The Calverton Practice Newsletter - March 2017 'Full Steam Ahead'
At the time of writing this newsletter we are just a week away from builders arriving at the practice and when published we should be right in the middle of our building refurbishment. Phase 1 involves some rearrangement of the reception area, converting rooms 5 and 6 into 4 new consulting rooms and reconfiguring our downstairs toilets. We are aware this is inevitably going to cause some disruption and noise and we apologise for this. The work though is urgently needed as the population of Calverton and the surrounding villages is growing, we have recently expanded our practice area to include the village of Lambley and the hope for the future is that we will be able to provide more services locally for our patients. Of course this all requires space and even more will be needed very soon. As a result we are also already considering a 'phase 2' to this project involving an extension which should create further extra rooms and also improve the entrance and reception area. As our current funding only provides for phase 1 there are some hurdles ahead but I will keep you up dated on our plans as they evolve.
Next, some of you may already be aware of a campaign launched in February in the Midlands. This is part of the 'Be Clear on Cancer' project which aims to make patients more aware of the early symptoms of cancer. We know that earlier diagnosis improves outcomes and this latest campaign builds on those already launched. Those highlighted the importance of reporting a persisting cough (of more than a few weeks ) and more recently seeing blood in the urine. The new campaign is aimed at bowel symptoms or 'tummy trouble'. In essence the message is don't ignore warning signs - diarrhoea, bloating, abdominal discomfort are all rather non-specific, but if new for you and persisting for more than 3 weeks, the advice is to seek advice and potentially further tests to check things out. In fact the message is that if 'anything doesn't feel quite right' for more than 3 weeks, make an appointment to discuss this with your GP. Other symptoms to watch for might include new constipation, nausea, blood in the motion, tummy lumps, bleeding after the menopause and unexplained weight loss. The campaign highlights that usually there will be another cause for the problem, it's most likely nothing serious but it's wise to get things checked out. As stated earlier, the key to successful cancer treatment is earlier diagnosis and with some cancers (particularly ovary, pancreas, bowel and lung) early symptoms can be rather vague. Initial tests may be relatively straight forward like a blood test or tummy scan and both these tests can be done at the practice. For a cough a Chest X-ray is a simple and non invasive test. Blood in the urine is likely to prompt a tummy scan and check of the bladder lining (a cystoscopy). If any concerns are found a prompt '2 week wait' referral to hospital can be done to hasten a specialist opinion and further investigations if needed.
Finally a new service for our teenagers has recently been launched -healthforteens.co.uk is an NHS website with 'everything you wanted to know about health, relationships, feelings, lifestyle and growing up but didn't want to ask’. The site contains information, videos and quizzes to help you find the 'truth behind the rumours'. If twitter is your thing its @HEALTHFORTEENS1; #HEALTHFORTEENS. I suspect some parents might also find it of interest as there is a lot of information about the dangers to be found on line and might be a useful prompt for further discussion about this particularly important area. Please let me know if you are aware of other useful resources worth sharing.
Phil Rayner, The Calverton Surgery