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Welcome to oursummer newsletter which we hope will keep you informed of developments and changes in the practice, and NHS services in our locality.

Medical Staff Changes

Dr Francis Eyrejoined the partnership at the beginning of June. He is an experienced GP partner from York. His interests include musculoskeletal medicine and joint injections and he will be working Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.We are sad to say goodbye toDr Zoe Skinnerwho left us at the end of May. She has been with us for just over 1 year, and has been a great member of our team and very popular with patients. She is leaving to develop her career and will be missed.

In Reception, we would like to welcomeMelanie and Lucy who have recently joined the team. Best wishes to Holly who is now on Maternity leave.

Frailty.

The new GP contract has asked us, for the first time to classify and code patients with severe and moderate frailty. This is because NHS England is keen to know we are offering the severely frail population extra special care and consideration. The frailty score is assessed by our computer system using the Elderly frailty index and is a complex scoring system based on various factors such of age, number of long term conditions, medication and past medical history. We have been asked to deliver an annual check up, medication review, falls risk assessment and various other checks to all our severely frail population. We also wish to encourage older frail patients to sign up to the extended summary care record, which means more useful information from your records can be shared with other health care professionals. The can be very useful if you end up in A&E or having to call emergency services. We can only share this information with your permission. These new checks will start from July. They may be delivered by one of our nursing team. At present we are identifying and coding patients. If you find you have ‘Severe frailty” code on your problem list and are not happy to receive the extra checks, you can opt out if you feel it is not appropriate for you. However the idea is to make sure you are getting the help and advice you need.

The sun and skin health

Most people enjoy the hot weather but it is very important to ensure that your skin isn’t exposed to the sun for long periods, as this can lead to sunburn and make you more susceptible to skin cancer. Anyone can develop skin cancer, so it’s important to protect yourself whatever your skin type.Excessive sun exposure can cause dehydration or heat stroke. Vulnerable groups are particularly at risk, which is elderly patients over 75, babies and young children, people with dementia, heart, breathing or mobility problems. Look out for neighbors or family who may be isolated.

Protecting your health & skin

  • Use sunscreen to avoid sunburn with a minimum of factor (SPF) 15, with four or five stars. Apply generously and top upat least every two hours & after being in the water.The sunscreen’s star rating shows its ability to protect your skin from damage and premature ageing.
  • Avoid being in the sun at the hottest part of the day (usually midday)
  • A hat will protect your head, face, ears and eyes. Wear loose light clothing.
  • Drink more water or cold drinks
  • Choose sunglasses that have a CE mark, UV400 label or a statement that they offer 100 per cent UV (ultraviolet) protection. Wraparound design is best,
  • If you have moles or brown patches on your skin, they usually remain harmless.But if they bleed, or change size, shape or colour, show them to your GP without delay. For more information visit the Cancer Research UK website.

Sun exposure and vitamin D

Although it’s important to protect your skin, some direct exposure to the sun is essential for the production of vitamin D.

Don’t let your skin burn, but try to go outside once or twice every day without sunscreen for short periods from March to October. The more of your skin that is exposed, the better is your chance of making enough vitamin D.

There are some food sources of vitamin D – salmon, sardines and other oily fish, eggs and fortified spreads – but sunshine is the major source.The Government recommends vitamin D supplements for some groups of the population, including people aged 65 and over.If you think you could be at risk of not getting enough vitamin D, particularly if you are housebound or cover your skin for cultural reasons, consider starting to take a vitamin D supplement. These can be bought from pharmacies or health food shops. Most people find 800-1000units a day is enough.

Contact details

Please make sure we have your up to date mobile/

telephone numbers and email addresses are important to us also.

The practice uses a text reminder for appointments and will be using this more frequently to remind you of your annual review appointments for long term conditions.

Patient Participation Group.

We have an active patient participationgroup that help us by giving us views and ideas for the practice from the patient perspective. If you would like to be involved, please email Ian Robertson at

Website

You can find information about the practice, the staff, and our services. You can also access basic health education. If you wish to book appointment or order your medication on line you will need to register at reception with ID to get a password.

Computer System

We will be changing our computer system from EMIS web to System 1 in September. This is to facilitate future working with the Wetherby locality practices, so we are all on the same IT system.This will make no difference to the care you receive from the GP/Nurses, although it may require some changes if you use on-line access to system. Also it will be a big change for staff, so please be patient with us, if we are slow at first!