OCTOBER NEWSLETTER 2013

HEALTH TALK

Dr D Dent will talk on RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS on Friday 11 October in the Memorial Hall at 7.30pm. If you would like to attend please reserve your seat by telephoning 01582 832305. There is no charge for WPPG members (non-members £2.50). Refreshments will be served during the interval. Respiratory Allergies are many and varied so please prepare your questions beforehand.

WPPG membership is only £5 per year per household which enables members to attend all health talks free of charge. Dr Dent’s talk is the 25thHealth Talk since the Patient Participation Group was formed five years ago. We are indebted to all those doctors and consultants who have given freely of their time and expertise, sometimes travelling long distances.

PILATES

Slim Tlili has been our tutor since Pilates began, which was over 5 years ago. On the odd occasion if he is unable to teach, due to illness or unforeseen circumstance, he always provides a substitute teacher. Many of our Pilates students have been with us from the beginning and gradually over the years we have built up a sufficient number to run 3 Tuesday afternoon classes, 2-3pm, 3-4pm, 4-5pm. As Pilates is non-profit-making the cost of £5 per session is much appreciated by all but we do ask for a £5 per year WPPG membership fee, per household, which enables members to attend other functions, such as Health Talks, free of charge.

MY TWO YEARS’ EXPERIENCE WITH THE VILLAGE SURGERIES By Dr Preetesh Modi

“It is now just over 2 years since I joined The Village Surgeries in Harpenden and Wheathampstead yet it seems like only yesterday that I became a part of this wonderful community. It has been an honour to meet and form relationships with such a lovely group of patients who are served by a truly fantastic and dedicated team of doctors, nurses, receptionists and administrative staff.

“On a personal level I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about “village life” having spent most of my professional career within London. Moving to Harpenden at the beginning of the year has made me feel even more a part of the community and participating in the Wheathampstead 10km run in May was thoroughly enjoyable.

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“Life as a GP in Wheathampstead is very rewarding due to the excellent continuity of care we offer as a practice. Our own doctor system is a rare finding in general practice nowadays as most surgeries tend to offer appointments with any doctor rather than a named doctor. This has allowed me to really get to know my patients, their families, friends and social circumstances thus enabling a truly holistic and traditional approach to primary care with a modern, innovative and forward thinking outlook.

“I’d like to thank you all for being extremely “patient” patients during the month of November 2012 when we upgraded our computer systems. This mammoth task involved transferring the computerized records of approximately 16,000 patients from our old system to a new system. Despite some initial teething problems the new system has been up and running for 9 months and will assist us in continuing to provide our patients with the highest quality of care.

“It was an honour for me to attend the WPPG Diabetes evening held at the Memorial Hall on 2 November. Our guest speaker, Dr Colin Johnston, gave us a really informative talk on diabetes with input from specialist diabetic nurses, dieticians, podiatrists and the retinal screening service. It was nice to see some familiar faces in the audience and have an opportunity to discuss my role as a GP in the diagnosis and management of this potentially life threatening yet underestimated disease.

“Thank you once again for welcoming me to the practice.”

Dr Preetesh Modi

VEGETABLE COBBLER (Serves 4) By Pat Walker

We have had a lovely summer with lots of sunshine and some rain – enough to produce a good crop of fruit and vegetables. Here is a recipe that shows off the goodness of the vegetables that are around at this time of year. In September and October courgettes, peppers, runner beans, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes and sweetcorn are plentiful. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons Worcester sauce

1 large tin of baked beans

30 mls olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

180 gms sweet potato peeled and chopped

349 gms butternut squash, peeled and chopped

2 small courgettes cut in chunks

1 large can tomatoes – chopped

1 small clove garlic – peeled and crushed

1 vegetable stock cube in 300 mls water

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

Seasoning – salt, pepper to taste

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Method

Heat oven to 200 degrees C. Heat oil in a large pan and add onion. Cook over a low heat – stirring. Add garlic, mixed herbs and Worcester sauce and seasoning. Add potato, carrot, tomatoes, sweet potato, butternut squash and stock cube and water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add courgettes, baked beans and simmer until tender. Pour into a large overproof casserole dish. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

DUMPLINGS

120 gms self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

30 gms polyunsaturated margarine, cut up into small cubes

Handful chopped parsley and rosemary

60 mls milk

2 tablespoons plain yoghurt (to be put on casserole just before serving).

