DUNSTER SURGERY
PORLOCK MEDICAL CENTRE
Autumn Newsletter 2015
AN OUTSTANDING RESULT
CQC: OUTSTANDING
We're delighted to report that both Dunster Surgery and Porlock Medical
Centre have each received ‘OUTSTANDING’ (the top grade of assessment)
Both Dunster Surgery and Porlock
from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent health quality
Medical Centre have each received the
watchdog.
top grade – OUTSANDING - assessment
from the Care Quality Commission
Both practices had their CQC assessment in May this year, and we were
(CQC).
informed that both practices had been awarded the 'Outstanding' rating,
and by doing so we make up two of only 54 practices in the country to be
…IN OTHER NEWS…
awarded this top prize (there are over 10,000 practices judged).
Dunster Surgery has been
Obviously we are tickled pink by the news and really rather proud that our
nominated as Somerset ‘Practice of
little country practices have been judged to be amongst the very best - but
the Year’ whilst Dunster’s PPG
we know that none of it would be possible without all the hard work of all
(Patient Participation Group) has
the tremendous people who work in the two practices. And tribute too to
been nominated for Somerset PPG
the wonderful support both practices receive from the very hard working
of the year. We find out the results
patient members of the Patient Participation Groups, not just on the
at the end of September … we’re
respective days of our visits, but always.
keeping our fingers crossed.
‘It is fantastic that there are two practices within 20 minutes
of each other supporting the local community with such
outstanding care’ – Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector
for General Practice for the South.
WELCOME TO EVERYONE JOINING DUNSTER SURGERY
We’d like to extend a warm welcome to everyone joining us at Dunster
Surgery from Brendon Hills Surgery, which closes on 30 September 2015.
We’re doing our level best to make sure the move goes as smoothly as
possibly.
From about the middle of December we will have a brand spanking new
£1million surgery in Dunster, with sufficient capacity in space and people for
all of the current Dunster patients as well as the new people. Until then,
clinics will be held at Dunster Surgery (Park Street, Dunster) as they are now,
but also a satellite clinic at Roadwater Village Hall.
Anyone is welcome to come to the Roadwater clinics which will be run by
Drs Kelham and Davies between them, but please remember that
complex examinations would not be appropriate there. If you’re in any
doubt please just phone reception on 01643 821244 but all the basic
things will be possible at Roadwater which makes up the vast majority of
consultations. We’ll also be able to take blood tests, blood pressures and
so forth, but some things will inevitably need to be done at Dunster
Surgery.
DUNSTER NEW SURGERY
The outside of the new surgery is now pretty much complete, which is a
The flu virus – more attractive under a microscope
than in your body
tremendous tribute to all those who have been toiling since January this
year building it.
All is currently on target (touch wood) which is unprecedented.
FLU CLINICS
There remains a heap of work on the inside but we’re all putting
everything into being open for business the week before Christmas.
PORLOCK
Porlock Village Hall
05 October
BRENDON HILLS
Washford Village Hall
06 October
“I MEAN, WHO DIES OF FLU?”
These were words of the wife of a 42 year old man who at that time was
in intensive care and seemed to be doing just that (dying). Mercifully, he
got better, but last year in Australia, for example, more people died of flu
than in road traffic collisions.
The World Health Organisation’s sagely advice if you want to avoid
getting flu (and, honestly you should) is to move to the middle of a
desert, alone. Or get a flu jab.
Problem 1: “But weren’t there some problems with lowered protection
Roadwater Village Hall
08 October
15 October
DUNSTER
Dunster Tithe Barn
13 October
last year?”
The flu jab is a mixture of usually three vaccines against three different
strains (ie members of the same family) of the flu virus. The precise
strains are determined by which ones are most common in a particular
year when the wave of flu infections start on the far eastern side of the
globe. It is usually over 80% protective but, unusually, last year the
majority of flu infections were from strains not covered by the vaccine;
the actual protection last year was therefore much lower at about a
third.
That’s a big shame for anyone who had the flu jab but then still came
down with flu of course. But (a) forecasting natural events is never going
to be 100% - but the scientists who do the forecasting are usually much
more successful, and are likely to be more successful this year and (b)
33% protection is still much better than 0% protection.
Problem 2: Now I know what some people will be thinking at this stage:
”…Ah yes, but I/someone I know/someone I read about in the Daily Grump
had the flu jab, and it gave them flu!”
There are few things in life which you can confidently say will never happen,
but getting flu from a flu jab is one of them. The reason is that the jab
contains inactivated, dead, fragments of the virus. These stimulate the
immune system (and it is perhaps this immune stimulation that some
people may experience after a flu jab) but not in over 4,000 million years or
so have dead inert chemicals been persuaded to come to life.
Also, it must be remembered that people get their flu jabs usually in
October, and there are plenty of other viruses around at that time. Some
people out of the millions, who have a flu jab will a few days letter come
down with some other viral illness that they would have had whether or not
they go a flu jab – in other words, the flu jab happening before is a
coincidence – but in the minds of the people who get unwell, it is firmly
established that the jab must have had something to do with it. And so the
urban myth continues.
Contact us
So we strongly encourage everyone who is eligible (anyone over 65y,
Dunster Surgery
ilnesses) to have their flu jab – I know I will be!
pregnant women, children and adults at risk of flu because of underlying
Park Street
Dunster
TA24 6SR
01643 821244
Porlock Medical Centre
Porlock
NEW PICK UP POINTS FOR REPEAT MEDICATIONS
People will be familiar with our current pick up points for repeat
prescriptions at Wootton Courtenay, Carhampton and Washford.
TA24 8PJ
From 01 October we will also be using Roadwater Village Stores and
01643 862575
Stogumber too, as we will have more patients from those areas. Just ask at
www.dunsterandporlocksurgeries.co.uk
the Dunster Surgery dispensary for more information.