Frithwood Surgery
45, Tanglewood Way, Bussage,
Stroud. GL6 8DE
01453 882868
Dr Bridget Jorro (f)
London 1989 BSc, MB, BS, MRCGP, DCH,
FRSH
Dr Jacqueline Slim (f)
Bristol 1987 MB, ChB, DA, DRCOG, DFFP
Dr Ken Burke (m)
Galway 2002 BSc(Pharm), MB, BCh, BOA,
DCH, MRCGP
Dr William Nattrass (m)
London 2008 BSc (Hons) MBBS MRCG
Dr Dawn Isaac (f)
London 1987 MBBS, MRCP, DcH, DFFP
Dr Camilla Darlow (f) MBBS/BSc
FRITHWOOD SURGERY PPG NEWSLETTER
Introduction
Easter is over, children are back at school and
you might be planning your holidays, if you
have not already done so. If you are going
abroad, please don’t forget the services that
Nurse Annette Marsh can offer you. Don’t
take risks.
If you want to look good in your swimwear
when you are on the beach; now is the time
to think about a little exercise. Take a leaf out
of Nurse Pippa Williams, book and take some
time on the Health Walk.
News
are sure he would love to see you all. Please
make an effort.
Help and Assistance with Surgery
visits or Hospital appointments
We would still like to hear from anyone who
could help transport patients from home to
the surgery or Hospital.
The criteria are on a ‘Can Do’ basis, not a
regular support service. If you can agree to an
occasional service, please contact a member
of the PPG. Your telephone number would be
logged and you may be called to help out but
only on an ad hoc basis.
Fundraising Events
As we reported in previous News Letters, Dr
Tim Crouch will be retiring on 31st May this
year. Dr Tim will be missed greatly, but he
deserves a rest after all his hard work and
achievements with the Frithwood practice.
As we have said before, on 30th May,
between 7pm and 8pm, there will be an
opportunity for patients to say goodbye to
Dr Tim, at the surgery. Light refreshments
will be available for all those attending. We
As mentioned in our first Newsletter, the PPG
is always on the lookout for new, interesting
and fun ways to raise money for equipment
for the surgery which is not supplied by the
NHS.
Our cycling fraternity has battled the rigors of
cross country tracks for 24 hrs. to raise
money; we are holding a quiz night at the
Lamb and a family Treasure Hunt in the
village of Eastcombe (dates to be set), and
Waitrose in Stroud have agreed to sponsor
our cause in their Community Matters
scheme. Our disappointment is that our local
Parish Council has declined to support any
contribution to the replacement or supply of
equipment to help service parishioners and
patients in our catchment area. Perhaps we
will apply again next year.
The Frithwood Surgery needs to have the
facility of a second 24 hr. Blood Pressure
Monitor and more recently, the replacement
ISSUE NO. 5 JUNE 2014
of our aging ECG machine. The original was
purchased from PPG funds in 1999 and is now
beyond any meaningful service contract.
Our aim is to raise Circa £2500:00 for these
pieces of equipment which will help the
surgery to be at the forefront of any medical
emergency within the parish.
NHS prescription charge rises by
20 pence from April 1st 2014
In England, around 90% of prescription items
are dispensed free. The charge will increase
by 20 pence from £7.85 to £8.05 for each
quantity of a drug or appliance. It is also
intended that the single charge will increase
by 20 pence to £8.25 in the following year.
However, for the next two years the cost of a
prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) will
remain at £29.10 for a 3 month certificate.
The cost of the annual certificate will remain
at £104.
Poets Corner
Issue Date
I am sure that many of you will have either
enjoyed or disliked the little poems we have
published in the previous News Letters. So to
ring the changes, here is a little story which I
am sure can ring true:Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one
day, picked out a box of tampons and
proceeded to the checkout counter.
The man at the counter asked the older boy,
"Son, how old are you?"
"Eight," the boy replied.
The man continued, "do you know what
these are used for?"
The boy replied, "not exactly, but they aren't
2
for me. They're for him. He's my
brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you
use these you would be able to swim and ride
a bike. Right now, he can't do either."
Did You Know
INSECTS
When in the garden and being attacked by
annoying insects, if you grow Melissa or
Lemon Balm, just rub the leaves on your skin
and that will keep them at bay.
Should you be unfortunate to be stung by a
bee, don’t try to pull the sting out by the
attached sack. Use your fingernails to grip the
sting under the sack close to your skin and
push it out. The sack contains more venom
and if squeezed, it will inject the venom and
increase the sting. When the sting is
removed, rub the area with an ice cube to
reduce swelling.
