Winter 2015

Edition 1

(January)

Pinfold Medical Practice Newsletter

Pinfold Lane, Butterknowle, Bishop Auckland DL13 5NX

Tel: 01388 718230 Fax: 01388 718645

www.pinfoldmedical.co.uk Surgery Consulting Hours

By Appointment Only

1 patient 1 appointment

Appointments are in 10 minute slots,

if you need more time, please ask our

Receptionist when booking your

appointment.

Monday

8.30am – 11.30am

3.00pm – 7.00pm

Tuesday

8.30am – 11.30am

2.00pm – 4.00pm

Wednesday

8.30am – 11.30am

3.00pm – 5.30pm

Thursday

8.30am – 11.30am

2.00pm – 4.00pm

Friday

8.30am – 11.30am

3.30pm – 5.00pm

The practice is closed Weekends and

Bank Holidays

Reception Opening Hours

Monday

8.15am – 6.30pm

Tuesday

8.15am – 4.45pm

Wednesday

8.15am – 6.30pm

Thursday

8.15am – 4.45pm

Friday

8.15am – 5.45pm

Closed Weekends and Bank Holidays

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the first edition of our Practice Newsletter, which I hope you

will find informative in keeping you up to date with what is happening at the

practice and in primary care. We aim to publish seasonal newsletters.

There are many changes in the NHS as a result of the challenges and

pressures it faces in providing a modern health care system but nonetheless,

it remains the best health care system in the world. Primary Care is the

frontline of the NHS and by providing the best possible health care service

we strive to protect the NHS for future generations. I believe this must be a

joint endeavour on the part of patients and staff alike.

We hope that you will find the contents of our newsletters informative and

would welcome any relevant comments, suggestions or contributions. We

would also encourage you to join our vPRG (virtual Patient Participation

Group) – just log on to our website and follow the link. For those readers

who would prefer not to use the internet you can use one of our feedback

forms that are available in the practice entrance lobby, write to or telephone

us at the practice. There are patient surveys that you can take part in –

either via our website or by using the survey forms/kiosk located in the

practice entrance lobby.

The Partners

Healthwatch County Durham

Healthwatch County Durham (HWCD) is the consumer champion for local

health and social care provision. They listen to you to find out what you

think of the health and social care services you come across. They speak up

for you with those who provided health and social care services. They

advise you on how to get the best health and social care for you and your

family.

Members of the public are invited to drop in sessions, to talk to HWCD staff.

We want to hear of people’s experiences and help them get the best from

local health and social care provision.

Barnard Castle 2nd Monday B/C Library

of every month The Witham

10am – 12pm 3 Horsemarket, B/C

Bishop Auckland 3rd Friday B/A Library

Of every month Town Hall

10am – 11.30am Market Place, B/A

Dispensary Opening Hours &

Services

Monday

8.30am – 12.30pm

2.00pm – 6.30pm

Tuesday

8.30am – 12.30pm

2.00pm – 4.45pm

Wednesday

8.30am – 12.30pm

2.00pm – 6.15pm

Thursday

8.30am – 12.30pm

2.00pm – 4.45pm

Friday

8.30am – 12.30pm

2.00pm – 5.45pm

The Dispensary CLOSES daily

between 12.30pm – 2.00pm.

Please give staff 2 working

days’ notice for repeat

prescriptions.

You can order your repeat

prescription by:-

Signing up to e-ordering

(register with Reception

Desk first)

Faxing or posting your

repeat prescription form

Dropping in your repeat

prescription form at the

Dispensary.

The practice is closed

Weekends and Bank Holidays.

On Line Appointment Booking and Repeat Prescription Ordering

Patients aged 16 years and over only – not available to children under 16 years of

age.

You will need to register first at the practice – please ask our Receptionist to help

you do this.

Once registered you will be able to:

Book an appointment on-line

Request a **repeat prescription on-line

Change your address and telephone/mobile details on-line

Register (new patients) on-line

** Please note this is for repeats only. Acute or one-of medicines are not available

on on-line requesting. You will need to make an appointment to see your doctor to

request such medicines. This is in the best interests of the patient.

Once registered, you can access any of the on-line services above using the practice

website.

RSVP Surgery Transport Scheme

What is the RSVP Surgery Transport Scheme?

RSVP GP Car Scheme transports patients who are unable to travel by conventional

means due to temporary or permanent accessibility problems or are unable to

travel by any other form of public transport.

All drivers of the GP car scheme are volunteers who, using their own cars,

generously give their time for the benefit of patients in need. There is a suggested

journey donation of £3.00 per return journey. The transport is from the patient’s

home to the doctor’s surgery and back, only.

How to use the service

Should you wish to make use of the service, please tell the GP receptionist when

you are booking your appointment. She will then pass your details to the volunteer

driver who will get in touch with you and finalise arrangements. Please give as

much notice as possible to the driver. Please pay the driver directly on collection

from your home, at the beginning of the journey.

I would like to become a volunteer driver, what do I need to do?

