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January Newsletter
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for the patients of The Roseland Surgeries
Happy New Year to all our patients and their families! We wish you a happy and healthy 2016.
New Year…….new you?
For many of us, January is a time to have a bit of a detox from the excesses of Christmas. Some people are participating in ‘Dry January’ – a chance to refrain from alcohol just for a few weeks, and for some an opportunity to raise money for charity in the process as they are sponsored to stop drinking.
Additionally, January is a time to reflect on bad habits and while for some, their resolution is to stop smoking, others are looking to the New Year to improve their eating habits. The emphasis is more on eating healthily rather than that dreaded word ‘dieting’. If you need help with this, there are now Healthy Weight Sessions being run throughout Cornwall (our nearest in Truro and St Austell) Please ask at reception for an application form – you don’t need a referral from the GP.
Flu vaccines
We still have a few vaccines left – if you haven’t had your jab yet and you are in an ‘at risk’ group, please avail yourself of this opportunity as soon as you can. Patients at risk include those over 65 years of age, those who are 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. We will continue to offer this vital, annual immunisation until the end of February.
Help for Carers
Some patients have carers from private agencies or Social Services who come in regularly to help them with things like getting dressed, going shopping, meals preparation etc. However, there are people who look after their spouse or a relative and don’t officially call themselves a ‘Carer’.
We don’t like to label ourselves in any way, but if you do help your spouse or partner, or you help look after an elderly/infirm relative, you can get support and help for yourself. It is easy to forget that people who care for other people need to be looked after too. If you care for someone, what would happen to them, if you became ill? If you take someone shopping, but then cannot drive for a short time, how will that person get their food? How will you manage yourself?
It is vital that Carers get the support they need to help them to care for other people and to that end, we would be very grateful if you could let us know if you do care for someone – that person doesn’t need to be a patient of ours – but it is important that we know if someone relies on you to help them with their day-to-day needs.
Care Quality Commission Inspection
We have been informed that the Care Quality Commission will be inspecting The Roseland Surgeries on Wednesday 3rd February. Three or four inspectors from CQC will be coming for the whole day and will spend time with the doctors, nurses, the Practice Manager and the admin team. Surgeries will continue in the usual way and you should experience no disruption, should you happen to be in the surgery on that day. You may, however, be approached by an Inspector for your views on the Practice.
We do also have comment cards in Reception and a confidential box in which to put your answers should you wish to do so. These cards will not be seen by the Practice team and will be used by the inspectors to form part of their post-inspection report.
Signing yourself off sick
Did you know that if you are off work for less than 7 days, you can sign yourself off sick? You need to complete a form SC2 for sickness of 3 to 6 days duration – your employer may have a blank form you can complete, or you can download them from here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-sick-pay-employees-statement-of-sickness-sc2 (the link will also be found on the surgery website). You do NOT need to see a GP for such a note for less than 7 days sickness.
If you are sick beyond 7 days (and that includes non-working days) you must then see the GP for a ‘fit note’ – they used to be called sick notes!
If your employer insists on a GP note for less than 7 days’ sickness, the GP may provide one, but there will be a charge payable.
Regular monitoring with the Nurses
Patients with ongoing ‘chronic’ diseases such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease etc should have regular monitoring appointments with the Practice Nurse. These may be just once a year, or every 6 months, depending on your circumstances.
We will telephone you when your check up is due and book you in with the Nurse at any of the surgery sites to suit. We’ll try to be as accommodating as possible, but sometimes, because of holidays or sickness, we might need you to go to another surgery site on that occasion.
It can feel for some patients, like this is a bit of a nuisance and they don’t really want to be bothered – we know it’s often difficult to fit such a check up into your busy day. Whilst patients are under no obligation to have these checks done, it is vital to us that you stay healthy and well for as long as possible. These appointments can be a good way of keeping things in check – for example, we might find that your blood pressure or cholesterol is a little on the high side, but regular monitoring can ensure we stay on top of things. This might mean a slight alteration to your diet, it might mean you need to start medication, but doing this sooner rather than later can prevent many more serious things.
If you would rather discuss this with a nurse, before booking an appointment, please give us a call and we’ll leave a message for Kassie or Sue to ring you back.
Community Mapping
At a recent Roseland Surgeries Patient Group meeting, we discussed a community mapping project that been piloted on the Penwith side of the county. We know that the Roseland Magazine is a fantastic resource of events and what’s going on, but this map would take things a step further. Essentially, this project involves mapping out such things as: charities, lunch clubs, WI/Lions clubs, knitting session, arts/crafts, hospital/clinic services, sailing clubs etc., that are available to residents in a particular area.
The map could also show dog-sitters, parent/toddler groups, the local choir group, branches of the Samaritans, AA – the list is endless really!
For an idea of community mapping, you could take a look at the Penwith Community Map which can be found here:
http://knowledgebucket.org/community-map/
We’ll be asking patients with local knowledge for their thoughts as to what could be included. Once it’s completed, the map could be used by doctors, district nurses, health visitors, Age UK – anyone who needs to know anything about what’s going on locally and that might be of interest to a patient in need.
Roseland Surgeries Patient Group
We are sad to hear that Cynthia Calton, who has chaired the group now since September 2014 has decided to relinquish this role as she takes on other commitments. We are very sorry to see her leave the group and wish her all the very best in her future endeavours.
We are always looking for new members to join the group, to bring along fresh ideas and perspective. If you would like to join (and please remember, you volunteer your time for as much or as little as you can do) please let Nicola, the Practice Manager know and she will be pleased to give you more details.
Bank holidays to remember:
Just a little reminder that Easter is very early this year, at the end of March. The surgery will be closed on Good Friday, 25th March and Easter Monday 28th March. We’ll be open again on Tuesday 29th March as usual at 08.30 am.
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