Ivy Grove News 9.1 (web version)

Here you will find the latest edition of our newsletter, viewable on screen in either text or image format. To download our newsletter to your own computer and view past editions, you need to return to the newsletter page.

 

New website launched - ivy.gs

Ivy Grove Surgery has recently redesigned its website with new information and content. Please visit us at www.ivygrove.org.uk or simply type ivy.gs into your browser.

Information is available on our services, medical advice, general information and useful contact numbers, along with links to other sites and copies of past newsletters. You will also be able to download essential forms and other information from our site. We are still adding new content to the site.

We hope the website will become the central hub for information about Ivy Grove. Visit regularly to check for the latest news about the surgery.

To get to our site more easily, you can now simply type ivy.gs in your browser.

We are developing a new communication strategy to keep in touch with our patients and provide information on our services.

If you would like to receive a copy of this newsletter by email as soon as it is available, please let us know your email address. You may unsubscribe at any time.

If you would like to be kept informed of developments or events at Ivy Grove or receive reminders for your appointments by text on your mobile phone, please let us have your mobile phone number.

To follow us on Twitter and get instant updates on events and developments at Ivy Grove Surgery, go to ivy.gs/twitter.

We are forming a new Patient Reference Group (PRG) to help us improve our services. All currently registered patients are eligible to join and participate in discussion and decision making. For more information on our PRG and to register an interest, go to ivy.gs/prg.

We are currently exploring the best way to involve patients in our new PRG so that they can be involved in shaping services. This may mean face to face meetings, but also online forums with discussion and debate, if attendance is a problem. With your help, we can continue to improve our services. Please see page 3 of this newsletter for the latest information.

Please see our privacy policy available online – ivy.gs/terms - for full details on how we will treat your information.

Help is available on the website, including links to other sites and agencies, as well as links to those sites that give medical advice. Go to ivy.gs/help to view our help page for more information. To view our entire site pleasego to ivy.gs/sitemap.

Help at Home Service

Back in 2008 Anne spent two weeks in the DRI after a fall which fractured her hip. Unfortunately this accident provoked Anne's glaucoma. After the accident Anne was fortunate to have been discharged back home as her house was easily accessible to her. During the discharge process Anne was advised by the Occupational Therapist of a domestic service called "Help at Home" for help with tasks around the home.

The Help at Home service is a non-profit making organisation run by the registered charity Amber Valley CVS. The aim of the service is to enable elderly or disabled people to live independently in their homes.

Anne said "I am very conscious that I rely on my son and daughter in-law. Having the Help at Home service is fantastic, I would be lost without it. My son finds the contact I have with my domestic worker a great reassurance".

The Help at Home service is run from Amber Valley CVS which is based in Ripley. The Help at Home team have two coordinators who manage the domestic workers' diaries and more than 40 domestic workers who work across Amber Valley and Erewash. All the domestic workers are CRB checked and trained.

Anne said "I like the reassurance that there is a head office. It may be a trait from my past, whilst working in the Army, but I like to know there is one number I can call whether it's to check on what time my domestic worker is coming or if I need to rearrange".

Anne is keen to stay in her own home for as long as she can and with the support of the Help at Home service Anne is able to do this.

For more information on the Help at Home service please call Helen Hart or Jane Massey on 01773 512076.

Disability Derbyshire - Disabled people working for inclusion

What is it?

We provide a confidential service for disabled people and their families and carers throughout Derbyshire - £2 per session for all adults living in the Ripley area - £15 per session.

Peer Counselling with DCIL means counselling for disabled people or their family members and carers, offered by disabled people who are trained in counselling. This also includes counselling for parents/carers of disabled children.

We have also opened up our Counselling Service to non-disabled people who wish to choose to pay for counselling privately rather than go onto a waiting list.

Counselling can help you to recover your own inner resources and strengths.

Counselling deals with the feelings people experience in everyday life. It can help you to recover your own inner resources and strengths, to reach a better feeling of control and responsibility in your life.

How do I get it?

If you feel counselling could help you, please contact us by phone, letter, email or call in at DCIL, Park Road, Ripley and ask for the Counselling Service.

With your permission a GP/Social Worker/Support Worker etc can also refer you. A counsellor will then contact you to arrange a convenient appointment, lasting up to one hour.

