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December Newsletter
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For the patients of The Roseland Surgeries
Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays
As I type this, I feel we’re hurtling towards Christmas at an alarming rate – and not a Christmas Card written!! Below is a note of our opening times over the Festive Season.
Thurs 24th Dec – Xmas Eve – open to 5 pm with emergency cover to 6.30 pm.
Fri 25th Dec – Christmas Day – CLOSED
Sat 26th Dec–Boxing Day– CLOSED as normal
Sun 27th Dec – surgery CLOSED as normal
Mon 28th Dec–Bank Holiday – CLOSED
Tues 29th Dec – open as usual 08.30 am
Wed 30th Dec – open as usual
Thurs 31st Dec – open as usual
Friday 1st January 2016 – surgery CLOSED
Mon 4th January 2016 – open as usual 8.30 am
Medication Quantities
Some patients have asked if they could have two months’ worth of medication to cover them over the festive season. Unfortunately, we cannot do this for reasons of patient safety. We respectfully remind our patients that we are only closed for two working days and provided patients have ordered their usual medication to cover them over the two day closure, there is no need for additional quantities of medication to be dispensed.
Pharmacy Opening Hours
Some pharmacies are open over the Christmas and New Year bank holidays to provide emergency dispensing of medication. The Out of Hours service should be able to tell you which pharmacies are open. However, I thought it might be helpful to outline who is open and when:-
Xmas Day – Boots Carlyon Road St Austell,
11.30 to 12.30.
Boots Truro Health Park, Infirmary Hill 2 – 3 pm
Boxing Day – Boots Carlyon Road, Boots at Mount Charles, and Day Lewis Pharmacy– all in St Austell from 9 am to 1 pm
Sun 27 Dec – Sainsburys, Truro – 10 am to 4 pm
Tesco at Garras Wharf – 10 to 4 pm
Mon 28 Dec – Sainsburys, Truro 9 am to 7 pm
Superdrug, Boscawen Str, Truro 10 to 5 pm
Tesco, Garras Wharf, Truro – 9 am to 6 pm
New Year’s Day – Asda, St Austell – 11 to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm
Boots, Fore Street, St Austell – 10 to 5 pm
Boots, Pydar Street, Truro – 10.30 to 4.30 pm
Sainsburys, Truro – 10 am to 5 pm
St Mawes Pharmacy is not open on any of the above dates. There are, of course, other pharmacies across the county that will be open, but these shown are our nearest. All offer help with minor ailments and the Pharmacist is able to offer direct help with such problems as: urine infections, conjunctivitis, oral thrush and nappy rash.
Healthy Weight Clinics
Almost all of us over-indulge at some point during the holiday season, and we’re very pleased to inform our patients that there are a number of Healthy Weight clinics which will be starting up in January. If one of your resolutions will be to eat more healthily, but you need some support to keep that going, you may want to avail yourself of this service.
Clinics are taking place in Liskeard, Callington, Truro, Penzance, Camborne, St Austell, Falmouth, Pool, Camelford and Newquay – and timings of the clinics vary from mid morning through to the evening, so one of these will suit!
You don’t need a referral from the GP as such, but in order to secure a place, you’ll need to complete an application form and send that off giving your 1st and 2nd choice clinics. Please ask at reception for a form.
These clinics are also being offered to children from the ages of 4 to 17 years.
New Year’s Resolution Number 2??
As well as eating more healthily, you might have decided that 2016 is the year you finally give up smoking. Please don’t forget that we are here to help and can offer you assistance with what can be, for many people, a real struggle.
If you think you might need help to stop smoking, or you want to discuss how you might stop and what’s out there to help you, for example, using nicotine patches, nicotine replacement gum/tablets etc., please book an appointment to see one of the Practice Nurses in the first instance.
With the average cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes at £8.39, if you smoke 20 per day over the whole year you could spend something in the region of £3062!! If you’ve got a special holiday planned, maybe for an anniversary or birthday, this might be all the incentive you need to give up once and for all.
Non-NHS charges
From time to time, we undertake what is known as non-NHS work – this could be a medical examination for an HGV licence, or a Sea Farer’s Medical, a passport form that needs signing or a holiday cancellation form. As these items (and others) are not deemed to be part of our NHS contract, GPs are able to make a ‘private’ charge. A list of these fees can be found in reception and there are leaflets available also. There are certain travel vaccinations which we must charge for as they are not available on the NHS.
Unfortunately, we have undertaken some of this work, and patients have omitted to pay in some circumstances. This might be because the letter they asked for is no longer needed – but we have taken time out of the ‘NHS’ day to do this work and therefore, we do need to cover those expenses.
Therefore if you should require a medical examination, a letter, a form to be completed, or travel vaccinations that are chargeable, we must ask that patients pay for this BEFORE we can authorise the work.
Communicating with Reception Staff
Often patients will telephone the surgery and ask to speak to a specific GP. The receptionist has to ask you what it is in connection with. This is not only to find out if it is an emergency, but also which way to direct your call. For example, some patients may not realise that the doctors do not deal with travel advice – this is a job that the Nurses do and if we have this information, we can accurately deal with your call. If you have a problem with your medication, tell the receptionist what the problem is – this way, the doctor can then work out how urgent your query is………can it wait until after surgery? Does it need to be dealt with immediately?…..etc.
A startling number of patients will telephone us when they are having chest pain, which could be a sign of a heart attack. Please do not waste valuable time by phoning us – get straight onto the ambulance service by calling 999. Equally, if you are phoning because someone has collapsed and is unconscious, it would be appropriate to call for an ambulance.
We certainly do not mind you telephoning us – but it is vital that you give the receptionist all the information you can. All members of our team must sign a confidentiality clause as part of their contract of employment. Please don’t feel that the receptionist is being ‘nosy’ by asking questions -the doctor will not be able to deal with your query, if he/she doesn’t know what it’s about! And by giving us as much information as possible, you really do help us to help you.
Roseland Surgery Patient Group News
Our Patient Group continues to organise activities for members of the community and you may have seen details of forthcoming events in the Roseland Magazine and on posters around the Peninsula. Clay sculpture and art classes are organised for January and Walking in Company continues.
If you would like further information on any of the activities, or if you would like to become a member of the group, please contact Nicola, the Practice Manager for more information.
Christmas Wishes
As this will be the last newsletter before the festivities commence, the partners, staff and I should like to take this opportunity to wish our patients and their families a very Merry Christmas and a happy (and healthy!) New Year.
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