Surgery_News_March_2008

							Surgery News
                                                                                CHURCH STREET SURGERY
                                                                                        94 Church Street
Some of you will have had the good fortune to have met our
                                                                                          PO BOX 360
new assistant GP Lailani Mondares, who quietly joined us in
                                                                                            Opotiki
November 2007. Dr Hilterman who used to work each
                                                                                Tel 07 315 6307 Fax 07 315 6320
Wednesday afternoon has moved on to other work in
                                                                                  Email drjo@opotikigp.co.nz
Whakatane.
                                                                                 Website www.opotikigp.co.nz
Lailani has arrived from the Phillipines and has had a few
months of settling in to find her feet and get used to the new
systems in New Zealand. She will be attending a regular GP
seminar on one day of each week from February onward but
otherwise is available for all appointments.
Lailani has a good general knowledge of all aspects of
medicine including minor surgery and emergency medicine,
but she is keen to learn more and ready to accept any
challenges you can throw at her !!
March will see the arrival of the first lot of 4th year medical
students, we intend to have a few 6th year students this year as
well, as always we appreciate your involvement with the            GP Principal: Dr Jo Scott-Jones FRNZCGP MRCGP (UK)
students but do not feel under any pressure to participate, the    Diploma Geriatric Medicine (UK) Diploma in Obstetrics and
receptionist will ask you if you are happy for students to be      Gynaecology (Aus) Diploma in Sports Medicine (NZ). Senior
involved in your consultation, and if not mark the encounter       lecturer Rural Health.
slip accordingly.                                                  Assistant: Dr Lailani Mondares
We welcome any suggestions you have to improve the service
we offer, please use the enclosed suggestion slip or speak to      Practice Nurses: Dorothy Keir, Frances Young.
any staff member. We got rid of the suggestion box as it was       Reception Staff: Noeline Burchett, Jan Donnelly, Vanessa
being abused, but please do not hesitate to make suggestions as    Churn
it is important to us that we continue to improve what we do.      Opening times: 08.30 – 17.00 Monday – Friday
                                                                   Out of hours call: 07 315 8500
Disease of the Month                                                       control has been shown to decrease clinically relevant macrovascular and
                                                                           microvascular events that occur with diabetes, as well as prolong life. From
Obesity                                                                    the report: ‘We do not intend to suggest that glycemic control
Keeping the Weight OFF ! What Works ?                                      is an ineffective intervention, but rather that treatment of hypertension
                                                                           should be prioritised and stressed as the most important intervention for the
The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) in America                     average population of persons with type 2 diabetes.’ Angiotensin-
consists of over 4800 individuals who have been successful in              converting enzyme inhibitors offer no advantage over thiazide diuretics,
                                                                           and second-choice agents should be beta-blockers or calcium-channel
long-term weight loss maintenance.                                         blockers.
All members have maintained a weight loss of at least 13.6 kg              Reference
(30 lb) for at least 1 year; on average these people have lost 32          1. Vijan S, Hayward RA. Treatment of hypertension in type 2 diabetes
kg and kept it off for 6 years.                                            mellitus: blood pressure goals, choice of agents, and setting priorities in
The purpose of establishing the NWCR was to identify the                   diabetes care. Ann Intern Med 2003; 138: 593–602.
                                                                           2. Snow V, Weiss KB, Mottur-Pilson C, et al. The evidence base for tight
common characteristics of those who succeed in long-term                   blood pressure control in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ann
weight loss maintenance.                                                   Intern Med 2003;1 38:587–92.
There is very little similarity in how these individuals lost
weight but some common behaviors in how they are keeping                   What this tells us is that it is really important to get your Blood pressure
their weight off.                                                          below 130/80 if you have diabetes, this may take several medications AND
                                                                           sticking to a low salt diet and regular exercise regimen – but you know you
To maintain their weight loss NWCR participants report                     will love it !!
eating a relatively low-fat diet, eating breakfast almost
every day, weighing themselves regularly, and engaging in                  Up Coming Events
high levels (about 1 hour/day) of physical activity.
                                                                           Opotiki Charity Concert 7.30 pm Opotiki College Hall
POEM – Patient Orientated Evidence that Matters                            Raising funds for St John Ambulance – ph 0272306914

Clinical question                                                          Variety Bash Comes to Town – Mud Slide – phone
What is the role of blood pressure control in patients with type 2         0272764549 for more information
diabetes?
Aggressive control of blood pressure, with a goal of achieving <135/<80    Opotiki Lions “Muddy Half” fun run / walk 10km / 21 km
mmHg, is the single most important management aspect for patients with
type 2 diabetes. Unlike aggressive blood glucose control, blood pressure
                                                                           Sunday 30th March – Mud Slide 10 am ph 315 3030
                                                                           Raise funds for Hospice