First up, Diabetes — we are holding a group consultation review tomorrow lunchtime. (12.30, 20th February)
Group Consultations and Reviews for People with Long-term Conditions
From February 2024, we will be able to deliver some patients’ routine check-ups as group consultations.
There is strong research suggesting that when people get some of their care and reviews in groups, they do better at keeping well and living a healthy life. Research also tell us that patients really like spending longer (45-60 minutes) with their doctor or nurse, getting to meet and learn from others in the same boat and having a bigger say in what gets discussed at the review.
Depending on the condition you have, we may ask you to book an appointment with our Healthcare Assistant, about two weeks before the consultation for your routine blood tests. This will allow time for the results of these tests to be returned to the surgery before the group consultation.
Some of your test results – like blood pressure, cholesterol and HbA1c – will be shared, with your consent, in the group consultation. People tell us this really helps them understand what these numbers mean and learn about how others manage their condition.
In a typical group consultation you will first of all spend some time as a group with the group facilitator, discussing what you’d like to find out in the session and looking at the Results Board. Each person will then have a 1-1 with the clinician, in a group setting. After this the clinician will leave the session and there will be further group discussion, reviewing what you’ve learned and setting personal goals.
There will be lots of time for questions and discussion. If you are invited and choose to attend you will learn a lot from other people with the same condition as you – and you might even make some new friends.