Please get in touch with RSVP Northeast on Tel: 0191 389 1155 and they will take

you through the sign up process. The practice does not do this.

Emergencies & Out of

Hours cover

In the event of a heart

attack, collapse, severe

difficulty breathing or other

medical emergency, please

dial 999.

The out of hour’s service is

available for patients

needing medical advice or

help when the surgery is

closed and the matter

cannot wait until the

surgery re-opens. You can

either ring our number and

a recorded message will

give you further

instructions or call

NHS 111.

Virtual Patient Participation Group (vPRG)

A PRG is a group of volunteer patients who are involved in shaping the health service at

the practice. We are therefore looking for a representative group of volunteer patients

across the practice population. Please log on to our website and pick up the link ‘Join

our Patient Group’. The forum is not to be used as a complaints mechanism as the

practice runs a separate complaints system.

NHS 111 Service

What is the NHS 111 service?

NHS 111 is a telephone service introduced to make it easier for you to access

local health services when you have an urgent need.

If you need to contact the NHS for urgent care, there are only three numbers to

know: 999 for life threatening emergencies, your GP surgery or 111

When you call 111 you will be assessed, given advice and directed to the most

appropriate local service that can help you best – that could be an out-of-hours

doctor, walk-in centre or urgent care centre, community nurse, emergency

dentist or late opening chemist.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

How does it work?

Calling 111 will get you through to a team of fully trained call advisers, who are

supported by experienced nurses.

They will ask you questions to assess your symptoms and give you healthcare

advice you need or direct you to the right local service.

Where possible, they will book you an appointment or transfer you directly to

the people you need to speak to.

If they think you need an ambulance, one will be arranged immediately.

When do you use the service?

You should call 111 if:

You need medical help fast but it is not a 999 emergency

You don’t know who to call for medical help or you don’t have a GP to call

You think you need to go to A&E or another NHS urgent care service

You require health information or reassurance about what to do next

See the pretty snowflakes Falling from the sky;

On the wall and housetops Soft and thick they lie.

On the window ledges, On the branches bare;

Now how fast they gather, Filling all the air.

Look into the garden, Where the grass was

green; Covered by the

snowflakes,

Not a blade is seen.

Now the bare black bushes All look soft and white,

Every twig is laden, What a pretty sight!

(Scottish Poetry Selection)

(T

Additional clinics and services at the practice

Health Visitor

Holds a morning clinic every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the

month

CHD Clinic

Our specialist CHD nurse holds a monthly clinic on Thursday

afternoons

Diabetic Foot Health Clinic

Our specialist diabetes podiatrist holds a clinic every other

month on Tuesday mornings

Counsellor Clinic

Weekly Friday afternoon clinics

Physiotherapy Clinic

Weekly Tuesday afternoon clinics

Minor Injuries Service

Daily appointments with doctor or practice nurse.

A full range of practice services can be viewed on our

website or practice leaflet.

Flu vaccinations – for patients

aged 18 years and over who

suffer from asthma or other

respiratory condition,

diabetes, heart disease and

carers. If you are not sure,

please ask your doctor or

nurse.

Childhood flu vaccinations –

for children aged 2 to 4 years

of age.

Shingles vaccinations – for

adults aged 70, 78 & 79 years

of age.

NHS Health checks – for adults

aged 40 to 74 years of age

with no pre - existing medical

condition. Once every five year

check.

Pneumococcal vaccinations –

aged 65 years & over with a

diagnosis of asthma or other

respiratory condition,

diabetes, heart disease, renal

or liver disease. New - Stop Smoking Advisor Service

Smoking cessation courses are now available at the surgery for our patients. The clinics are held every week:

Wednesday 3.00pm – 6.00pm

Fridays 4.00pm – 5.30pm

The clinics are run by a qualified Smoking Cessation Advisor and Dispenser. If you would like help to give up

smoking, then please book your first appointment with our Receptionist (follow up appointments will be booked for

you by the Smoking Cessation Advisor).

DNAs survey.

Did Not Attends are patients who book an appointment then don’t attend and don’t contact the practice to either

cancel or re-arrange the appointment. This is a big problem for both the practice and other patients – we could

have used these appointment slots for other patients.

Year 2010 = 451 Year 2013 = 676

Year 2011 = 521 Year 2014 = 622 an increase of 72.5% in five years!

Year 2012 = 566 Please ring the practice if you don’t need your appointment.

Science Museum. Brought to

Life: Exploring the History

of (Nursing) Medicine.

A bandaging class at Tredegar

House, 1906.

(Credits:Wellcome Library,

London.)

Nursing is one of the oldest

medical occupations, but nurses

only obtained professional status in

the late 1800s. Nursing attendants

are mentioned in all the classical

texts, but could have been anyone,

male or female. Male nurses were

constantly used for public duties

such as in prisons, asylums or the

armed forces, but their history is

little known.

