****************************
September Newsletter
****************************
for the patients of The Roseland Surgeries
Flu Day – Friday 23rd September 2016
Appointments for our Flu Day are going like hot cakes so book your appointment now if you haven’t already done so!
Please don’t wait for an invitation letter
Other organisations may approach you offering to provide an alternative service, but please remember they will not have access to your medical records and cannot give other immunisations, such as those to protect you again pneumonia or shingles, which are often given at the same time.
Shingle Vaccinations for 2016
While we’re on the subject of immunisations, the ongoing programme to vaccinate patients against shingles continues. You may be aware from previous years that patients are being vaccinated specifically by age – this year’s campaign will target patients who are aged 70, 71, 72, 73 and 78 years as at 2nd September 2016.
Other age groups will be called in subsequent years and there will be catch up programmes operating each year. The campaign is targeting patients between 70 and 79 over a series of years, so if you’re not eligible this year, please don’t worry…..you will be called eventually.
If you are in the age groups above, and you would like a shingles vaccine, please let us know. We can often give you this vaccine at the same time as your flu immunisation, so it might be worth thinking about tying the two in together!
How is your diet?
A study in the Journal of Public Health has shown that poor diet is the behavioural risk factor with the highest impact on the health budget of the NHS, followed by alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity. Ill health related to poor diet costs £5.8 billion a year, alcohol and smoking cost £3.3 billion each and physical inactivity £0.9 billion pounds. The study compared data from 1992-3 and 2006-7, and was published in the British Medical Journal in 2012.
We have opportunities as adults to change our diets with so many choices of alternatives to high sugar and fat foods. However, we should bear in mind that children have their choices made for them and we can also make changes that will improve their future health. Childhood Obesity is now directly linked to poverty and poor future health in the UK.
If you would like help and advice to improve your diet, please speak to either your GP or one of the Practice Nurses. You may also like to check out the Cornwall Healthy Weight programme. Their website details are:
https://www.cornwallhealthyweight.org.uk/
or contact by telephone: 01209 313419
Cafe Roseland – our official launch!
You will no doubt have seen by now details of our community Café which launched on Wednesday 14th September in the Memorial Hall. Café Roseland is a place for people to get together and socialise. A small but significant number of residents attended the launch and we received some very positive feedback. If you would like to attend, please come along – no invitation necessary! The next session will be held on Wednesday 28th Sept from 1.30 pm to 4 pm (and fortnightly after that) – everyone welcome!!
Refreshments will be available together with activities such as art, sewing/knitting/crochet, board games, looking through photos of Old Cornwall etc, or you may just prefer to have a cup of tea and talk to friends.
Disabled Car Parking Spaces
Some patients will be aware that we have three car parking spaces to the rear of the surgery building marked out for disabled drivers. It has been brought to my attention that cars are often parked there, with no disabled badge on display.
Could we respectfully request that these bays are left for disabled drivers and those using the bays clearly display their blue badge? Many thanks for your help with this.
Yet another scam!!
Word has reached us that another unscrupulous company is targeting patients yet again. They call themselves the ‘Health Awareness Campaign’. Patients have reports that they are being told there is a new wonder drug that is better than any medication prescribed by her GP. One such report has come through of a diabetic patient who thought she would just take the new tablet instead of her diabetic medication.
This lady unfortunately gave her bank details for a withdrawal of £25 to start with and money has been deducted from her account, although she has now cancelled the direct debit.
The Cornwall Local Medical Committee has telephoned the company to ask how they obtained patients details, who they are and what they are advising. They have allegedly suggested it is an aloe vera supplement that they are selling and they would not advise patients to stop their medication.
We would just like to reassure patients that their details are never given to a third party without their express consent. If anyone contacts you trying to sell you anything and suggests that your GP has asked them to call, please err on the side of caution.
Our new GP Registrar
We have recently been joined by our new GP Registrar, Dr Caoimhe (pronounced ‘Keeva’) Geehan. Dr Geehan is originally from Northern Ireland but trained in the South West. Dr Geehan will be with us until August 2017 and we hope you will make her very welcome. She will be working closely with Dr Hynds and offering appointments at all three of our surgery sites.
Roseland Surgeries Patient Group
We have a very active and supportive patient group here at Roseland Surgeries. A programme of fundraising a couple of years ago resulted in 20 defibrillators being purchased and installed across the Roseland – two having been used very recently.
If you would like to join in, do please come along to one of our meetings. These are held in the third week of the month and the dates of the next few meetings are here:
Tuesday 20th September 5 pm to 6 pm
Wednesday 19th October 5 pm to 6 pm
Tuesday 15th November 5 pm to 6 pm
Wednesday 21st December 5 pm to 6 pm
All meetings are held here at Portscatho Surgery. You can come as frequently or infrequently as you like – there is no commitment to attend all the time, but we are extremely grateful to anyone who can offer help, however big or small that may be.
If you would like to know more about what you can do for the group and the surgery, do please get in touch with Nicola, the Practice Manager.
Nicola Hayward
Practice Manager
Dr. Mike Black MB ChB MRCGP DRCOG FP Cert
Dr. Will Hynds MA MB BChir MRCGP DRCOG DCH
Dr. Terese Tubman BMed MRCGP DipFFP
Dr Jonathan Jacoby MB BCh BSc (Hons) MRCGP