How do I get in touch?

Email: counsell@dcil.org.uk
Address: DCIL, Park Road, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3EF
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm
Tel: 01773 740246
Fax: 01773 570185
Minicom: 01773 748452
Website: www.dcil.org.uk (link opens in a new window)

DCIL is a BACP Accredited Service, BACP Reference No. 100147. The BACP Service Accreditation Scheme helps the public and practitioners identify services providing a high standard of counselling and psychotherapy. DCIL is a charity registered with the Charity Commissioners No. 701563

Influenza Vaccination Programme Now Underway

Our seasonal flu jab programme is now underway. Letters will be going out to at-risk patients inviting them to attend for seasonal flu jabs. Those with long-term heart, lung, kidney, liver and neurological (nervous system) disease, diabetics, those with a suppressed immune system and over 65s will be invited, and we strongly recommend that you take up the offer of a free flu jab.

If you are a carer for a person whose welfare would be affected if you were to become poorly with flu then you are also eligible.

Two clinics are being held on Saturday September 17th and Saturday October 1st.

Please ring the surgery in the afternoons (when the phones are less busy) to book your appointment.

Private Fees Explained

Why do we charge private fees?

The NHS provides most health care to most people free of charge, but some fees have existed since the early days of the NHS, e.g. prescription charges. GPs are self-employed and are contracted by the government to provide medical care and this is free at the point of contact.

Other work, which is not part of NHS work, is not covered in this contract. Examples include insurance reports, pre-employment medicals, reports for Department of Work and Pensions, travel cancellation reports.

With certain exceptions, GPs are not legally obliged to carry out non-NHS work for patients, but being in a position of trust in the community, we are frequently asked to complete such non-NHS work. In order to help our patients with completion of their forms, we will do such work, but it may be charged for.

CHECK OUR WAITING ROOM NOTICEBOARD FOR DETAILS OF OUR PRIVATE FEES

Who sets the fees?
As an organisation, it is up to each individual practice to set its own fees. In our practice, our private fees are in line with the BMA suggested hourly rate for GPs.

Why don’t you just sign our forms for free?
GP surgeries have to cover their costs – staff, heating, buildings, lighting etc – they are essentially small businesses. NHS funding covers the cost for NHS work, but for non-NHS work, we charge fees to help towards our costs.

You may feel GPs should not charge if your form only requires a signature. To remain on the Medical Register, as doctors, we can only sign on what we know to be true. Even the simplest of forms require us to be responsible and accountable and may involve checking records. Our fees reflect the professional work we do. 

Lil' Snippets!

Can I drink alcohol with this?

Whenever we give antibiotics to patients, we are often asked if they can drink alcohol with them. The myth that you cannot drink whilst taking antibiotics was perpetuated in the 1940s by sexual health clinics – they didn’t want patients to drink and get frisky and pass on diseases before the penicillin had a chance to work! In fact, you can drink alcohol in moderation quite safely with the vast majority of antibiotics. The only one which you cannot drink any alcohol with that is commonly prescribed is METRONIDAZOLE (also known as Flagyl) and its related cousin drug TINIDAZOLE. Please always read the information leaflet if unsure.

The most kissed woman…

Is the face on the Resusci Anne resuscitation training dummy. The story goes that in 1900 the body of an unknown young girl was pulled from the River Seine. It is believed she committed suicide. A death mask was made of her face, as was customary for unidentified cases. Her delicate beauty and ethereal smile inspired a whole generation of writers, artists and photographers. Years later, Åsmund S. Lærdal began the development of a realistic and effective training aid to teach mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Moved by the story of the girl so tragically taken by early death, he adopted her mask for the face of his new resuscitation-training manikin, Resusci Anne. Little did he know she would become the most kissed woman of all time.

The brain’s amazing ability to edit and process information

Try this one at home. Stand in front of a mirror and look straight ahead at yourself. Now try looking at one eye, then try looking at the other eye. Try as you might, you will not see your eyes moving! Someone observing you will be able to see your eyes darting back and forth, but you won’t! The brain/eye system has masked the movements AND the signals telling you the eyes have moved, so you do not perceive it. It does this so that you don’t see a blurry image in the mirror!

