September 2012 - Download as DOC

							                         The College Yard & Highnam Surgeries
                                     NEWSLETTER
                                    September 2012

Retiring GP Dr Jane Mann will be retiring from General Practice (now that she has reached the grand old
age of 60!) and will be leaving at the end of November this year. Dr Mann joined the practice as a partner 12
years ago, having worked previously in Family Planning and other associated fields. Dr Mann has given
many years of service to patients across the county and will be missed by her colleagues, staff and many
patients. We wish her well enjoying holidays and relaxing at home in Kilcot.

Dr Paul Atkinson is joining the practice from September. Dr Atkinson has moved from Derbyshire to be
nearer his family where he worked in the Out of Hours service and was a partner in a GP surgery.




Preparations for Blood Tests       It is important that you prepare for your blood test. This will ensure the
accuracy of your results, enable the phlebotomist to obtain blood from a vein easily and help your body to
recover without complications after your blood has been taken.

Fasting - Please drink plenty of water to remain hydrated. However, you must not eat or drink anything
else for 14 hours prior to your test.

If you have not been asked to fast before your test please ensure you eat and drink as normal before blood
tests.


Gloucestershire Breast Screening Programme Dr Miller, Mann and Smith all strongly recommend that any
woman invited to attend for Breast screening do so as scientific evidence demonstrates that regular
mammographic screening reduces mortality from the malignancy. Despite all women between the ages of
50-70 being invited, only 78% of women in Gloucestershire took up screening in the last round. On top of
this, each missed appointment costs the NHS £40 and represents a missed opportunity for someone else.
We know that screening works, but only if women attend! Further information can be found at
www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk



Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)           Immunisations are currently being offered to all girls aged 12-13 years in
their schools in order to protect against cervical cancer. The immunisations are offered over a 6 month
period at 0, 1-2 months and 6 months. If your daughter for some reason misses out on this important
course of injections, it is possible to book in with the surgery to complete or initiate the course. If you have
any query relating to this please speak to either the school nurse or contact the surgery.


Flu Clinics       Over the next few weeks patients who are eligible to receive a flu vaccination will be sent an
invite to this year’s flu clinic. The clinics will be held on:

                          Sat 6th October 2012, 9am – 12 noon at The College Yard Surgery

                           Sat 13th October 2012, 9am – 12 noon at The Highnam Surgery

                         Thursday 18th October 2012, 4pm-6pm at The College Yard Surgery

                            Thursday 1st November 2012, 5-7pm at The Highnam Surgery
If you have moved house recently please ensure you tell us your new address so that we can be certain you
receive your invite. You will need to attend one of the dates above (bringing your invite with you) as we will
not be able to accommodate you if you fail to take up this opportunity. For patients who are not entitled to a
free flu vaccination and who would like one, they are available at various pharmacies around the county for
a small charge.
Influenza is a serious viral disease and we know that it can be very serious and potentially fatal in people
who are pregnant, the elderly or those with long term medical conditions, because their bodies are not
always strong enough to fight off the infection. Sadly, each year some people actually die from flu. If you
would like further information flu leaflets are available at the surgery.


During your appointment          It is not appropriate for certain procedures to be carried out in the presence
of young children. It can be distressing for the child and off -putting for the patient. Please ensure you
arrange suitable childcare so that you can have a constructive consultation. Practice staff are not available
nor can they provide safe cover for the care of patient’s children.


From the Dispensary

So much more than’ putting a label on a box!’

Your prescription request has quite a journey! After being collected from the box or printed from our
website the information is put into our computer system. Providing it’s on repeat the request goes straight
through. If it isn’t a repeat the item has to be specifically authorised by the Doctor, who will have to look at
it after a busy surgery!

We then get to the really interesting bit. We print the label and match the drug to it. Obviously it is
essential that mistakes aren’t made, so dispensers are not available on the ‘phone before 2.00 p.m. because
any interruption is distracting. Enquiries about whether a prescription is ready the day after putting in the
request are not welcome, and the answer will always be the same - your prescription will be ready 48 hours
after you have requested it, not including Saturdays, Sundays or Bank holidays!

The prescriptions then have to be signed by a doctor.

We maintain a small stock of medicines in the dispensary. Most items are ordered in daily and each delivery
has to be checked and sorted. There are two deliveries every day.

Finally your medications are selected, checked by a second dispenser, neatly labelled, bagged and put on the
shelf for collection. It’s a long journey that starts all over again 20 or so days later, which is being carried
out on every dispensing patient (2,600) so please bear a thought for your prescription and the journey it
takes. 48 hours notice is essential and unless it’s absolutely vital medications on repeat cannot be done on
the same day because there is far more to it than ‘putting a label on the box!’



Parking     The patient numbers at both surgeries are growing and therefore, at times the car parking is
limited. Please be considerate when parking (often space is used suitable for 2 cars) and do not block or use
the disabled parking area. Staff have started to monitor parking and will ask patients to move their vehicles if
parked inappropriately.


Missed Appointments Too many appointments are being missed every day. The current average waiting
time to see a nurse is 3 weeks and 9 days to see a GP. During August, 18 GP appointments and 60 nurse
appointments were missed. Please remember to cancel your appointment if it is no longer needed so that
we can offer it to other patients and bring down waiting times.