PATIENT NEWSLETTER
November 2010
UNDERSTANDING COPD
COPD is a long-term, incurable
condition that can have serious
effects on health and quality of
life. It's not fully understood
why or how COPD develops,
but smoking is by far the most common
cause of the condition because cigarette
smoke inflames and damages the delicate
lining of the airways.
In the UK, nearly 900,000 people have been
diagnosed with COPD, but most people
aren't diagnosed and around three million
people in the UK may have the condition.
The older you are the more likely you are to
develop COPD. The average age at which
COPD is diagnosed in the UK is 67, usually
after many years of less severe symptoms.
This evidence-based guide takes you
through the stages of the disease and how
NHS services can help. It tells you what good
care is, and how you can take action to:
 Reduce your risk of developing the
condition in the first place.
 Use treatments to limit symptoms.
 Limit how often your condition flares
up.
 Reduce the severity of flare-ups when
they occur.
 Exercise to retain mobility and quality
of life.
The British Lung Foundation run a support
group called ‘Breath Easy’. You can contact
them for help in the following ways.
Website: http://www.lunguk.org
Address: British Lung Foundation
73-75 Goswell Road
London
EC1V 7ER
You can also telephone their main number
020 7688 5555
or call the Helpline on 08458 50 50 20.
WHAT IS DIABETES?
Diabetes is a long-term (chronic)
condition caused by too much
glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood.
It is also sometimes known as diabetes
mellitus. Diabetes affects 2.6 million people in
the UK. It is thought that a further half-a-million
people have the condition but are not aware of it.
How does diabetes occur? Normally, the amount
of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone
called insulin. Insulin is produced by the
pancreas, a gland located behind the stomach.
When food is digested and enters the
bloodstream, insulin helps move any glucose out
of the blood and into cells, where it is broken
down to produce energy.
In people with diabetes, the body is unable to
break down glucose into energy. This is because
there is either not enough insulin to move the
glucose, or because the insulin that is there does
not work properly.
There are two types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes
and type 2 diabetes. This article focuses on type
2 diabetes.
What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes occurs when not enough insulin
is produced by the body for it to function
properly, or when the body’s cells do not react to
insulin. This is called insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1
diabetes, which occurs when the body does not
produce any insulin at all. Around 90% of all
adults in the UK with diabetes have type 2
diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, you may
be able to control your symptoms simply by
eating a healthy diet and exercise. However, as
type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition, you
may eventually need to take insulin medication,
usually in the form of tablets. Type 2 diabetes is
often associated with obesity. Obesity-related
diabetes is sometimes referred to as maturityonset diabetes because it is more common in
older people.
Diabetes Results Sharing:
There has been a slight change in the way we
care for your diabetes. Your blood pressure,
weight and urine will be tested when you come
along to the first blood test appointment. A copy
of the results will be sent to you to ensure you
have some knowledge prior to the second
appointment, please bring these along to the
review. To enable the consultation to be tailoured
to your needs you will be given a sheet called
‘Making the most of your appointment’ to allow
you to highlight the most important areas of your
care you wish to discuss. The whole aim is to
promote self care and to ensure we are meeting
your needs.
ST JAMES JAUNTERS
A team of four of us took to the
hills on Saturday evening the
23rd October to take part in the
annual Moonraker event
organised by Rotary Club of
Taunton. Dr Skinner and
Nurses Katie and Anne along
with Katie’s husband Jamie set off on the
12mile route up hill and down vale for several
hours. Map reading and finding hidden clues
on the way. The weather was kind and the
only rain shower occurred when at one of the
designated checking in points. For the
remainder we were in moonlit conditions and
were able to switch off our torches and just
walk by moonlight which was a wonderful
thing to do in these days of so much ambient
light in our towns and cities.
We were raising funds for local charities
including the Albermarle centre in Taunton.
We managed to finish the course in approx
6hours without any injuries or serious
blisters.
We look forward to next year when we hope
to enter a few more walkers to join us.
Anne Greenwood
Practice Nurse
Well Done to the Team who came joint 2nd
place!
FLU VACCINES
Have you had your Flu vaccine this year?
We have held three Flu clinics over October
at St James and there are still vaccines
available for those who have not yet booked
an appointment. Please call the surgery in
the afternoon to book your appointment.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS
In April 2010 we recorded 113 ‘did not
attend’ appointments with the
doctors. This is equivalent to over 7
GP sessions in just one month! We
are a busy practice and demand for
appointments from patients is high. There
are times when it is very difficult for us to
provide the capacity you need. It helps us
and your fellow patients a great deal if you
kindly let us know in advance if you can’t
attend an appointment as it can usually be
reallocated.
Thank you.
GP COMMISSIONING –
What is all this then?
Many patients will know that the
Coalition Government issued a White
Paper (effectively a consultation
document) called ‘.Equity and
excellence: Liberating the NHS’
This places GPs and patients at the heart of
commissioning (designing, developing and
purchasing) services for local populations.
There is strong emphasis on making
efficiencies and redesigning services in order
to improve the quality of patient outcomes. If
all this sound a bit like NHS jargon you can
translate it as meaning reducing waste,
making the patient journey through the
system more streamlined and having more
community based services. The aim is to
make better use of the money invested in the
NHS, prevent more illness and improve
recovery rates.
The current Secretary of State for Health,
Andrew Lansley spent 6 ½ years in
opposition developing his ideas for reform
and all the indications are that the changes
will happen and they will happen relatively
quickly. We are promised less red tape and
more freedom to make changes.
GP practices will be required to form
consortia in order to join forces and be big
enough in scale to make the changes and
manage budgets etc. It will require more
communications and joint working between
GP practices, local government (they provide
social care), hospitals and possibly mental
health services.
Don’t worry – it will still be business as usual
at St James Medical Centre as we will still be
here for you.
STAFF TRAINING
The surgery will be closed for staff
training between 1.00pm and 4.30pm
on the following dates
Tues 16th November 10
Wed 15th December 10