PATIENTS FIRST
(JANUARY)
A complementary magazine from
THE ORCHARD MEDICAL PRACTICE PATIENT SUPPORT GROUP (PSG)
HESA Primary Care Centre
52 Station Road, Hayes, Middlesex
UB3 4DD
Tel: 01895 486 052
Welcome, dear reader to this, the very first of what we hope will be a bimonthly, helpful, educational and hopefully interesting, patients’ magazine.
We aim to bring you helpful hints and ideas to improve your healthy lifestyle.
It is not our intention to preach or bore you with hard to pronounce medical
terms. We are not going to pressure you into anything you do not want. We
will, however try to keep you up to date with the latest changes that may
affect our practice and, of course, you the patient, which is why your
magazine is called:
PATIENTS FIRST
Hello, my name is Douglas Parker and it is my privilege to be the chairperson
of The Orchard Practice Patient Support Group (PSG). So, what is the PSG I
hear you ask?
The PSG is a committee made up of both medically trained staff and patients
on the Orchard Practice register like your good selves. The committee is
currently made up of 53 volunteers, some more active than others. Those
who can, meet up on the second Wednesday of every second month here in
the practice. Those who cannot be there in person are kept up to date by
email, and minutes are taken and made available to members at the
following meeting. However, it is our intention to keep you up to date in
forthcoming issues of PATIENTS FIRST.
At our meetings we are joined by Somalian and Iranian GPs, a qualified British
Senior Nurse, as well as the Practice Manageress. The rest of us are just
ordinary, untrained but caring members who realise that the ailing National
Health Service cannot do it all and there is something that we can do to “oil
the wheels”, as it were.
We give our services free of charge as the very small budget only just covers
basic costs. We do have refreshments at our meetings, however. Mrs. Susan
Chick, who is joined by her husband, John, is the PSG Secretary and Minutetaker, and Mrs. Linda Jones along with her husband, Norman, is Patient/Staff
Liaison Officer and Diabetes Champion, as am I.
We are a happy bunch and get through a lot together. The Practice Executive
Board meet four or five times a year and when they do, I as PSG Chair, attend
and report on the committee’s findings. So, make no mistake,
WE ARE IMPORTANT.
PATIENTS FIRST / PSG FEEDBACK FORM
If you would like to know more about the Patient Support Group, please fill in
your details on this page and hand into The Orchard Practice Reception. I
promise that your details will remain safe and the only person to get in touch
with you will be me.
Douglas Parker
Chair, Orchard Practice PSG
I’d like to talk about:
_______________________________________________________________
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Name:
_______________________________________________________________
Address:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Mobile Phone Number:
_______________________________________________________________
Landline Phone Number:
_______________________________________________________________
Email Address:
_______________________________________________________________
If you think that you might be interested in learning more about the PSG, we
have included an introduction form inside this magazine for your use. Please
fill the form in and hand it into The Orchard Practice Reception. The
receptionist will see that I get it, and I promise to get in touch personally.
Alternatively, you might want to pop in to the Practice and speak to me
personally. I try to be on hand every Monday between 09:30 and 12:30, then
from 1:30 until 4:00p.m. I am also there most Wednesdays between 09:30
and 1:30p.m.
The Orchard Practice is in its eleventh year of existence and during that time
we have gone through many changes, some more difficult to deal with than
others. Losing Doctor Sehdev, for example, was a big blow and his
replacement was not a popular choice at first. Dr. Sehdev was VERY popular.
But given the time to become acquainted, most patients began to see that Dr.
Adem is not such a bad replacement after all! Now he has taken his
predecessor’s place in all our hearts and minds.
We then found that NHS London planned to move us from the first floor to
the ground floor of our current building. At first, it seemed like a good idea,
even during the seemingly everlasting rebuilding process and the utter
confusion of not knowing how to navigate through the renovation. And,
while the rebuilding work is not fully complete yet, and it won’t be perfect
overnight, as in the case of the Dr. Sehdev/Adem regime change, we will
overcome and then will see how good the changes can and will be.
HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?!
THE MINOR AILMENT SCHEME IS HERE.
You may well know that the NHS is in crisis. Hospital A&E units are grossly
overloaded with non-essential complaints. Waiting times are in excess of the
four hour target times.
If you are considering a course of action that might include a trip to A&E, ask
yourself, are you really ill? If you have a runny nose or a chesty cough, a
grazed elbow or any minor situation, is it really necessary to insist on an
emergency appointment with the GP or worse, a visit to the Hospital?
To alleviate the horrendous pressures around the NHS, it is now possible to
obtain mild treatment or medication without seeing the Doctor. Most
pharmacists are qualified to diagnose and advise on minor ailments and can
issue some items without the normal prescription or doctor’s appointment.
This pharmacist scheme is called the Minor Ailment Scheme and allows
patients 10 visits to the pharmacy for medication or treatment items without
requiring a doctor’s review. The usual eligibility around payment remains the
same. So, if you’re exempt from paying for prescriptions due to being on
benefits, or in the age cohort exemptions, then you will also not have to pay
for medication obtained though the Minor Ailment Scheme.
Of course, patients who are not exempt will pay the cost of the prescription,
but the convenience of walking into a pharmacy, rather than waiting for an
appointment will likely be a good alternative for many.
If you want to know more about the Minor Ailment Scheme, why not ask at
THE ORCHARD PRACTICE RECEPTION for a leaflet which you can use to track
your usage.
Obviously, the scheme is only for minor ailments and your pharmacist may
recommend that you see your GP for more serious problems.
THE ORCHARD PRACTICE SUPPORTS THE 2014
CHRISTMAS TREE APPEAL FOR UNDER PRIVILEGED
BOYS AND GIRLS IN HILLINGDON
Yes, that is me in the Santa hat sitting by the Orchard Practice Reception,
surrounded by some big, big toys destined for the Hayes Town Christmas Tree
Appeal, donated by the Orchard Practice Executive Board and Staff.
THE ORCHARD PRACTICE IS MORE THAN JUST A
FAMILY SURGERY
We hope that we can serve a purpose for the whole community. That is why
the staff and board of directors are always looking for ways to serve,
wherever possible. When the call went out from The Hayes Town Partnership
PPpractice board did not hesitate.
Practice Manager Mrs. Wendy Chambers gave the PSG committee the money
to sponsor gifts for five children from the Hayes town bandstand tree.
A folding pushchair, a doll, a portable CD player, a CD/radio/tape player and a
couple of scooters were purchased for the children and delivered to the
collection point in the new Civic Library where they were collected by Hayes
and Uxbridge police officers for distribution to the children. I was extremely
proud of The Orchard Practice for participating in this worthwhile cause.
We will never please everyone, but that will not stop our highly trained
doctors, nurses, and reception staff and, of course, our Patient Support
Group, from giving it our best try.
I hope that you find this free little booklet interesting. If you want to see
more, please let us know what you think and suggest a topic!
Thank you,
Douglas Parker
Chair, Orchard Practice
Patient Support Group