Welcome to the Newsletter on behalf of your
Patient Participation Group, The Friends of the
Surgery and the Practice .
PPG way forward
This would involve patients agreeing to the PPG using your e-mail address to keep you updated with meeting topics and points raised in order to get your input. We would very much welcome your views on how we can best expand the
Our PPG has now been operating for 3 years and representation of our PPG Group. If you would like works to ensure the best services for all Patients of to join either Group please e-mail the Borough Green Medical Practice. Meeting 4 or ppg.boroughgreenmedicalpractice@nhs.net
- this
5 times a year together with the Doctors and e-mail address is only used by the PPG.
Practice staff, we discuss any new, changed or Alternatively you may leave your contact details planned services. This enables us to keep abreast with the Surgery Reception. of the direction of services that are the responsibility of our local Clinical Commissioning
Group, West Kent CCG, and how they may affect our patients. We also have a direct route to the
CCG to raise any issues experienced that cannot be dealt with locally. To ensure patients are kept up to date with changes and useful information we produce a Newsletter 3 times per year. This is available as a hard copy in the waiting rooms and is also sent by e-mail to the patients who have signed up on the Practice Website.If you wish to be included on the e-mail distribution please register at: www.boroughgreenmedicalpractice.co.uk
We have also run 2 patient surveys which have identified a number of concerns that have been addressed by the Doctors and Practice staff.We are very conscious that meeting during the day restricts the make-up of the Group, and are now looking at how best to get the profile of our patients reflected in the members of the Group. In particular we would like to see representation from teenagers, young Mums and Dads and commuters.One potential way could be the in troduction of a ‘Virtual
Group’ to work alongside our existing meetings.
Join us at the Patient Participation Group (PPG) and Friends of the Surgery joint AGM
To be held at the Borough Green Surgery at
7:30pm on Wednesday 10 th June
 Minutes of Friends’ last AGM
 Financial and Chairman’s report for the
Friends
 Chairman’s report for the Patient
Participation Group

Dementia support services –
JennyJolliffe, Admiral Nurse

Diabetes support and Services
– Lou
Simone, Practice Nurse

Open Question and Answer session

AOB

Finish 8:40pm
Borough Green Medical Practice

Admiral Nurses
Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia nurses who give much-needed practical and emotional support to family carers, as well as the person with dementia. They offer support to families throughout their experience of dementia which is tailored to their individual needs and challenges. They provide families with the knowledge to understand the condition and its effects, the skills and tools to improve communication, and provide emotional and psychological support to help family carers carry on caring for their family member. They are able to take on complex cases and provide specialist support and advice.
http://www.dementiauk.org/
Need to know more? - An Admiral Nurse comes to the Surgery every 2 nd Tuesday of the month at 2.30pm - just turn up.
Waste Medicines
The biggest cost to the NHS is waste medicines.
Medicines that are either unused or partially used account for approximately £300 million per year.

You can help by only ordering what you need and not ‘stockpiling’ medicine.

If you have stopped taking any medicine let either your Doctor or Dispenser know.

Check what medicines you still have at home before re-ordering.

Discuss your medications with your GP or
Dispenser regularly (you can ask for a DRUM
–
Dispensing Review of Use of Medication - to be carried out with a Dispenser, this only takes a few minutes of your time).

Only tick those medicines which you really need on your repeat medicines list.

If you don ’t need the medicine then please don’t order it – you can always request it in the future.
Even if you don’t open the medicine, it cannot be re-used once it has left the dispensary. If your medicines change, please return your old medicines to the Dispensary for safe disposal and to prevent them getting mixed up with your new medicines.
You may return any unused medicine dispensed by us for safe disposal.
Unfortunately medicines obtained from elsewhere, e.g. a pharmacy, need to be returned there for destruction. Do not dispose of medicine at home. We donate any unused medicine, with a shelf life of at least 15 months, to
Intercare - a recognised agency who supply medical aid to Africa.
Practice Update
Dr Sonia Alg has now left the Practice. We wish her well in her new post on the South Coast. We are pleased to announce that her replacement will be
Dr Maxwell Simons. Dr Simons has worked at the
Practice before as a Registrar and we are excited that he has chosen to come back. He will be joining as a Partner and will take over DrAlg’s list when he com es in early August. Until then, DrAlg’s patients may make appointments with any of the existing
Doctors as they wish.
After more than 20 years at the Practice, Mrs Jane
Owen, our Practice Manager, will be retiring at the end of May. We will miss her organisational skills and calm sense of perspective enormously. We would like to welcome Mrs Sue Howe as Jane’s replacement. Sue is already in post and working closely with Jane during the handover period this month. We are also conducting interviews to fill two
Nurse vacancies.
Thank you for using the new blood pressure machine.
Situated in the waiting room all patients are welcome to come and take their own blood pressure. No appointment is needed. Many ‘fit’ patients never have their blood pressure taken, but high blood pressure is difficult to detect and can cause strokes which can be catastrophic. Why not take 5 minutes to pop into the surgery and check yours.
Travel vaccinations
Don’t forget if your planned holiday destination requires that you have vaccinations these need to be given at least 2 months in advance!