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Winter 2015
Edition 1
(January)
Pinfold Medical Practice Newsletter
Pinfold Lane, Butterknowle, Bishop Auckland DL13 5NX
Tel: 01388 718230 Fax: 01388 718645
www.pinfoldmedical.co.uk Surgery Consulting Hours
By Appointment Only
1 patient 1 appointment
Appointments are in 10 minute slots,
if you need more time, please ask our
Receptionist when booking your
appointment.
Monday
8.30am – 11.30am
3.00pm – 7.00pm
Tuesday
8.30am – 11.30am
2.00pm – 4.00pm
Wednesday
8.30am – 11.30am
3.00pm – 5.30pm
Thursday
8.30am – 11.30am
2.00pm – 4.00pm
Friday
8.30am – 11.30am
3.30pm – 5.00pm
The practice is closed Weekends and
Bank Holidays
Reception Opening Hours
Monday
8.15am – 6.30pm
Tuesday
8.15am – 4.45pm
Wednesday
8.15am – 6.30pm
Thursday
8.15am – 4.45pm
Friday
8.15am – 5.45pm
Closed Weekends and Bank Holidays
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the first edition of our Practice Newsletter, which I hope you
will find informative in keeping you up to date with what is happening at the
practice and in primary care. We aim to publish seasonal newsletters.
There are many changes in the NHS as a result of the challenges and
pressures it faces in providing a modern health care system but nonetheless,
it remains the best health care system in the world. Primary Care is the
frontline of the NHS and by providing the best possible health care service
we strive to protect the NHS for future generations. I believe this must be a
joint endeavour on the part of patients and staff alike.
We hope that you will find the contents of our newsletters informative and
would welcome any relevant comments, suggestions or contributions. We
would also encourage you to join our vPRG (virtual Patient Participation
Group) – just log on to our website and follow the link. For those readers
who would prefer not to use the internet you can use one of our feedback
forms that are available in the practice entrance lobby, write to or telephone
us at the practice. There are patient surveys that you can take part in –
either via our website or by using the survey forms/kiosk located in the
practice entrance lobby.
The Partners
Healthwatch County Durham
Healthwatch County Durham (HWCD) is the consumer champion for local
health and social care provision. They listen to you to find out what you
think of the health and social care services you come across. They speak up
for you with those who provided health and social care services. They
advise you on how to get the best health and social care for you and your
family.
Members of the public are invited to drop in sessions, to talk to HWCD staff.
We want to hear of people’s experiences and help them get the best from
local health and social care provision.
Barnard Castle 2nd Monday B/C Library
of every month The Witham
10am – 12pm 3 Horsemarket, B/C
Bishop Auckland 3rd Friday B/A Library
Of every month Town Hall
10am – 11.30am Market Place, B/A
Dispensary Opening Hours &
Services
Monday
8.30am – 12.30pm
2.00pm – 6.30pm
Tuesday
8.30am – 12.30pm
2.00pm – 4.45pm
Wednesday
8.30am – 12.30pm
2.00pm – 6.15pm
Thursday
8.30am – 12.30pm
2.00pm – 4.45pm
Friday
8.30am – 12.30pm
2.00pm – 5.45pm
The Dispensary CLOSES daily
between 12.30pm – 2.00pm.
Please give staff 2 working
days’ notice for repeat
prescriptions.
You can order your repeat
prescription by:-
Signing up to e-ordering
(register with Reception
Desk first)
Faxing or posting your
repeat prescription form
Dropping in your repeat
prescription form at the
Dispensary.
The practice is closed
Weekends and Bank Holidays.
On Line Appointment Booking and Repeat Prescription Ordering
Patients aged 16 years and over only – not available to children under 16 years of
age.
You will need to register first at the practice – please ask our Receptionist to help
you do this.
Once registered you will be able to:
Book an appointment on-line
Request a **repeat prescription on-line
Change your address and telephone/mobile details on-line
Register (new patients) on-line
** Please note this is for repeats only. Acute or one-of medicines are not available
on on-line requesting. You will need to make an appointment to see your doctor to
request such medicines. This is in the best interests of the patient.
Once registered, you can access any of the on-line services above using the practice
website.
RSVP Surgery Transport Scheme
What is the RSVP Surgery Transport Scheme?
RSVP GP Car Scheme transports patients who are unable to travel by conventional
means due to temporary or permanent accessibility problems or are unable to
travel by any other form of public transport.
All drivers of the GP car scheme are volunteers who, using their own cars,
generously give their time for the benefit of patients in need. There is a suggested
journey donation of £3.00 per return journey. The transport is from the patient’s
home to the doctor’s surgery and back, only.
How to use the service
Should you wish to make use of the service, please tell the GP receptionist when
you are booking your appointment. She will then pass your details to the volunteer
driver who will get in touch with you and finalise arrangements. Please give as
much notice as possible to the driver. Please pay the driver directly on collection
from your home, at the beginning of the journey.
I would like to become a volunteer driver, what do I need to do?
