For the patients of The Roseland Surgeries
Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays
Christmas is round the corner – I don’t know where the time is going!! So here is a little reminder of when the surgery will be open over the Festive Season.
Fri 23rd Dec – surgeries open as usual
Sat/Sun – Xmas Eve/Xmas Day – CLOSED
Mon 26th Dec Boxing Day – surgery CLOSED
Tues 27th Dec Bank Holiday surgery CLOSED
Wed 28th Dec – open as usual
Thurs 29th Dec – open as usual
Friday 30th Dec – open as usual
Saturday – New Year’s Eve surgery CLOSED
Sunday – New Year’s Day surgery CLOSED
Mon 1st January 2017 – SURGERY CLOSED
Tuesday 2nd Jan 2017 – open as usual 08.30 am
Although we are only closed for two working days over Christmas (as we always would be), this year the holiday straddles a weekend again and thus it will feel like we are closed for longer. If you will need medication over the holiday period, do please remember to order it in good time – perhaps no later than 16th December. This will allow the dispensary time to order any drugs that we don’t hold in stock and get your medications ready in plenty of time so you are not rushing around on Christmas Eve unnecessarily.
It would be inappropriate to use the emergency services to request regular, repeat medication when the surgery is closed. We are very grateful to our patients for their help and co-operation at this busy time.
Have you had your Flu Vaccination???
Just a reminder that Flu Vaccination Clinics are currently underway. We have a few vaccines left here and there with appointments available at all three surgery sites through November.
Please don’t wait for your invitation letter – book your appointment as soon as you can. Your GP recommends a flu jab if you are over 65 years of age. We are also keen to target anyone who is immunosuppressed, pregnant, a healthcare/social care worker or in receipt of Carer’s Allowance. As in previous years, if you suffer from a disease of the heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, nervous system or are affected by asthma or diabetes, you should also have the jab.
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, which are often given at the same time.
Shingles Vaccinations 2016
The Dept of Health continue their programme of offering vaccinations to certain age groups and this year if you are either 70, 71, 72, 73, 78 or 79 as at the 1st September 2016, you are eligible for the vaccination. If you would like to have this important immunisation and are in one of the eligible age groups, please ask at reception for a suitable appointment with the Practice Nurse.
Emailing the Surgery
Many patients email the surgery either to order their medications or to contact us at a time that suits them. Did you know that you have the ability on your email system to request either a ‘received’ receipt, or a ‘read’ receipt? This would mean that once your email is received and/or read by the team here, you would get an email confirming this. You might find this helpful if you’re wondering whether we have actioned your prescription request and if there is any query, you would know either way if we had got your message or not.
A Message in a Bottle…….
Some patients attending our Flu Day recently may have spotted a representative from the Lions Club promoting the Message in a Bottle scheme. This idea is not exclusive to the Lions but it has been taken up by them and has become recognised as a very valuable resource. The idea is very simple. You simply complete a form with your personal details, your medication, any allergies or illnesses, next of kin information etc which would be helpful in the event that you required assistance from any of the emergency services.
The form, when completed, is placed in a sealed plastic bottle bearing a very distinctive logo and put in your fridge. This may sound a little strange but do read on…….. The reason for putting the bottle in the fridge is that in the event of a fire, your fridge is the last of the white goods in your house that would potentially be destroyed – and all emergency services know to look in the fridge for the ‘Message in a Bottle’. A matching sticker is also provided for you to place on the outside of the fridge and on the inside of your front door. Valuable time is saved by getting the appropriate help. We have a few bottles here at the surgery – they are FREE. Please ask for one next time you’re at Portscatho.
Café Roseland
You will hopefully be aware of our social Café which opens fortnightly on a Wednesday afternoon at the Memorial Hall (1.30 to 4 pm)
The Café is going from strength to strength with lots of activities to participate in – or easy chairs to sit and have a natter or read the newspapers if you prefer. There is no pressure on anyone to partake in any activity. This is your Café and a place to socialise. The Café is open on the following dates: 9th and 23rd November, 7th and 21st December and then in the New Year, 4th and 18th January. It will of course continue after that on a fortnightly basis. We do look forward to seeing you there.
The Repeat Prescription service
Could we respectfully remind patients that we need a minimum of TWO WORKING DAYS to process a repeat prescription? Collecting your medication from branch sites could take another day or two to allow for our courier to deliver from the surgery. Unfortunately, dispensing medication is not simply a case of taking a box off a shelf and there are several security checks that need to happen in between the doctor signing the prescription and the medicine being placed in a bag. These are in place to protect you from errors and we hope that our patients understand the need to ensure all of the processes are performed safely and accurately.
If you do need your medication urgently for whatever reason, the dispensary team will always help but could we ask that you are ‘patient’ patients while the medication is put together. Thank you very much indeed.
Travel Vaccinations
As more and more people go to more exotic locations for their holidays, we are being asked to undertake an increasing number of travel vaccinations. If you are thinking of going on holiday, your first point of call should be to check out what vaccinations (if any) you might need…. so head on to http://www.masta-travel-health.com/
On the left hand side of the page you will see a box headed: Are You Prepared?…..click on the link here and you can enter your complete itinery. It will then provide you with a list of vaccines that are recommended and/or essential for your destination.
We can provide most vaccines free of charge on the NHS. However, there are a small number of vaccinations such as Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis that are not available on the NHS and thus, we can only provide them privately.
Once you have your list of recommended vaccines, contact the surgery to book an appointment with the Practice Nurse. She will then discuss with you those items suggested on the list from the MASTA website and she can take you through a vaccination programme. We can also provide you with a cost if you need any non-NHS vaccinations.
Please remember that ideally, we need 8 weeks to fully ensure your immunity is up to date, before you travel. We can do a small number of vaccinations at short notice, but it is altogether better if you plan ahead.
Dispensary Answerphone Service
Our new telephone system has provided the dispensary team with an answerphone service which means patients can leave messages with medication queries. A member of the team will get back to you as soon as they can.
However, we’ve had a couple of instances where patients are leaving messages on the dispensary answerphone to try and book appointments to see the doctor. Unfortunately, the dispensary staff cannot action these requests and patients will have to phone in to speak to the Reception team to sort out appointment requests.
Nicola Hayward
Practice Manager
Dr. Mike Black
Dr. Will Hynds
Dr. Terese Tubman
Dr Jonathan Jacoby The Roseland Surgeries