Kew Medical Practice Newsletter. Winter 2012

Transcription

1 Kew Medical Practice Newsletter. Winter 2012 Welcome to our first newsletter As your GP Practice we are here to serve our population as best we can. We want to hear more from you about what you want from your GP and hospitals. Winter Vomiting Bug: Norovirus, better known as the winter vomiting bug, is the most common stomach bug in the UK, affecting people of all ages. Page 2 We want to hear more from you. Coughs, Colds and Antibiotics: If you have a cold and feel lousy, of course you want an antibiotic. Page 3 General Practitioners are at the heart of the new NHS. We will be your voice in future changes in GP practices and local health services. This is a forum for our patients Continued to bring their on 5 Give us feedback at Comings and Goings: There have been a number of changes in the last 6 months, both in health care professionals and admin staff.. Page 6

2 The Winter Vomiting Bug: Dehydration: Some of the early warning signs that you're dehydrated include: feeling thirsty and lightheaded having dark coloured, strong-smelling urine passing urine less often than usual A baby may be dehydrated if they have: a sunken soft spot (fontanelle) on their head few or no tears when they cry fewer wet nappies drowsiness Norovirus, better known as the winter vomiting bug, is the most common stomach bug in the UK, affecting people of all ages. The virus, which is highly contagious, causes vomiting and diarrhoea. As there is no specific cure, you have to let it run its course, but it should not last more than a couple of days. If you get norovirus, make sure you drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and practise good hygiene to help prevent it from spreading. Norovirus can be unpleasant to experience, but it's not generally dangerous and most people make a full recovery within a couple of days, without having to see a doctor. If you have norovirus, the following steps should help ease your symptoms: Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Take paracetamol for any fever or aches and pains. If you feel like eating, eat foods that are easy to digest. Stay at home and don't go to the doctor, because norovirus is contagious and there is nothing the doctor can do while you have it. However, contact your GP to seek advice if your symptoms last longer than a few days or if you already have a serious illness. Extra care should be taken to prevent babies and small children who are vomiting or have diarrhoea from dehydrating, by giving them plenty of fluids. Babies and young children can still drink milk. Don't worry if you are pregnant and you get norovirus: there is no risk to your unborn child. Further information at Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS): Preventing dehydration is the corner stone of getting better from gastroenteritis. ORS replace the salts and sugars lost.you can buy ORS at your pharmacy e.g. Diorolyte or make your own. 2 2

3 Coughs, Colds and Antibiotics: Why are doctors so reluctant to use antibiotics these days? If you have a cold and feel lousy, of course you want an antibiotic to help you feel better. But, antibiotics don't work for the common cold, which is caused by viruses. Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections. Taking an antibiotic unnecessarily can be dangerous to your health and can increase the risk of antibiotic resistance. When bacteria become resistant to medicine, the medicine won't work as well, or at all. Antibiotics are needed to treat infections and illnesses that are caused by bacteria. For example, they are used to treat illnesses such as bacterial bronchitis, pneumonia, strep throat and bacterial ear infection. Sometimes a bacterial infection will follow a cold virus. Most colds are better within a week but for a quarter of people it can last for two weeks. Some 60 years ago antibiotics changed the face of medicine completely. Thousands of people used to die from bacterial infections such as pneumonia and from bacterial infections from operations. Antibiotics now underpin almost every part of modern medicine. Unfortunately bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. We have seen the emergence of increasingly resistant strains such as MRSA, TB and strains of E.Coli. What can you do to help if you are prescribed antibiotics? Take the full course of antibiotics as directed. Do not save some antibiotics for the next time. Do not share antibiotics. Together we can tackle this problem. European Antibiotic Awareness Day: November 18th This occurs every year and is designed to raise awareness of the harms of inappropriate antibiotic use. More information is available at : Or perhaps just Google it! 3 3

4 Children with Temperatures: A fever is a high temperature. As a general rule, in children, a temperature of over 37.8 C is a fever As a parent it can be very worrying if your child has a high temperature, however, it is very common and often clears up on its own. Most fevers are caused by infections or other illnesses. A fever helps the body to fight infections by stimulating the immune system (the body s natural defence against infection and illness). It s important to keep your child hydrated. Even if your child isn t thirsty try to get them to drink little and often to keep their fluid levels up. Don t give them food unless they want it. The following suggestions may help your child feel more comfortable: Give your child plenty of cool clear fluids. Undress them to their nappy or vest and pants. Cover them with a sheet if necessary. Keep the room well aired and at a comfortable temperature (about 18 C (65 F)) by adjusting the heating or opening a window. If your child is distressed and uncomfortable, try giving them paracetamol or ibuprofen. They can be given together or alternatively. A warm flannel can be soothing and lower a temperature. More information is available at When to seek urgent Medical Advice: is under three months of age and has a temperature of 38 C or above is between three and six months of age and has a temperature of 39 C or above is over six months and shows other signs of being unwell - for example, they are floppy and drowsy or you are concerned about them If it isn t possible to get in contact with your GP call your local out-of-hours service or NHS Direct on If your child seems to be well, other than having a high temperature - for example, if they 4 are playing and attentive it is less likely that they are seriously ill. 4

