We Can T Quite Believe That Winter Is Here

Winter Newsletter 2016

We can’t quite believe that winter is here…

In our last newsletter we mentioned that one of our practice Nurses Rebecca went off to have a baby. We are proud to announce that she has a beautiful bouncing baby boy named Henry. Both mother and son are doing well and we wish her all the best in motherhood.

Winter illnesses

Along with Christmas, presents and the cold weather comes the winter bug. Norovirus, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting, is one of the most common stomach bugs in the UK. It's also called the "winter vomiting bug" because it's more common in winter, although you can catch it at any time of the year. Norovirus can be very unpleasant but it usually clears up by itself in a few days. You can normally look after yourself or your child at home.


If you experience sudden diarrhoea and vomiting, the best thing to do is to stay at home until you're feeling better. There's no cure for norovirus, so you have to let it run its course.

There are also lots of coughs and colds going around. Most of us will have a cold this autumn or winter, and some of uswill have the flu.Here's how to look after yourself if these viruses affect you.

The main symptoms of winter cold and flu bugs are:

Coughing, sneezing, blocked nose, sore throat, headache and a slight temperature

If these are the only symptoms you have, it’s unlikely that your GP will be able to do anything. You may want to visit your local pharmacy, where you can get advice on how to manage the symptoms and buy over-the-counter medicine.

Make sure you get enough rest and eat well. Children canbe treated using some over-the-counter painkillers, to ease discomfort and help bring down a fever. Both paracetamol andibuprofenare available as a liquid for children, and can be given from the age of about three months.

If you do need to see a GP our Nurse Practitioner can deal with this. Please make an appointment to see her instead of seeing the GP.

Flu Clinics

As most of you are aware we had successfully put on two walk-in flu clinics in September and October. These proved very popular and we were able to vaccinate over 650 patients throughout both clinics. We are now holding short catch up clinics with the nurses for patients who may have been away and missed it. You are only entitled to the Flu Vaccination if you fall under a certain criteria. If you are not entitled to the vaccination on the NHS you can purchase one at any of the local pharmacies.

‘Did not attend’ Appointments

We are finding that more and more patients are missing their appointments. If you are unable to make your prearranged time please call reception beforehand so we can reschedule your appointment to a more suitable time. Between October and November there were 126 missed appointments. These appointments could have been used up by someone who really needed to be seen that day.

Review Letters

Some of our patients receive review letters every year to remind them to book appointments for asthma, diabetes, hypertension to name just a few. Please note that ALL review appointments have been moved forward by at least two months so your letters will be arriving earlier than you may think. This is to stop the rush in January, February and March. Please understand that everyone’s review dates have been brought forward, it is not a clinical error. Your review date will then be at that time every year. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you but we can reassure you that after this appointment it will go back to annually from the month you are seen.

Christmas Opening Hours

We are open over the Christmas and New Year period but will be closed over the bank holidays. Please see below for our opening times and take note of when prescriptions will need to be in by.

Friday 23rd December – 8:00 – 18:00 (Normal Surgery)

Monday 26th December – Closed

Tuesday 27th December – Closed

Wednesday 28th December – 8:00-18:00 (Normal Surgery resumes)

Thursday 29th December – 8:00-19:30

Friday 30th December - 8:00-18:00

Monday 2nd January – Closed

Tuesday 3rd January – 8:00-19:30 (Normal Surgery resumes)

If you need repeat medication please make sure you have given yourself enough time to collect it. Prescription requests must be ordered by Tuesday 20th December to be ready in time for Christmas.

Now on to our Patient Participation Group (PPG) news…

Charity News

In our last newsletter we informed you that we had finished supporting our local charity of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. We were able to raise a fantastic £1100 for the charity from the collections from the second hand book stall and our monthly walks. We have since chosen our next charity that we will be supporting. They are called ‘My cancer My choices’. Many of you may not have heard about this fantastic charity so let us tell you a little bit about them.

They are based at Royal Berkshire Hospital and at Brants Bridge next to the chemotherapy suite. They are there throughout the week on select days and provide complimentary therapies for patients undergoing cancer treatment and post-cancer treatment. They have volenteers that provide different treatments such as Accupunture, Reflexology, Massage and Relaxation techniques. They have also just started Tai Chi and yoga which are proving to be a huge success.

Image result for my cancer my choices
The aim of My Cancer My Choices is to support you through complementary therapy to help you live as well as you can be - From diagnosis and through your treatment. They aim to support people with a diagnosis of cancer by providing a combination of physical, emotional and practical support in a calm, peaceful and welcoming environment.

We are very excited to be supporting this charity and hope to help get its name on the map.

A Date for Your Diary

After the success of our Right Care Right Place event we held jointly with Heath Hill Surgery in April of this year, we are planning to hold another. It will be held at the Morgan Centre, Crowthorne, on Thursday 30th March 2017 commencing at 6.30 pm. This time we are focussing on Diabetes, with 3 speakers, questions and answers, and a number of stands to pick up help and information. It looks like it will be a very interesting and useful evening so make sure you make a note of the date!

Andy Wells-King, Chairman, The Patients’ Group

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Here at the surgery we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year! Please stay safe and we will see you in 2017!!