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MANOR WAY NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2006
Please browse the
links below for our latest news:
Welcome
Denise - our new staff member
We are delighted to welcome a new member of staff who
has joined us to assist our nurses Wendy and Sheila.
Denise is joining as a Health Care Support Worker and
will be helping with our New Patient Medicals and
assisting the nurses with their clinical work.
She is still learning the ropes but we hope she will be
able to monitor Blood Pressures, do ECGs and respiratory
measurements, chaperone colleagues during examinations
and help with immunisations.
We have talented nurses who are able to do more and
more.
Sheila competed her Nurse Practitioner training this
year and is now working alongside the doctors on most
mornings with her own surgery.
How can our nurses help you?
-
Asthma monitoring
-
Diabetes advice and
monitoring
-
Blood pressure advice
and monitoring
-
Help with stopping
smoking
-
Travel advice
-
Immunisations
-
Dietary advice
-
Leg ulcers
-
Contraception
-
Smears
In addition, Sheila
can also help with:
These lists are not
exhaustive. If in doubt, please check with our
receptionists who can help.
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Beta-Blockers
and Blood Pressure
You may be aware of a recent recommendation that
beta-blockers are no longer thought to be the BEST
treatment of blood pressure. They have been used
successfully for more than thirty years but newer drugs
have been developed and recent research shows that they
are even better at preventing the long term damage that
can occur with High Blood Pressure (Hypertension).
If you are on
beta-blockers* please continue them but at your next
check up be prepared for the doctor or nurse to discuss
whether a change is right for you.
(* eg atenolol, co-tenidone, bisoprolol, nebivolol,
propranolol.)
We will still use
beta-blockers for other conditions which include angina,
tremor and migraine.
If you would like to discuss your medication please make
an appointment with your pharmacist, GP or nurse.
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Flu Clinics
We will be receiving our first batch of flu injections
in October. It is quite likely that there will be
a shortage this year due to worldwide manufacturing
problems.
Please book into one of our clinics as soon as possible
especially if you are over 65 years or have any of the
following:
-
Diabetes
-
Heart disease
-
COPD
-
Reduced immunity
You also need to consider
a flu vaccine if you regularly take steroid medication
or immune suppressants such as methotrexate, azothiaprin
or
cyclosporin. If in doubt please check with you
pharmacist, GP or the practice nurse.
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Lunchtime Closing
From August we have been closing the Surgery from 1-2
pm. This will continue indefinitely. We have taken
this decision to help us improve our office efficiency
and communication between all staff members. It also
allows for adequate clear up after morning clinics and
surgeries in preparation for the afternoon’s sessions.
Thank you for your understanding.
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Useful Dental Help
Numbers
We are increasingly being asked to help with dental
problems which we are not trained, equipped or funded to
do. Our GPs medical training does not include dentistry.
Your dentist has had to study hard for a minimum of four
years before being allowed to treat your teeth and
dental problems.
Please seek a dentist’s opinion if you have a dental
problem.
If you need to find a dentist 023 8033 8336
If you are in pain and have no dentist 01329 233502
If you have severe and uncontrollable pain, swelling,
bleeding or dental trauma phone out of hours 0208 390
9991.
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Chronic Kidney Disease
This year we are applying some new calculations to blood
tests which allow us to estimate kidney function. This
test gives us the eGFR or estimated Glomerular
Filtration Rate. When we are young and fit the
numbers will be high. As we get older the number falls.
It is only a rough guide but your eGFR approximates to a
percentage of kidney function. So, a young chap might
have 100% but a 90 year old otherwise well chap might be
down to 40%.
You may be hearing more about this especially if you
have high blood pressure (hypertension) , diabetes,
raised cholesterol or heart disease. This is because
these conditions can be associated with the kidneys
deteriorating quicker than normal.
If your kidney function is showing signs of impairment
(that is less than we might expect for your age) your GP
will be discussing this with you.
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Repeat Prescriptions…….some frequently asked questions
If I have had something before, can I have it
again?
Only if this has been agreed by your GP. If this is the
case you should have a small slip with the medication on
it.
Can I have more than one month’s supply?
Not usually. Our PCT recommends only 28 days supply to
avoid waste. It may be possible to negotiate this with
your GP.
Why does it take two working days to turn around a
request?
We have up to two hundred requests per day and these are
processed by our admin team to save the doctor valuable
time. When the requests have been printed they are
signed by the appropriate doctor during their
non-surgery time.
Urgent medical problems take a priority over paperwork
and this means sometimes there is a delay. Two days
allows sufficient time to allow the staff and doctors to
prescribe safely and without interrupting more serious
medical problems.
How can I get my prescription if you’re not open
24 hours?
You can send you request with a SAE (stamped addressed
envelope)
You can ask your pharmacist to act on your behalf and
collect the prescription.
You can order
on-line and instruct us to get the script to a
local chemist.
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