MOSBOROUGH HEALTH CENTRE NEWSLETTER AUTUMN/WINTER 2017

Transcription

1 MOSBOROUGH HEALTH CENTRE NEWSLETTER AUTUMN/WINTER 2017 Forthcoming Bank Holidays: Monday 25 th and Tuesday 26 th December Monday 1 st January We will be closed on the above dates. Please remember to order your prescriptions in plenty of time! For emergencies, please dial 999 during this time, for other non-emergency medical attention please dial 111.

2 THURSDAY AFTERNOONS As from 5 th October, the practice will be open on a Thursday afternoon for appointments, enquiries, prescription collection etc. NEW STARTERS Welcome to our new GP Registrars Dr Caroline Rogers and Dr Alice Baldwin. Caroline will be with us for the next 6 months until the beginning of February. Alice joined us late on in her pregnancy and is now on maternity leave, but will returning to work with us for another 10 months or so. We have also employed a new salaried GP, Dr Kim Travers, on a part time basis. Dr Travers will be working with us on a Thursday and a Friday. Dr Travers did her degree at the University of Southampton, trained through the Rotherham VTS, and has been working as a GP for 2 and half years. Kim has 2 boys aged 5 years and 14 months. Her interests are mental health and women's health. I hope that you will wish them all the very best and welcome them to Mosborough Health Centre.

3 Flu Clinics We will be holding flu clinics on Thursday afternoons over the autumn months. All appointments are pre bookable for patients 65 and over, main carers for elderly and disabled patients, and for patients with the following conditions: COPD Asthma (which requires an inhaled or tablet steroid treatment, or has led to hospital admission in the past) Chronic heart disease such as heart failure Chronic kidney disease Chronic liver disease such as hepatitis Chronic neurological conditions such as Parkinson s Disease or motor neurone disease Diabetes Problems with your spleen e.g. sickle cell disease or if you have had your spleen removed A weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS or medication such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy. Pregnancy BMI over 40 This list is not definitive. It s always an issue of clinical judgement. Your GP can assess you individually to take into account the risk of flu exacerbating any underlying illness you may have, as well as your risk of serious illness from flu itself.

4 The clinics are running during October and November on several Thursday afternoons. We will also be holding a separate clinic for child flu vaccination on Thursday 2 nd November: Children over the age of 6 months with a long term health condition Children who are aged 2 and 3. Children in school years reception, 1, 2 and 3 will be vaccinated in their school All eligible patients will be receiving a letter from the practice inviting them to attend.

5 DEPRESSION Dear Mosborough readers. My name is Andy King, the Physician Associate and some of you may have come across me in clinic. I thought I would take this opportunity to write about something that has undoubtedly affected one of us, a family member or a friend. It's in the news, it surrounds us and yet it seems there's still a certain stigma that comes with talking about it: Depression. I started thinking about this subject because my all-time favourite singer named Chester Bennington from a band called Linkin Park very recently committed suicide. He was a rock star, wealthy, famous and loved, yet he struggled with depression on and off for years and didn't have the support he needed to help him cope. It shows that it doesn't matter what background you are from or what you have going for you, it can affect us all and it's important to know the signs and symptoms early on so that you can seek help. Depression is not just a state of mind. It can masquerade as feeling tired all the time, having low energy levels, not taking part in your usual hobbies that you normally find relaxing or fun. It can affect your appetite, your sleep and your thoughts. Some people feel intense worthlessness, guilt and upset. Some people prefer just to lock themselves away and isolate themselves whilst others become more flammable and angry. Depression can become life threatening quite suddenly with some resorting to harming themselves whilst others develop suicidal thoughts. Sometimes there may be a particular reason for the way you feel but other times you may not be able to put your finger on it as it may just be life itself. No matter what the cause is, just know that I and the GP's are here to listen to you. You're not wasting our time at all and there is a lot of support we can offer you in numerous shapes and forms from

6 just having someone neutral to talk about it with, having the opportunity to try some medication or even counselling amongst other services we can refer you to. ( For instance if you would like to have some counselling just come to reception and ask for an 'IAPT' form which you can fill out and self-refer to. Some sessions are done at our very own GP practice!) Just to touch upon something personal. Years ago I got made homeless by my mother s now ex-boyfriend, a couple of months later my alltime best friend passed away then 4 months later my dad died unexpectedly from a rare cancer over the Christmas period. I felt extremely low for a long time and at one point wasn't sure how I would get myself out of the rut I was in as I was also at that time studying at university. Six years have passed and I am here today as you see me. I think the point I wanted to make was that just remember that if you do feel low, depressed, helpless, inconsolable; no matter how bad you feel, you won't feel like that forever and things do in fact get better, especially with the right support in place. Mental health is the dark house pet that some people put up with and live with continuously. Just remember if you find yourself in a dark place, get help, speak to someone, get a relative or a friend to go to the doctors with you and share how you feel. You're not being silly or weak. You're a human being and a valuable part of this planet and what makes it go around. Sometimes you may not be able to see it but it doesn't mean it's any less true. I've put a few numbers below for mental health services that may help you if you need someone to talk to or some extra support. I hope you find them helpful.

7 No Panic Sheffield (for children with anxiety) Tel: (Office hours only) MAST Team Tel: or MIND (Anger Management) Tel: Samaritans Tel: or CRUSE Bereavement Tel: or Best wishes Andy NHS Pressures Last winter had some of the highest pressures on services for many years and this year is likely to be similar. Staff at Mosborough work very hard to keep up with these pressures and we are one of the top rated practices in Sheffield for patient access. However it is very difficult with current pressures and limited resources. I wanted to take a brief moment to tell you about some of the ways you can help us with this. Self-care. Not all problems need an appointment at the surgery. Some things can be dealt with at home. Remember that the pharmacist can give you advice about simple problems and if you get free prescriptions they can issue you free over the counter medications under the minor ailments scheme. Good general online sources of advice include NHS choices website and Patient UK website.