Please get in touch with RSVP Northeast on Tel: 0191 389 1155 and they will take
you through the sign up process. The practice does not do this.
Emergencies & Out of
Hours cover
In the event of a heart
attack, collapse, severe
difficulty breathing or other
medical emergency, please
dial 999.
The out of hour’s service is
available for patients
needing medical advice or
help when the surgery is
closed and the matter
cannot wait until the
surgery re-opens. You can
either ring our number and
a recorded message will
give you further
instructions or call
NHS 111.
Virtual Patient Participation Group (vPRG)
A PRG is a group of volunteer patients who are involved in shaping the health service at
the practice. We are therefore looking for a representative group of volunteer patients
across the practice population. Please log on to our website and pick up the link ‘Join
our Patient Group’. The forum is not to be used as a complaints mechanism as the
practice runs a separate complaints system.
NHS 111 Service
What is the NHS 111 service?
NHS 111 is a telephone service introduced to make it easier for you to access
local health services when you have an urgent need.
If you need to contact the NHS for urgent care, there are only three numbers to
know: 999 for life threatening emergencies, your GP surgery or 111
When you call 111 you will be assessed, given advice and directed to the most
appropriate local service that can help you best – that could be an out-of-hours
doctor, walk-in centre or urgent care centre, community nurse, emergency
dentist or late opening chemist.
NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.
How does it work?
Calling 111 will get you through to a team of fully trained call advisers, who are
supported by experienced nurses.
They will ask you questions to assess your symptoms and give you healthcare
advice you need or direct you to the right local service.
Where possible, they will book you an appointment or transfer you directly to
the people you need to speak to.
If they think you need an ambulance, one will be arranged immediately.
When do you use the service?
You should call 111 if:
You need medical help fast but it is not a 999 emergency
You don’t know who to call for medical help or you don’t have a GP to call
You think you need to go to A&E or another NHS urgent care service
You require health information or reassurance about what to do next
See the pretty snowflakes Falling from the sky;
On the wall and housetops Soft and thick they lie.
On the window ledges, On the branches bare;
Now how fast they gather, Filling all the air.
Look into the garden, Where the grass was
green; Covered by the
snowflakes,
Not a blade is seen.
Now the bare black bushes All look soft and white,
Every twig is laden, What a pretty sight!
(Scottish Poetry Selection)
(T
Additional clinics and services at the practice
Health Visitor
Holds a morning clinic every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the
month
CHD Clinic
Our specialist CHD nurse holds a monthly clinic on Thursday
afternoons
Diabetic Foot Health Clinic
Our specialist diabetes podiatrist holds a clinic every other
month on Tuesday mornings
Counsellor Clinic
Weekly Friday afternoon clinics
Physiotherapy Clinic
Weekly Tuesday afternoon clinics
Minor Injuries Service
Daily appointments with doctor or practice nurse.
A full range of practice services can be viewed on our
website or practice leaflet.
Flu vaccinations – for patients
aged 18 years and over who
suffer from asthma or other
respiratory condition,
diabetes, heart disease and
carers. If you are not sure,
please ask your doctor or
nurse.
Childhood flu vaccinations –
for children aged 2 to 4 years
of age.
Shingles vaccinations – for
adults aged 70, 78 & 79 years
of age.
NHS Health checks – for adults
aged 40 to 74 years of age
with no pre - existing medical
condition. Once every five year
check.
Pneumococcal vaccinations –
aged 65 years & over with a
diagnosis of asthma or other
respiratory condition,
diabetes, heart disease, renal
or liver disease. New - Stop Smoking Advisor Service
Smoking cessation courses are now available at the surgery for our patients. The clinics are held every week:
Wednesday 3.00pm – 6.00pm
Fridays 4.00pm – 5.30pm
The clinics are run by a qualified Smoking Cessation Advisor and Dispenser. If you would like help to give up
smoking, then please book your first appointment with our Receptionist (follow up appointments will be booked for
you by the Smoking Cessation Advisor).
DNAs survey.
Did Not Attends are patients who book an appointment then don’t attend and don’t contact the practice to either
cancel or re-arrange the appointment. This is a big problem for both the practice and other patients – we could
have used these appointment slots for other patients.
Year 2010 = 451 Year 2013 = 676
Year 2011 = 521 Year 2014 = 622 an increase of 72.5% in five years!
Year 2012 = 566 Please ring the practice if you don’t need your appointment.
Science Museum. Brought to
Life: Exploring the History
of (Nursing) Medicine.
A bandaging class at Tredegar
House, 1906.
(Credits:Wellcome Library,
London.)
Nursing is one of the oldest
medical occupations, but nurses
only obtained professional status in
the late 1800s. Nursing attendants
are mentioned in all the classical
texts, but could have been anyone,
male or female. Male nurses were
constantly used for public duties
such as in prisons, asylums or the
armed forces, but their history is
little known.