Patient Reference Group - Late Breaking News

As mentioned on our front page, the practice will be forming its own Patient Reference Group. In order to introduce patients to this new group, we will be holding a meeting here at the surgery on Thursday 22nd September from 6.30pm. Please come along to our first meeting, and find out how you can become involved and have a say in how services at Ivy Grove Surgery can be improved. If you want to join in any discussion about the group or the surgery in general and its services, please consider registering at our private online discussion forum, the imaginatively named 'Ivy Grove Surgery Patient Reference Group'! You will find full details at ivy.gs/prg.

Get Easy Online Prescriptions

Please come into the surgery and ask about online prescriptions (this is necessary as we need to confirm your identity before giving you confidential login information)
We will give you the paperwork necessary to register.

Go to the bit.ly/emisaccess1 (link opens in a new window) and set up an account with them using the personalised login details we have given you.

Once registered with EMIS Access, you can then login to bit.ly/emisaccess (link opens in a new window) and order your prescriptions online.

That's it!

Follow us on Twitter for the latest news

If you want to be informed of the latest developments, events and news at Ivy Grove Surgery, please register for a Twitter account and you will receive instant notifications from us. Go to bit.ly/IGStwitter (link opens in a new window) to follow us on Twitter.

Download this newsletter and other forms

To download this newsletter in PDF format for storage on your own computer, go to our website at ivy.gs/newsletter. You will also be able to download other leaflets and forms from the download page of our website which as at ivy.gs/downloads.

Notes for schools, examinations and tests

Although exam season is over, a timely reminder

Mainly in early summer, but also at other times of the year, we are often asked by pupils, parents and teachers to write medical certificates or notes for pupils who have missed examinations through illness or for pupils who wish their illness to be taken into consideration in their performance. In some extreme cases, students have been sent home by school after falling ill in exams and told to see their GP to get a note for the school in order to prove that they have been poorly! This somewhat ridiculous situation wastes precious appointment time for something that is not really necessary.

In these situations, examination boards require an application for special consideration to be completed. Both Ofqual (the regulator of examination boards) and the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualification, that represents examination boards) confirm that there is no requirement for pupils to obtain a medical certificate in support of an application for special consideration.

Pupils are asked for information to support their application for special consideration, but this may take the form of a supportive statement from the school. Special consideration will then be granted.

The application forms and complete guidance for special consideration application are on the www.jcq.org.uk (link opens in a new window) website.

Schools should be aware of the current guidance and may be directed to the above site if they are unsure. The above information has been confirmed by the British Medical Association and Derbyshire Local Medical Committee.

Latest health news and information

Dr Wong provides information on some recent news

No extra precautions required when taking antibiotics with the pill

Women have always been advised to use extra precautions when prescribed antibiotics if they are using the combined oral contraceptive pill. Recent guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist’s Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare now reports that for antibiotic courses of three weeks or less, additional precautions are not required. If however, antibiotics or illness cause diarrhoea or vomiting, then the usual additional precautions relating to these conditions should be observed (please see your pill instruction leaflet for details or ask if unsure).

Blood pressure treatments and cancer risk

Two groups of blood pressure drugs have been in the news recently – ACE inhibitors (ACEIs – the ‘prils’, like captopril, enalapril) and angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARAs) – the ‘sartans’ like losartan, candesartan.  It was reported in the news in June last year about the risk of cancer associated with taking ARAs. In February 2011, an analysis of 70 randomised controlled trials found no evidence for a significantly increased risk of cancer and cancer related deaths with these ARAs. However, it could not rule out an increased risk of cancer if both an ARA and an ACEI were being taken and it is suggested to limit combined use of both treatments as a precaution.

New guidance on missed pills has been issued

New guidance has been issued on what to do when combined oral contraceptive pills have been missed. This applies to all pills with an oestrogen dose of at least 20 micrograms (with the exception of Qlaira). If you are more than 24 hours late for one active pill, take the next pill as soon as you remember (even if it means taking two pills in one day), and there is no need to take additional precautions. If you are more than 24 hours late for two active pills, take the last missed pill as soon as they remember (even if it means taking two pills in one day), and additional contraceptive precautions should be taken for the next 7 days. The full guidance can be found at bit.ly/missedpills (link opens in a new window).