8 Opticians. Many eye problems are suitable for advice by opticians. Some opticians in Sheffield are identified as being able to deal with slightly more complicated problems. Our nearest Optician identified as such under the Primary Care Acute Eye Referral Scheme is on White Lane, Gleadless but of course there are many others that you can choose to visit. Dental problems. GPs do not have any formal training in dental problems and cannot deal with dental issues. These are best dealt with by seeing your dentist. If you do not have a dentist and have an urgent dental problem then you need to call 111. Hub appointments. Remember that you can get appointments at Woodhouse Medical Centre 5-7 Skelton lane S13 7LY. These are suitable for problems like chest infections, tonsillitis and other relatively sudden onset problems. They are especially useful for people who work as being seen by a local GP in the evening after the surgery has closed may well be more convenient for you. Speak to reception if you are interested in an appointment at the hub. Physiotherapy appointments at the Hub. The Woodhouse Hub now also offers physiotherapist assessments in the evenings and at the weekend for muscular or joint problems. This is a longer appointment than is usually offered by a GP and is provided with a physiotherapist who of course has specialist knowledge in the area of musculoskeletal problems. They can then reassure you or advise on simple exercises or self-care or organise for a GP to make a referral for full physiotherapy treatments or investigations. Again speak to reception if you are interested in these appointments. Stress and work related problems. Remember that it is not just GP appointments that are available in the community. There are many people that we see with work related problems or stress. At the practice we have appointments with a worker from Sheffield Occupational Health Advisory Services who can help with many work related issues. You can look on the SOHAS website for more information about this The improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) website also gives lots of useful information about help with managing stress including advice about how to book on to workshops or online help courses

9 Care Navigation. Over the coming months our receptionists will be getting enhanced training in some of the many community services that are available. This is to help them signpost patients to the most appropriate service for them. This will mean that when you ring, reception will ask you more detailed questions than previously. This will take a little time to get used to but should have many benefits. It will allow GPs to make the most of their time by seeing the most appropriate patients. It should mean that patients who need a resource like a district nurse for a dressing change should have a better experience by being able to book directly in with the district nurses rather than waiting for a GP to call them back. Of course you don t have to answer the questions that reception ask if you do not wish to, but by doing so it will help the service run smoothly and potentially make sure you see the right person first time. Dr Tom Holdsworth Person Centered Care Planning: Extended appointments with one of our health care assistants to identify the aspects of your health that really matter to you. Get a personalised care plan to tackle objectives set by you. Perhaps you want to lose weight or exercise more or just understand more about your medical condition and your tablets? Care plans are great if you are overweight or unfit or have pre- diabetes or are struggling with your Asthma or COPD. Speak to reception about Person Centred Care Planning to organise an appointment.

10 Medical Student Teaching Medical student teaching sessions are running again this year on Friday mornings between November 2017 and April These are run by Dr Tom Holdsworth and involve a patient coming to the practice to talk to two groups of 3-4 medical students for 20 minutes at a time about their condition. This is a great way to positively influence the training of young doctors and the students find it a very valuable experience. Each session is based around a different topic, see dates below. If you are interested please let reception know and they will book you in to attend a session or you can speak to Dr Holdsworth to find out more first. 17 Nov Paediatrics new borns and young babies 8 Dec Asthma 15 Dec Breast cancer 12 Jan Myocardial infarction ( Heart attack ) 26 Jan Chronic bowel disorders ( irritable bowel disease, crohns disease, ulcerative colitis ) 2 Feb Urology ( prostate problems ) 16 Feb Renal ( kidney disease or transplant ) 2 Mar Inflammatory arthritis ( rheumatoid arthritis ) 16 Mar Chronic pain or wear and tear arthritis 20 Apr Depression 27 Apr Diabetes

11 RELEASE OF MEDICAL RECORDS At some stage in a patient s life, it may be necessary to allow third party access (i.e. from a Solicitor or insurance company) to have copies of their medical records. At Mosborough Health Centre, confidentiality of patient information is of paramount importance. On receiving a request for copies of patients records, nothing is released without the patient concerned being made aware of what will happen to their information or who may view it once it has been released. No further action is taken until a signed consent form sent by us is returned by the patient. This is still the case even if a patient has already signed a consent form at their solicitors or insurance company, or indeed any other organisation working on their behalf. Once consent has been obtained and the patient is happy for us to proceed, the paper records are copied by hand and are carefully checked separately to ensure there is no reference to any 3 rd party individual. As you can imagine, this is very time consuming. Some patients have over 500 pages of records to copy, but each one is still checked. The electronic records are also printed off and checked. The staff at Mosborough Health Centre take great pride in providing a safe and efficient service. Vivienne Higgins Medical Records

12 How to contact us Reception opening hours Monday Tuesday Wednesday pm by appointment only Thursday Friday Phone lines open at 8.00am ( ) Please note we do not take incoming calls between and 2.00pm. During this time urgent calls will be diverted to the out of hour s service. Telephone Surgery We operate a telephone surgery every week day. Please call between 8.00am and 10.30am. The GP on duty will call you back for a consultation later that morning. If the GP thinks that you need to be seen, then an appropriate appointment will be made for you. Usual telephone surgery rota is below. On some occasions, a GP Registrar will also be helping with the telephone surgery. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Dr Tom Holdsworth Dr Sara Kellock Dr Jane Searle Dr Nina Kavanagh Dr Kerrys Clark If you have requested a call back, please ensure that you are available to take the call as the GP will only try to contact you once or twice.