Women’s opportunities for nursing
outside the home were limited. In medieval Europe nuns nursed in convent infirmaries under the control of
Catholic Church authorities. In Europe religious nursing orders such as the famous Augustinian Sisters were the
only model for public nursing until the 1800s.
Changes in nursing started with the hospital and prison reformers of the late 1700s. New training for nurses
became available, notably at the Deaconess Institute at Kaiserworth in Germany (1836), which influenced
Florence Nightingale. Nightingale reorganized army hospital nursing during the Crimean War (1853-56) and
helped promote nursing as a more respectable profession for young women. The first ‘Nightingale nurses’
began training in 1860 and spread throughout the UK and the British Empire. Nightingale also revolutionised
future hospital design.
Established in 1863, the International Red Cross was another international force in nurse training. European
governments set up their own training programmes and the International Red Cross carried reformed nursing
across the world. Professional organisations followed fast in the late 1800s. By 1930 professional nursing
associations existed in 35 countries. In England the Royal College of Nursing was founded in 1916, but
professional control was not given to the General Nursing Council until 1919. After the First World War, in
which nurses served on the front line, a State Nursing Registry was set up which guaranteed a minimum level
of training for all nurses.
Since 1945 nurse training has been extended with different specialties. There has been a rise in male nursing,
and male nurses play a full part in previously all-female nursing associations.
This edition we feature …
10 myths about flu and the flu vaccine
1. Having flu is just like having a heavy cold
A bad bout of flu is much worse than a heavy cold. Flu symptoms come on suddenly and sometimes severely. They
include fever, chills, headaches and aching muscles, as well as a cough and sore throat. You're likely to spend two or
three days in bed. If you get complications caused by flu, you could become seriously ill and have to go to hospital.
2. Having the flu vaccine gives you flu
No, it doesn't. The injected flu vaccine that is given to adults contains inactivated flu viruses, so it can't give you flu.
Your arm may feel a bit sore where you were injected, and some people get a slight temperature and aching muscles for
a couple of days afterwards, but other reactions are very rare.
Read more about how the injected flu vaccine works.
The children's flu nasal spray vaccine contains live but weakened flu viruses that will not give your child flu.
Read more about how the children's flu vaccine works.
3. Flu can be treated with antibiotics
No, it can't. Viruses cause flu, and antibiotics only work against bacteria. You may be prescribed antiviral medicines to
treat your flu. Antivirals do not cure flu, but they can make you less infectious to others and reduce the length of time
you may be ill. To be effective, antivirals have to be given within a day or two of your symptoms appearing. A bacterial
infection may occur as a result of having the flu, in which case you may be given antibiotics.
Find out more about why antibiotics won't work against flu.
4. Once you've had the flu vaccine, you're protected for life
No, you aren't. The viruses that cause flu can change every year, so you need a vaccination each year that matches the
new viruses. The vaccine usually provides protection for the duration of the flu season that year.
Read more about what's in this winter's flu vaccine.
5. I'm pregnant, so I shouldn't have the flu jab because it will affect my baby
You should have the vaccine whatever stage of pregnancy you are in. If you're pregnant, you could get very ill if you get
flu, which could also be bad for your baby. Having the jab can also protect your baby against flu after they're born and
during the early months of life.
Read more about the flu jab in pregnancy
6. The flu jab won't protect me against swine flu
Yes, it will. This year's flu vaccine protects against three different flu viruses, including the H1N1 swine flu virus. This
is because the virus is expected to be circulating this year.
7. Children can't have the flu vaccine
Children over the age of six months who are "at risk" of serious illness if they catch the flu are eligible for a flu vaccine on
the NHS. The flu vaccine is generally given to children aged 6 months to 2 years as an injection, and as a nasal spray for
children aged 2 to 18 years.
Children at risk from flu include those with a pre-existing illness such as a respiratory or neurological condition, or children
who are having treatment such as chemotherapy.
The nasal spray flu vaccine is also recommended on the NHS for all healthy two, three and four-year-old children.
Eventually, the vaccination programme will be extended so that all children aged from 6 months to 16 years are able to have
the flu vaccine.
Read more about which children can have the flu vaccine.
8. I've had the flu already this autumn, so I don't need the vaccination this year
You do need it if you're in one of the risk groups. As flu is caused by several viruses, you will only be protected by the
immunity you developed naturally against one of them. You could go on to catch another strain, so it's recommended you
have the jab even if you've recently had flu. Also, what you thought was flu could have been something else.
9. If I missed having the flu jab in October, it's too late to have it later in the year
No, it's not too late. It's better to have the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, but it's always worth getting
vaccinated before flu comes around. Since we don't know when flu will strike, the sooner you have the vaccine the better.
(The practice flu vaccination programme continues through to March 2015).
10. Vitamin C can prevent flu
No, it can't. Many people think that taking daily vitamin C supplements will stop them getting flu, but there's no evidence to
prove this.
Read the answers to some common questions about flu and the flu vaccine.
(The above article is courtesy of NHS Choices www.nhs.uk )