HARTLEY CORNER SURGERY
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP
NEWSLETTER No.8 – July 2013
Committee Members:
Chairperson: Anne Strong (email: )
Secretary: Karen Toms (Practice Manager - contact through Hartley Corner Surgery) Hugh Lambert & Gill Lambert (Treasurer) (email: ), Brian Henley () Louise Parratt, Penny Funnell, Julia Wedlock.
Thank you to those of you who have previously given feedback about the services provided by this surgery either through the feedback forms or by means of the website. Please continue to let us know what you think works well or constructive ideas on how things could be improved, or anything else you think is important.
WALK TO THE SURGERY CAMPAIGN
Walking is one of the easiest ways to increase your fitness and improve your health & wellbeing.
Following last year’s Patient Survey - one of the suggestions made by patients to improve the sometimes difficult car parking situation, was to have a campaign to encourage more people to consider walking to the surgery.
There are lots of benefits to gain from walking;
· It strengthens your heart & improves your circulation
· Can help lower disease risk such as Osteoporosis - walking counts as ‘weight bearing’ exercise
· Boost your vitamin D levels – when walking in daylight
· Boost your energy levels – more alert & alive
· Make you feel happy – releasing those ‘feel good’ endorphins
· Help keep your weight in check – burning a few of those unwanted calories!
· Tone areas of your body – legs, tums, buttocks & arms
Walking also saves you money! With the cost of running cars & constant petrol price rises just think - those hard earned pennies will soon mount into £pounds! A large proportion of our patients live within 1.5 miles of the surgery and it is a known fact that short drives in our vehicles burns fuel very quickly. Despite our busy lifestyles, we could all probably make that extra time for an all-round beneficial walk!
Kick start your summer & walk to the surgery!
WASTE MEDICINES
‘Wasted’ medication (in Primary Care) costs the NHS an estimated £300million every year. This is any medication which hasn’t been used by you, the patient – this can happen for many reasons, for example if you have side effects, or if the GP is changing your dose, if you lose a packet and order more. Medicines such as painkillers which maybe you don’t use very often can go out of date. Unused medicine, even if the packet isn’t opened, can’t be recycled and should be returned to the pharmacist for safe disposal.
To help limit waste we may issue only small supplies of new medication, to see if it suits you, and to check for benefit and side effects; even if you are taking something regularly on a stable dose, we usually only issue two months of medication at a time.
You can help us, and save the NHS money by only ordering the items you need. If you aren’t sure why you are taking a particular medicine, or are experiencing problems with it, then please talk to your GP or your pharmacist about this.
Sometimes medicines are changed but aren’t removed from your repeat slip – if you notice this please tell us!
Dr Rachel Blackman
PATIENT FUND PURCHASES
We have had more kind and generous donations to the fund – for which people are personally thanked by the practice. Without such generosity, items for the benefit of all patients could not be purchased on a regular basis. The fund is overseen by the PPG and purchases agreed with the Practice Team. For example, we have recently purchased 6 wipeable chairs for the Nursing Treatment rooms.
Yateley Neighbourcare is a local registered charity run by dedicated volunteers and they have recently made a very generous donation which will be used for the benefit of all patients. Yateley Neighbourcare provides a transport service to people in Yateley who have difficulty in using public transport due to disability or disadvantage.
They are currently looking for more volunteers to join their team. For further information or if you think you can help, please visit their website www.yateleyneighbourcare.btck.co.uk or telephone 03000 05 05 05.
A member of Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups
We would like to thank them very much for their generosity and have used some of the funds (approx. £500) donated to purchase the following item:
· A Woods Lamp – a portable, hand held magnification light for diagnosing disease and injuries to the skin. This was purchased for the use of the Doctors for continued improved patient care. We will keep you informed of further purchases in future newsletters.
HOW TO GET THE BEST FROM YOUR APPOINTMENT
Your practice tries very hard to meet the needs of all patients; however we do need your help to enable this.
Here are some ‘Top Tips’ on how to achieve this;
· Continuity - Ask yourself: How important is being seen quickly, would I be better waiting to see a GP who knows me and my condition?
· If a GP runs late – they may be spending needed time with patients. One day you may appreciate them running late for you.
· A routine appointment is 10 minutes; consider what is achievable in this time. It’s often better to come again rather than squeeze as many unrelated problems as you can in one ten minute appointment. Make a double appointment if necessary.
· Before you see the GP - Write down your most important 1 or 2 queries and include short notes that describe your symptoms.
· Wear accessible clothing if you’re likely to need to undress for an examination
· Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand and what happens next, any words not understood ask for them to be written down and explained.
· Have your say and get your views heard; join our Patient Participation Group
HEALTHY EATING RECIPES FOR SUMMER
As the warm weather has arrived here are some recipes for homemade salsa and fruity coleslaw to go with your picnics or barbeque.
SUMMER SALSA TRIO
These salsas will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
GINGER, CORIANDER AND TOMATO SALSA
2 large vine ripened tomatoes
Half a red onion
2cm cube of root ginger
Small bunch of coriander
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Quarter tsp sweetener
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Quarter, deseed and finely chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl.
Peel and finely chop the onion, and the ginger, and add to the bowl.
Finely chop the coriander, and add to the bowl.
Add the cider vinegar, sweetener and seasoning, mix everything together well, and chill before serving.
PINEAPPLE AND RED CHILLI SALSA
250g fresh pineapple
1 red chilli
Small bunch fresh mint
1 lime
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely dice the pineapple.
Deseed and finely dice the chilli.
Finely chop the mint.
Place everything in a bowl with the zest and juice of the lime, season and mix well together and chill until required.
SUMMER WATERMELON SALSA
Quarter of a large watermelon
Half a red onion
1 green chilli
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Small bunch of fresh mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove the rind and deseed the melon.
Finely chop the melon and place in a bowl, making sure to catch and include the juice.
Deseed and finely chop the green chilli and add to the bowl, along with the vinegar.
Finely chop the mint, add to the bowl along with some seasoning. Chill until required.
5- SPICE FRUITY SUMMER COLESLAW
Serves 4
Half white cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
12 radishes, thinly sliced
1 apple, halved, cored and cut into thin matchsticks
1 peach, halved and thinly sliced
50g each of green and red seedless grapes, halved
Half cucumber, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
6 spring onions, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dressing
4 level tbsp extra light mayonnaise
4 tbsp fat free natural fromage frais
Juice of 2 limes
1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
Put the cabbage, carrots, radishes, apple, peach, grapes, cucumber and spring onions into a large bowl.
Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
Pour over the vegetables and fruit, season to taste and serve.
Recipes courtesy of Slimming World