IMMUNISATION
Scarlet Fever has made its way into the news
headlines recently. Following an active
immunization programme it is easy to forget
the severity of these childhood illnesses.
Measles and mumps are particularly serious
infections and can have lasting side effects. If
you are unsure of any aspect on these
illnesses, call the surgery for an appointment
with Clare Scully. Ask an expert. Clare holds
clinics for just such a service on Monday
mornings and Thursday afternoons.
BEREAVEMENT
The NHS was created to give care from cradle
to grave. However, the latter subject is one
which we all need to know about and
perhaps don’t know how to obtain. Have a
look on the Surgery Web Site
http://www.frithwoodsurgery.nhs.uk and
look on the right hand side column, headed
‘Further Information’. Here you will find a link
entitled ‘In Times of Bereavement’. All the
information you might need is well
documented.
This is the only time you will see
this phenomenon in your life.
Calendar August 2014
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat
1
2
3 4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
August, this year, will have 5 Fridays, 5
Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens only
once every 823 years.
When will you be able to see
your GP?
New proposals by the Government have been
recently made to run a pilot scheme in 1,100
GP Practices across the country to enable
them to open seven days per week and in
some cases, opening longer week day hours
to meet the need of patients.
Frithwood Surgery has not been chosen to be
part of this pilot scheme, but it would be
interesting to know how and what you feel
about extended opening hours and services
from our Practice.
The idea behind this scheme, which seems
quite sound, is to allow more access to
patients over a longer period of time. This
might not mean more Doctors; it may mean
that their work load will be spread over a
longer period and in shifts which would
remove some of the pressure on busy times.
It may allow Doctors to spend a little more
time with patients during consultation and it
would also suite patients who find it difficult
to get time off work to visit their GP. In
addition of course, the strain may be relieved
from local A&E services because patients can
be seen by their own GP in the first instance
for None Emergency treatment.
Now the knock on effect could be that the
money saved from the reduced need of A&E
services could be passed on to GP Practices
to fund the longer hours.
This is a pilot scheme, but it would be nice to
hear what you think about such a proposal by
the Government. Please get in touch with us
either directly to a member of the PPG or
through the suggestion box in the surgery
reception. Please add your name in order
that we can get back to you.
Being in Touch
Communication is a two way street. You talk
to me; I listen and reply.
There are a number of ways we communicate
with each other. Eye Contact, Body Language,
Speech, Writing, Text, ‘e’ Mail, video, etc.
Why are we mentioning this? Well,
sometimes some of these ways of
communicating can be really very helpful. For
example:- If you make an appointment with
the surgery to see a Doctor or Nurse, you
have started communication. The surgery
might respond by texting and or phoning you
as a reminder that you have made that
appointment and confirming that you will be
attending.
In the not too distant future, you may be able
to make a video/Skype type call to your
surgery to describe your ailments, rather
than making a physical visit. Wow, that would
save a lot of travelling time and effort.
It may be that in addition to News Letters
such as this one, you could receive an
automatic update from the surgery on all
aspects of the service.
Make sure we have all your details on
record. Phone, mobile and ‘e’ mail
addresses.
An opportunity to join the PPG
We still have a vacancy for a committee
member on the PPG. If you would like to
become a member of the PPG Committee
please contact the Practice Manager Ruth
Henney for more information.
We really are a nice group of people, who
meet three or four times a year, to try and
help improve the services our practice offers.
Come on. Give it a go. Some of it is quite fun.
Our New Practice Partner
Dr William Nattrass
Dr William Nattras, rejoins us at Frithwood
surgery to ensure the surgery can meet
patient’s needs following the retirement of
Dr Tim Crouch.
Taking Dr Tim’s position is Dr Bridget Jorro
and to ensure the surgery has the widest
range of skills possible, Dr Nattrass has been
appointed to the practice. Welcome Dr
Nattrass.
Dr Nattrass, qualified from Guy’s, Kings and
St Thomas’s in 2008. He worked at Kings
College Hospital for a spell before returning
to his home in Gloucestershire to complete
his GP training.
All of the Practitioners at Frithwood Surgery
have specific skills and interests and in Dr
William Nattrass’s case his particular
interests include men’s health issues, minor
surgery and developing sustainable
approaches to healthcare delivery.
In addition to all that, Dr Nattrass is one of
the committed mountain bike riders who
have made huge efforts to help fund the PPG
by riding across rough terrain for 24 hrs.’
non-stop.