5 Increasingly we will be your voice in future changes in GP practices and local health services. This is a forum for our patients to bring their views, ideas and suggestions relating to local healthcare services. It is hoped that the Patient Participation Group (PPG) will work alongside the practice to help improve existing services and / or introduce new services. It will also improve our understanding of what our practice population wants and take this to commissioning meetings. If you would like to get involved then either leave you details via the Kew Medical Practice website, or just let reception know you are interested. Ideally we would like a fair distribution of the demographics of our population so not everyone who asks to be involved will be able to be. Get Involved! We want to hear more from you so we can do more for you. Patient Participation Groups: When we get things wrong: We are only human and will make mistakes from time to time. A large part of what makes medicine a profession is being open about mistakes and trying to learn and improve from them. We actively encourage our patients to let us know if they feel we have let them down or could do things better. NHS Feedback: Please review us! The more people who rate us, the better an idea of how well we are doing we get. We look at the NHS website regularly to see if there are areas we can improve: Simply search for our practice at: Ideally we would like to know face to face about a problem, as from our experience, an open and honest discussion could often allay most worries. Continued However if you feel we still haven t answered your concerns, or feel unhappy talking about it, then please write to the practice manager. 5 5

6 Dr. Mojgan Fitzmaurice is the lead GP Partner who graduated from Manchester and trained in South West London. She established Kew Medical Practice over 12 years and has developed it ever since. Her interests include Paediatrics, Rheumatology,Gynaecology, Preventative Health and teaching. She is married with three children. Nina Khalique: Practice Manager and pharmacist. Nina joined the practice in April and has 25 years experience in GP and healthcare management. She is also a practicing pharmacist and brings both these skills to the practice. Patricia Chainey: healthcare assistant who has been at Kew Medical Practice for many years. She is able to provide health checks, ECGs, Bloods, Spirometry and wound care. Carron Cox: Medical Receptionist who is our longstanding receptionist. She continues her good work with us, especially with choose and book referrals and is a familiar face to many of you. Meet the Team: Dr. Justin Woolley has recently joined the practice and has interests in Minor Surgery, Preventative Health and medical education. He trained at the Royal Free in North London before completing his basic surgical training and GP training in and around Manchester. He is married and is a keen rower. Anne Marie Jones: Practice Nurse who has over 25 years experience from GP, hospital and occupational health backgrounds. Her interests are travel health, children s immunisations and women s health. Emily Coyle: Healthcare Trainee. We are pleased to welcome Emily to the practice. She is currently providing reception services alongside her Healthcare assistant training. Barbara Paice: Medical Receptionist who has come from a corporate background bringing excellent reception and administrative skills. Laura Haddad: business administration and receptionist. She is extremely IT proficient and we value her skills in the running of the practice. Neck and Back Physiotherapy: We are very happy to now offer a NHS physiotherapy services in the practice. Physioworld are a wellrespected physio group and we have been very pleased with the results so far. Initially this is just for neck and back pain but we are hoping it will be extended to other conditions if this trial is shown to be successful by Richmond PCT. If you suffer with neck or back pain then make an appointment with a GP and if you meet the criteria, we can refer you. You can still choose a physio outside the practice if you prefer. 6 6

7 Kew Lorem Medical Ipsum Practice Dolor Newsletter. Winter 2012 Spring 2016 Kew Medical Services: We run a number of extra services from the practices premises: Travel Clinic: We can provide NHS and non-nhs travel advice, immunisations and malaria tablets. Please book at least 4-6 weeks before traveling. Chiropractor: Adrian Cobb provides chiropractic treatments privately, specialising in sports injuries. Acupuncture: Ling Chen is an experienced private acupuncturist and herbalist who has worked with the practice for over 10 years Kew Medical Practice: 14 High Park Road Kew Richmond, TW9 4BH Tel: Christmas Closure: Christmas is a very busy time with reduced time and increased demand. To help us run as smoothly as possible, please make sure repeat prescriptions are ordered in good time. Christmas Opening Times: Monday 24 th December: 08:30-17:30 Tuesday 25 th December: CLOSED Wednesday 26 th December: CLOSED Thursday 27 th December: 08:30-19:30 Friday 28 th December: 08:30-17:30 Saturday 29 th December: CLOSED Sunday 30 th December: CLOSED Monday 31 st December: 08:30-18:30 Tuesday 1 st January: CLOSED Wednesday 2 nd January: 08:30-18:30