Method

Stir flour and salt in a bowl, add margarine, and rub in with fingertips until breadcrumb consistency. Stir in herbs and make a well in the centre – add milk. Mix with knife until the mixture forms a ball. Lift dough on to a floured surface and shape into 8 equal balls. Put the dumplings on top of the casserole. Bake for 20 minutes until dumplings are golden brown and a skewer comes out clean from the dumplings. Just before serving spread the yoghurt between the dumplings and serve.

On the nutrition side of things, vegetables can be part of the 5 fruit and veg/day recommendation.

Vegetables will give a wide range of nutrients. They contribute fibre, minerals and vitamins to the diet. The baked beans give protein and the dumplings provide carbohydrate; yoghurt mainly contains protein and calcium. This is an ideal meal which is well-balanced, economical and delicious to eat. (Please note this recipe may not be the best choice for people who suffer from wind!) ENJOY!

WHEATHAMPSTEAD THURSDAY CLUB FOR THE DISABLED

The Club is a happy and sociable Club that has been in the Village for many years. It caters for all people with a disability and meets on Thursdays in term time. There is a small charge.

Coffee, biscuits, playboard games and lunch is provided, with occasional afternoon entertainment and summer outings. Christmas shopping and a Christmas Lunch is arranged in November.

If you would like further information contact Maggie Fleetwood on 01438 832523

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STAFF ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ IN THE VILLAGE SURGERY By Dr Debbie Gilham

This year there have been some staff changes. Our Practice Manager, Margaret Gray, has just left after over 24 years of devoted service to the Practice. Sadly, receptionists Jane Myddleton,

Sam Anderson, and Senior Receptionist, Anne Shannon,also left after being with us for 17 years, 10 years and 8 years respectively. The Practice is very grateful for all their wonderful hard work and support.

We are delighted that Sylvia Foster has agreed to be our new Practice Manager and Liz Bonner our new Senior Receptionist in Wheathampstead. Here they are introducing themselves:

“I am really excited to be re-joining the Village Surgery as the new Practice Manager. I started at the Village Surgery in 2001 as a receptionist and gained an excellent understanding of what patients need and the service that they are looking for. I subsequently spent five years as a Practice Manager at Cassio surgery in Watford. I really enjoyed the 7 years that I had previously worked at the Village Surgery and therefore feel that I am returning home. I am

looking forward to working closely with the doctors to further improve the service that we provide as well as dealing with the myriad of changes that are happening within general practice. I will be making suggestions for improving the way the surgery operates and will be writing notes from time to time in the WPPG Newsletter to keep all our patients informed of any proposed changes. If patients have any suggestions please feel free to leave them at Reception.” Sylvia Foster

What Sylvia was too modest to say was that she was awarded Practice Manager of the Year previously! Debbie Gilham

“I am Liz Bonner and I joined the Wheathampstead team this spring as Senior Receptionist. I had previously worked with the Village Surgery in Harpenden for 3 years, as a Receptionist, where I carried out the additional duties of scanning patient records and medical summarizing. I have also administered the cervical screening recall programme for Harpenden and Wheathampstead female patients – something I continue to do today, along with my other responsibilities. I come from St Albans, where I live with my two sons, and have always worked in a medical environment. Having qualified as a medical secretary I spent many years with SmithKline Beecham (a pharmaceutical company, now Glaxo SmithKline, in Welwyn Garden City)where I dealt mainly with their Middle East and Africa group, arranging conferences in Cyprus andJordan. Their site also included the factory operation where the technology for their famous Contac Cold capsule was developed as one of the first sustained release capsule products, and indeed I saw cimetidine, the very first successful treatment for stomach ulcers, invented and marketed as Tagamet in the early 1980s. I love working in the friendly village of Wheathampstead and am delighted to join such a professional and dedicated team of doctors and support staff.” Liz Bonner

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Please keep your interesting comments and Newsletter suggestions coming.

Andy Capy, Editor (01582 832305 )