Practice Newsletter Summer 2024
Welcome to the summer edition of our newsletter for Cowfold and Partridge Green patients.
STAFF TRAINING CLOSURE DATE
The surgery will be closed on Thursday 11th July from 12.30-18.30pm for us to enable full staff training. If you have an urgent query, please telephone 01293 698088. In the event of a medical emergency such as chest pain or suspected stroke, please dial 999 for an ambulance. Otherwise please dial NHS 111. The surgery will reopen as normal on Friday 12th July.
Please also note the surgery will be closed on Monday 26th August but will reopen as normal on Tuesday 27th August.
PATIENT SURVEY 2024
The results of the patient survey are in! Thank you to all the patients who filled in one of our questionnaires. You can view the results on the wall in reception at Cowfold Surgery as well as on this website. Your main concerns were about getting an appointment but hopefully over the course of the summer these will get better as we introduce a new appointment system. Please bear with us!
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP
In the first quarter of this year we have had 2 Patient Participation Group meetings and have been very happy to welcome new members to the group. Going forward we will be meeting across the year to work together to help both the patients and staff to provide a good service
for our patients. Our next meeting is on 25th June at 6.30pm at Cowfold Surgery. If you would like to join the PPG – please contact Louise McMeeking our Deputy Practice Manager or tell one of the Reception team. We look forward to seeing you.
MENOPAUSE TALK TUESDAY 21ST MAY
Dr Katie Carter presented a talk on the menopause on Tuesday 21st May. This was well attended and well received by the patients. Thank you to Claire and Marie for helping with the refreshments. We are aiming to run more talks throughout the year. If you have a particular topic that you would like discussed, please let one of our Reception team know.
SURGERY NEWS!
Sadly we will be saying goodbye to Julie who is our Practice Nurse. We wish Julie all the best with whatever she does next. She will be greatly missed!
On a happier note, we are pleased to inform you that Dr Anita D’Mello will be joining the practice from Wednesday 5th June. Dr D’Mello has been working at the surgery as a Locum so some of you may already know her. She will working all day on Wednesdays with surgeries in Partridge Green on Wednesday mornings and Cowfold on Wednesday afternoons.
More good news – Dr Joseph Russell will also be joining the practice from September. Dr Russell will be working across both sites working on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. We are looking forward to working with both Dr Russell and Dr D’Mello.
We would also like to welcome our new Practice Nurse Elena Alvarez-Martinez who will be joining the practice at the end of June.
Sally Taylor who is our Paramedic Practitioner has finished her sponsored 80km run in the month of May for HELP FOR HEROES. Sally would like to personally thank everyone who sponsored her including the Holden family and also Barbara and Frank Chard for their donations. Sally has managed to raise £658 so well done Sally!
DIGITAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM
As previously mentioned, we are still waiting to find out when we will be updating our telephone system. We will keep you informed of the date when we know it. This will benefit patients when the system is up and running but we expect a few teething problems along the way. Our Reception team will need training for the new system so we ask again for your patience and kindness when you telephone to book an appointment.
PATIENT CHOICE FOR REFERRALS
The NHS is offering more options to enable you to make choices that best suit your circumstances and giving you greater control of your care. If your GP needs to refer you to hospital you have the right to choose the hospital or service you would like to go to. When you are referred our Admin Team will choose 5 possible hospitals for you to be seen. You will then receive a letter, email or message through the NHS App with instructions on how to book your appointment. If you do not have the internet there will be a telephone number on your
letter that you can telephone to book. Most people want to be seen at the nearest hospital. Some people would want the shortest waiting time. If you choose a hospital which is not local to you, please bear in mind that all your clinic appointments and treatment will be at that
hospital going forward.
COWFOLD SURGERY CAR PARK
Following on from some complaints from patients with regards to the car park spaces at Cowfold surgery, we have been auditing the car park over the last 3 weeks. We checked the car park every morning and afternoon every day at different times during the day to see how full it was. During the 3 week period there were 3 days when the car park was completely full with no spaces. On all of these days there were between 4 and 5 spaces which were taken up by staff but these were clinical staff members who need to be parked in the car park in case of an emergency at either Cowfold or Partridge Green sites. The rest of the practice staff do try to park elsewhere but sometimes this is not possible. We will continue to monitor this in the coming months.
AWARENESS MONTHS
JUNE
10-16th June is Diabetes Week
The theme for this year’s campaign is talking about the health checks you need when you have diabetes. We know that if you have diabetes if can feel like number, check and test overload! You might feel fine or feel like you don’t have the time or maybe you are not sure about what checks you should be getting. Regular diabetes health checks are vital to keep you healthy so you can continue to live life to the full.
What diabetic checks should you be getting?
You will need to have an annual blood test, a urine sample and you will need a foot check. You will also need your blood pressure, height and weight measured. You may also be invited to have a diabetic eye check at the hospital.
It is very important that you manage your diabetes between appointments. There are lots of things you can do to look after yourself at home like eating a healthy diet, checking your feet and keeping active. For more information go to www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes.
10-16th June is Carers Week
Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring and to highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities.
What is the Definition of a Carer?
A carer cares (unpaid) for family and friends who have a disability, illness or who need support in later life: washing them and their laundry and their dishes. Keeping appointments and records and tempers. Giving medicine and time and hugs. Filling forms and fridges and silences. Dealing with doctors and nurses and pharmacists and social workers and benefit agencies and care workers and lack of sleep.
You can find out about local support groups and services by contacting your local council or go to www.carerssuport.org.uk. Please also see the information posters in the reception area at Cowfold Surgery.
17-23rd June is Cervical Screening Awareness Week.
Cervical screening is a free health test that helps prevent cervical cancer. In the UK you are automatically invited for cervical screening if you are between the ages of 25-64 and registered as female with a GP surgery. You may get your first invite 6 months before you turn 25. You may be invited every year, every 3 years or every 5 years. For more information go to www.jostrust.org.uk.
1-7th July is Alcohol Awareness Week
This year’s theme is Understanding Alcohol Harm: Alcohol can sometimes play a centre stage in our lives. It is promoted as we watch our favourite sports, advertised as we travel to work and strategically placed in our favourite films and TV shows. It is there when we celebrate, commiserate and when we are just trying to cope. Yet alcohol is harming our health and wellbeing on a daily basis. Each year thousands of people experience long term health problems as a result of the alcohol they drink. This Alcohol Awareness Week we want to get everyone talking about the role alcohol plays in our society.
In England there are an estimated 602,391 dependent drinkers – only 18% are receiving treatment. The aim of Alcohol Awareness Week is to get people thinking about alcohol – how it affects us as individuals, families, communities and society. By encouraging people to have the right conversations about alcohol we hope to make changes in our relationship with alcohol. For both men and women and in particular those who drink more than the recommended weekly limits, alcohol can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and several types of cancer.