Welcome to New Street Surgery
PATIENT GROUP
Newsletter
Autumn 2013
News Flash!!!!!
It's time to get your flu jab booked.
To all patients with chronic disease where a
dose of the flu could cause you to be at risk of
serious illness, it is very important to book
your injection NOW. All patients over 65
should book for flu jab NOW to prevent
complications with your health over the winter
months. The flu jab is also available to our
patients who are carers of people with long
term medical conditions.
Please call the
surgery to discuss if you think that you may
be eligible so we can make you an
appointment if necessary.
You may feel that a flu jab may be beneficial to
you for whatever reason so please if you are
not sure call the surgery for advice.
LATEST NEWS!
NEW VACCINES AVAILABLE
SHINGLES
The Shingles vaccine has been introduced
into the Winter Vaccination Programme. The
purpose of the Immunisation programme is to
reduce the incidence and severity of shingles
in Adults. If you are aged 70 years and born
between 02.04.1942 and 01.09.1943 or aged 79
and born between 02.09.1933 and 01.09.1934
you are eligible for the shingles vaccine which
can be given at the same time as your flu
injection. Ask at reception for details.
Pneumonia vaccine
The Pneumonia vaccine is offered to
everybody over the age of 65. Other people
who have long term conditions which can
cause low resistance to infections are also
eligible for the jab. This can be administered
at the same time as receiving the flu jab. Ask
at reception for details.
Healthy Childrens Flu Vaccine
A new flu vaccine called Fluenz is now
available for children registered at the
practice aged two and three. Please book an
appointment for your child with the practice
nurse if they are eligible. The vaccine is not
administered by injection but as a nasal
spray. Children are very good at spreading flu
as they can catch it at school or nursery and
can bring it home which then infects other
family members. For further information
please discuss with the practice nurse.
New Street Surgery Respiratory Services
There is an Asthma and C.O.P.D clinic at the
surgery which is available for you to be
monitored to insure that your condition is kept
stable, which is most important for your
wellbeing, It will also be able to give you the
education and support that you will need to
self monitor your condition so you will be able
to recognise any changes that may need
attention without you having to panic and
rush off to A&E when it could be best dealt
with at the surgery or in the community.
Being aware of your own symptoms and
condition will improve self management and
reduce exacerbation of your condition which
could result in a hospital stay. Please discuss
with the practice nurse if you require any help
and support with your condition.
Repeat Prescriptions. All patients on repeat
medication are asked to keep the back copy of
their prescription, which details all their current
repeat items. You can obtain a repeat prescription
by ticking items required on your back copy and
handing it in to reception. Also you are able to
request repeats on our web site, the address can
be found at the top of your prescription Please
allow 48 hours for this service.
Diabetics – keep that annual check - up It
is important that diabetics keep their annual
check – up since Diabetes can cause serious
health complications including heart disease,
blindness, kidney failure, and lower –
extremity amputations.
What is diabetes? Most of the food we eat is
turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies
to use as energy. The pancreas, an organ
that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone
called insulin to help glucose get in to the cell
of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your
body either doesn’t make enough insulin or it
can’t use its own insulin as well as it should.
This causes sugars to build up in the blood.
When you are initially diagnosed with
diabetes you will need regular checks maybe
fortnightly or monthly. Once your doctor/nurse
is happy that the condition is under control
and that you are managing the treatment
correctly you will then probably only need an
annual check up but if you have any concerns
remember that we are here for your health –
contact us.
SMOKING HELP- Did you know that
many people who do not Pay for prescriptions
can have smoking Cessation products to help
them quit. There are a wide range of products
available and at our surgery we can work with
you and Help you break the habit. Just ask at
reception for more details and Sign up to
give up. If you find that our times are not
suitable for You why not call the quit line for
details Of other locations in the borough
where you live, Sandwell residents call 0800
011 4656.
PATIENT REPRESENTATION GROUP
There are a group of patients who meet every 2-3
months to look at the services provided by the
surgery. Sometimes they feel that there is room
for improvement and bring this to the attention of
the practice manager who is always at the
meetings so that the issue can be discussed to
find ways if possible to improve the situation. This
we call moving a negative to a positive. It
sometimes takes time to change things and we
have to be patient and move forward a bit at a
time, so if you have an issue you would like to
bring to the surgery's attention please contact
your patient group with details of your issues and
we will try our best to improve the problem. This
may take time to bring to a full positive conclusion
so be patient and watch for small positive moves
in the right direction. It may be that there will only
be small % of your problem improved but it will be
a small step to giving a better service for us all.
IF YOU FEEL YOU WOULD LIKE TO BRING AN
ISSUE THAT YOU FEEL NEEDS OUR
ATTENTION PLEASE CONTACT THE PATIENT
GROUP FOR HELP AND ADVICE.
Next PRG meeting 21.11.2013 at 12.30pm
at the Surgery. Everybody is welcome.
Improvement's made to the surgery this
year
There has been an upgrade of the surgery premises
which brings it up to date with infection control
standards to comply with the NHS and CQC
requirements. This was made possible by the hard
work put in by the Surgery team in facilitating the
works and keeping services in place during the
refurbishments. Issues put forward by the patient
practice group to improve disabled access from
the rear car park and to notices at the entrance, to
assist entry have also been put in place. There is
now an online service that has been added to the
surgery Webb site for your convenience to order
prescriptions and book appointments. The web
site also gives a map of the area covered by the
practice.
C.C.G. NEWS
In August the Sandwell C.C.G. were invited to a
meeting of the Birmingham C.C.G to take part in a
presentation on how it may be possible to
improve Respiratory services for patients with
conditions affecting the lungs. In this presentation
the theme was on COPD and Asthma. The
speakers who gave presentations were as would
be expected informing the assembled guest with
a very informative explanation on how the service
is provided and it was then put to the people in
the room to form groups and put forward both
negative and positive ideas for discussion within
that group and come up with five most needed
improvements. This took place within a number of
groups in the room. The results from each group
were then individually put forward and a
conclusion was reached as to the top five
improvements to be looked at within the
appropriate C.C.G's and clinical service for ways
to improve the services. After the meeting and
with reflection on its conclusions the top request
was that of the need for patients to receive as
much education on their condition to allow them
to understand how they can look after themselves
and feel more at ease with their illness. After this
being said I must admit this reflects results from
other meetings I have been to which also bring to
the forefront the need for more patient education.
SO PLEASE IF YOU AGREE WITH THIS
THOUGHT PROCESS, DONT FORGET IT IS A
TWO WAY STREET AND IT WILL TAKE BOTH
PATIENT AND SERVICE PROVIDERS TO
WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.
(Stan Lowe PRG REP)