Women’s opportunities for nursing

outside the home were limited. In medieval Europe nuns nursed in convent infirmaries under the control of

Catholic Church authorities. In Europe religious nursing orders such as the famous Augustinian Sisters were the

only model for public nursing until the 1800s.

Changes in nursing started with the hospital and prison reformers of the late 1700s. New training for nurses

became available, notably at the Deaconess Institute at Kaiserworth in Germany (1836), which influenced

Florence Nightingale. Nightingale reorganized army hospital nursing during the Crimean War (1853-56) and

helped promote nursing as a more respectable profession for young women. The first ‘Nightingale nurses’

began training in 1860 and spread throughout the UK and the British Empire. Nightingale also revolutionised

future hospital design.

Established in 1863, the International Red Cross was another international force in nurse training. European

governments set up their own training programmes and the International Red Cross carried reformed nursing

across the world. Professional organisations followed fast in the late 1800s. By 1930 professional nursing

associations existed in 35 countries. In England the Royal College of Nursing was founded in 1916, but

professional control was not given to the General Nursing Council until 1919. After the First World War, in

which nurses served on the front line, a State Nursing Registry was set up which guaranteed a minimum level

of training for all nurses.

Since 1945 nurse training has been extended with different specialties. There has been a rise in male nursing,

and male nurses play a full part in previously all-female nursing associations.

This edition we feature …

10 myths about flu and the flu vaccine

1. Having flu is just like having a heavy cold

A bad bout of flu is much worse than a heavy cold. Flu symptoms come on suddenly and sometimes severely. They

include fever, chills, headaches and aching muscles, as well as a cough and sore throat. You're likely to spend two or

three days in bed. If you get complications caused by flu, you could become seriously ill and have to go to hospital.

2. Having the flu vaccine gives you flu

No, it doesn't. The injected flu vaccine that is given to adults contains inactivated flu viruses, so it can't give you flu.

Your arm may feel a bit sore where you were injected, and some people get a slight temperature and aching muscles for

a couple of days afterwards, but other reactions are very rare.

Read more about how the injected flu vaccine works.

The children's flu nasal spray vaccine contains live but weakened flu viruses that will not give your child flu.

Read more about how the children's flu vaccine works.

3. Flu can be treated with antibiotics

No, it can't. Viruses cause flu, and antibiotics only work against bacteria. You may be prescribed antiviral medicines to

treat your flu. Antivirals do not cure flu, but they can make you less infectious to others and reduce the length of time

you may be ill. To be effective, antivirals have to be given within a day or two of your symptoms appearing. A bacterial

infection may occur as a result of having the flu, in which case you may be given antibiotics.

Find out more about why antibiotics won't work against flu.

4. Once you've had the flu vaccine, you're protected for life

No, you aren't. The viruses that cause flu can change every year, so you need a vaccination each year that matches the

new viruses. The vaccine usually provides protection for the duration of the flu season that year.

Read more about what's in this winter's flu vaccine.

5. I'm pregnant, so I shouldn't have the flu jab because it will affect my baby

You should have the vaccine whatever stage of pregnancy you are in. If you're pregnant, you could get very ill if you get

flu, which could also be bad for your baby. Having the jab can also protect your baby against flu after they're born and

during the early months of life.

Read more about the flu jab in pregnancy

6. The flu jab won't protect me against swine flu

Yes, it will. This year's flu vaccine protects against three different flu viruses, including the H1N1 swine flu virus. This

is because the virus is expected to be circulating this year.

7. Children can't have the flu vaccine

Children over the age of six months who are "at risk" of serious illness if they catch the flu are eligible for a flu vaccine on

the NHS. The flu vaccine is generally given to children aged 6 months to 2 years as an injection, and as a nasal spray for

children aged 2 to 18 years.

Children at risk from flu include those with a pre-existing illness such as a respiratory or neurological condition, or children

who are having treatment such as chemotherapy.

The nasal spray flu vaccine is also recommended on the NHS for all healthy two, three and four-year-old children.

Eventually, the vaccination programme will be extended so that all children aged from 6 months to 16 years are able to have

the flu vaccine.

Read more about which children can have the flu vaccine.

8. I've had the flu already this autumn, so I don't need the vaccination this year

You do need it if you're in one of the risk groups. As flu is caused by several viruses, you will only be protected by the

immunity you developed naturally against one of them. You could go on to catch another strain, so it's recommended you

have the jab even if you've recently had flu. Also, what you thought was flu could have been something else.

9. If I missed having the flu jab in October, it's too late to have it later in the year

No, it's not too late. It's better to have the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, but it's always worth getting

vaccinated before flu comes around. Since we don't know when flu will strike, the sooner you have the vaccine the better.

(The practice flu vaccination programme continues through to March 2015).

10. Vitamin C can prevent flu

No, it can't. Many people think that taking daily vitamin C supplements will stop them getting flu, but there's no evidence to

prove this.

Read the answers to some common questions about flu and the flu vaccine.

(The above article is courtesy of NHS Choices www.nhs.uk )