overall experience of our service was good or very good (up 11% from last year)
• More people (47%) said they found it easy to contact us (up 11%)
• Call waiting times have improved with 43% of calls answered in ten minutes (up 14%)
• 68% of respondents were offered an appointment (up 10%)

Patients were more satisfied than in previous years on seven key areas including with the service received (up 22 points), happy with our staff (up 26 points) and likely to recommend our practice (up 21 points).

The national GP survey results showed:
• 57% of respondents said that their overall experience of our service was fairly/very good (up 19%)
• More people (54%) said they had a good overall experience of contacting us (up 20%)
• There was a rise in people (75%) finding our reception and admin teams helpful (up 13%)
• 88% of respondents had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they deal with (up 6%)

The survey also highlighted general areas of concern around access and continuity of care. We hope our changes will continue to improve things.

Lead GP, Dr Omar Ali said: ‘Both the Lakeside and National GP Surveys give us valuable feedback and statistics so thank you to everyone who took part. We have just introduced accountless access to Anima, our online platform, which makes it easier for registered patients to get in touch and we look forward to further developments with the NHS App and what it should mean for patient access. We have read the hundreds of comments that patients have taken the time to submit and continue to work closely with our Patient Participation Group.’

10/07/2025

Here’s Faith, our Learning and Disability Champion.

She recently completed her L&D training and said: ‘Following previous years helping with the booking of appointments and organising Learning Disability clinics, I was nominated as the Learning Disabilities and Autism Champion here.

'I am here as a contact for all our LD patients to help with appointments, give additional information regarding annual reviews, and assist with general non-clinical issues. Going forward, I will have dedicated times to allow patients to come in for help and guidance, should they need it.'

08/07/2025

Check your skin like Dr Mountis does☀️

We’ve launched a new campaign to help raise awareness of melanoma and the importance of both early detection and protecting your skin in the sun.

Our Skin Check Challenge features Dr Mountis, a GP at one of our partner practices, Lakeside Healthcare at St Neots. In the video, he explains how to check your skin for signs of melanoma and what to do if you notice any changes.

You’ll see him outdoors – but don’t worry, he’s wearing Factor 50 sunscreen and following all the right steps to protect his skin.

We’ve also shared a simple sun safety checklist on our website to help you stay protected while enjoying the outdoors.

👉 Watch the Skin Check Challenge video on Facebook, website or on our YouTube channel.
👉 Use the ABCDE checklist to check your skin.
👉 Share the video and help spread the word using .

Early detection can make all the difference. A simple skin check could save a life.

More here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SW-yGPHwc8o.

07/07/2025

We’re supporting Alcohol Awareness Week. We’re joining Alcohol Change UK to help raise awareness. Small changes to how much we drink can make a big difference to our health and how we feel at work.

This year, the focus is on how alcohol and work are linked. Whether it’s long hours, stress, blurred lines between work and home, or peer pressure to drink alcohol at workplace socials, there are so many ways work and alcohol are linked.

This , are starting a conversation about how alcohol and work are linked and you can be part of it. Join the conversation here: https://ow.ly/Amet50Wi9YT.

03/07/2025

Dear patients,

Our Anima platform will close earlier today for essential maintenance as we upgrade to an 'accountless' service. This means that, in future, you will no longer need to log in to use Anima.

The platform will reopen as normal tomorrow.

Thank you for your understanding.

01/07/2025

Cervical screening is changing – Dr Tobin from our partner practice Lakeside Healthcare Corby and Brigstock Surgeries breaks it down in under 60 seconds 👇

From July 2025, people aged 24.5 to 49 who attend routine cervical screening will see a change to how often they are invited for their next test.

Under the updated NHS Cervical Screening Programme, anyone in this age group who tests HPV negative at their next routine screening will be invited for their next test in five years, instead of the current three.

This brings the screening schedule in line with people aged 50 to 64, who are already offered screening every five years after a negative result.

The change follows national recommendations and is based on research. Studies show that:
• HPV testing is the most accurate way to identify those at risk of cervical cancer.
• A negative result means the risk of developing cervical cancer is very low.
• It is safe and effective to extend the gap between tests to five years.

Anyone who tests positive for HPV will continue to be monitored as before. This may include earlier follow-up or further testing if needed.

People who have had previous HPV-positive results may still be invited sooner, until a negative result is confirmed.

Those who miss their screening appointments will continue to receive reminders every three years until they attend and receive a negative result from a clinician-taken sample.

Self-sample tests will not be used to move people to five-year intervals. If your most recent test was from a self-sample kit, your next invitation will remain on a three-year cycle for now.

Screening schedules may also differ for people with certain medical conditions, such as those who are immunosuppressed or living with HIV.

If your next test is HPV negative, you will be invited again in five years.

If you are already waiting for your next screening invitation, this will not change, you will still be contacted as originally planned.

The new schedule will apply only after your next test, from July 2025 onwards. For more information about cervical screening, visit www.nhs.uk/cervicalscreening. You can also visit our website too.

To learn more about what to expect during your appointment, you can also watch our GP Talks video. In it, Dr Mittal from Lakeside Healthcare Corby and Brigstock Surgeries explains how the test is done, what your results mean, and how it helps protect your health https://youtu.be/X-hs6d8_k_E?si=4yEmtR0msgootAs9.

23/06/2025

Lots of patients are getting in touch about prescribed weight loss injections. To be eligible you have to meet the following criteria. For more information please visit our website.
Thank you.