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 Newsletter - Issue 1 Winter 2008 Welcometo our first Newsletter for patients. We are planning two each year, Winter and Summer, and hope they will provide patients with more information about what is happening here at the surgery. Staffing You may have seen some new faces! In the spring we welcomed two new members of staff Pauline Newnham, Practice Nurse who came to join Hayley and Annie on our nursing team, following Wendy’s promotion (see right). Pauline has come to us with much experience, having worked as a practice nurse at Royal Cresent Surgery for 9 years. And Christine Wootton who has joined our reception team, replacing Gwen who retired at the end of March. Some of you may recognize Christine from her old employ – Weymouth Town post office, where she worked for several years. Wendy Harvey- Nurse Practitioner Wendy left our nursing team this year to take up the role of Nurse Practitioner within the surgery. A Nurse Practitioner is a highly qualified nurse who has been specially trained to deal with much of the routine work done by doctors. This frees up more time for doctors to deal with complex medical cases. Wendy can help patients with all minor ailments and routine health care. Please do book to see her first. Wendy is able to refer you to a doctor on the day if necessary. Patients Survey Many of you will have been asked to fill in one of these if you have been to the surgery over the summer. The survey asks patients about the quality of the services we offer. This is the 4th year we have done this and it has helped us to make many improvements over past years. Flu Season is Here! Don’t forget to book in for your flu jab. Letters are going out to eligible patients. This year we are scheduling more Saturday clinics as these have been popular in the past. HPV Vaccination Campaign Some of you will know that currently girls attending Year 8 at secondary school are being given a vaccination against the Human Papilloma Virus. This is now being offered in surgeries to girls of 17/18, and letters will be sent out soon. In future years the campaign will capture girls between these ages. This Virus (HPV) is implicated as the cause of nearly all cervical cancers (3000 per year). This vaccine has the potential to prevent 70% of all cervical cancer. Chlamydia Screening We encourage all our young adult patients (especially those under 25) to have this valuable screening done. One in ten patients don’t know they have Chlamydia, and untreated it can lead to infertility. The test is a simple procedure which you can do at home. Please book to see one of our practice nurses. Psychological Therapies The Government is now funding a wider range of therapies than we have had before. Now including a range of support packages for those patients with low level depression, anxiety and feelings of unhappiness. These include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Self-help literature, Group work, Sleep clinics, Exercise referral and other therapies. This will compliment the work of surgery Counsellers. Please do see one of our doctors or nurse practitioner if you think you may benefit. Stop Smoking with Hypnotherapy To compliment the excellent support given by Dorset Smoking Cessation Services, we have made hypnotherapy available to our patients at the surgery. Unfortunately it isnot provided free under the NHS, but we have negotiated a reduced rate of £40 for our patients. Some patients find this method more effective. Healthy Living This is another new initiative to help overweight patients and families to change their lifestyles for the better. This includes one to one support, exercise referral and family weight management. You can self-refer (forms at reception) or see a nurse or doctor to discuss this further. This is a worthy initiative that is well worth supporting. The local Health Living Consultant comes to our surgery every Monday afternoon and is available to give you more information and help you choose a method which best suits you. Reduce Wasted Medication! We encourage all our patients to only order what you need when ordering repeat medication Please help us reduce wastage!! Medication Review Dates Help us to give you the right medication by making sure you book in for these when due. On-line Appointments Don’t forget, if you have access to a computer, you can book many appointments on line. Ask at Reception for more info! Car Park Have you noticed our improvements to the rear of our building? We have cleared away the weeded area, laid a pathway to give better access in the rear parking bay, improved the fencing, created a new bin storage area, and fitted new handrails on the front steps. Altogether looking better and helping improved accessibility Suggestions We always welcome any suggestions to improve the surgery and our services. The handrails on the front steps were added following a patient’s suggestion. Please see the suggestion box in the waiting room. Thank you. |
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