Wyndham House Surgery

If you have visited the surgery in the last week you can’t have failed to notice have seen our swish new electronic noticeboard! Generously funded by the Friends of Wyndham House and Silverton Parish Parochial Trust (thank you!) this addition to the waiting room will be used to advertise all our services, as well as Devon and national NHS news and initiatives.

We hope this information board will improve your patient experience while waiting for your appointment. If you have any comments on the board or have any information useful to patients that you would like to have displayed then please contact the practice manager – Mark Flinton – on 01392 8600034.

Sun Protection Advice:

Children are more at risk of sunburn than adults so it is important that you take extra care to protect babies and children. If possible, cover them up with long sleeved clothing when the sun is at its hottest (between 11am and 3pm), or if on the beach, apply a high protection factor sun screen regularly to avoid burning. If your child is under 6 months old, they should be kept out of direct sunlight entirely. Some sun creams aggravate eczema, so if you or your child has eczema, apply the emollient or steroid cream 30 minutes before the sun cream to reduce irritation. If you do get sun burnt this summer, painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen can help reduce inflammation and ease pain, as well as cooling the area with cool water, aftersun and calamine lotion. Take extra care if you have lots of moles, and check for any changes in the moles due to sun damage. See your GP if you are concerned about any of the above.

See more at: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/skin/pages/sunsafe.aspx

Campsite Cooking and Fire Safety:

Cooking on a campsite is totally different to cooking at home. Open flames and tents do not mix well, so take special care when cooking near your tent. Ensure cooking equipment is supported securely, and cannot fall over while it is on. Do not use naked flames in a tent, and be very careful about cooking equipment or barbecues, as even after they are turned off they can produce toxic fumes. If you are unlucky enough to have a fire in your tent, get everyone to safety then, if it is safe to do so, smother the flames with a heavy material, like a coat or blanket.

See more at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Healthyholidays/Pages/Campingsafety.aspx

Bugs and insect bites:

Wasps cause most allergic reactions in the UK. If you get stung treat locally with an antihistamine cream, but see a doctor if you develop allergic symptoms such as breathing problems. Other insects that can bite or sting can also be irritating, and sometimes carry diseases. See your doctor if you are worried after being bitten by mosquitoes abroad or by a tick in the UK or abroad.

See more at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/bites-and-stings/Pages/insects-bugs-that-bite-sting.aspx

Stay hydrated in hot weather:

Your body needs more water as the temperature rises so make sure you keep hydrated. If you are a carer of an elderly person or a neighbour who is more immobile make sure they have access to water on hot days. Ice lollies are a good way of getting more liquids on hot days and it is easy to make your own in the freezer using sugar free squash and a lolly mold (or use a plastic cup).

See more at: http://www.livescience.com/38553-staying-hydrated-in-the-heat.html

Silverton Street Market is held on the first Saturday of August each year. Along with a wide assortment of stalls lining the village’s narrow main street, there is entertainment and fun for all the family, ranging from bouncy castles and child-friendly activities on the village square, to a BBQ and pop-up bar for the adults! It has been called: “The best value day-out in Devon”, entry costs £2.50 for adults and 50p for children, and there is ample free parking available. The thousands of pounds raised is shared between various village organisations. This years theme is Silverton Jubilee and promises to be one of the best yet! Entertainment and Stalls are being arranged by the committee as we speak!

This week sees the establishment of a Memory Café in Silverton. It is being set up by our retired Practice Nurse Trish Jones.  It will provide an opportunity for participants to meet regularly with other people with memory problems and their carers. Its aim is to present a chance to exchange experiences and to give and receive emotional support.  Everyone is welcome and it also offers a drop in service for anyone who has concerns about their memory or the memory of a loved one or a friend.

The Memory Café will be run by trained volunteers with support from health professionals. It is due to open on Thursday 16^th June in St Mary’s Church Hall in Silverton from 2pm to 4pm and then will be open every Thursday afternoon.

This week is Diabetes Awareness Week.

Do you have diabetes or know someone who does? In all likelihood you do, as it is estimated that 3.5 million people in the UK have diagnosed diabetes, with a further 1/2 million undiagnosed. Of these, about 1 in 10 have Type 1 diabetes, where the pancreas has been attacked by the immune system and has stopped producing insulin, while the remainder mostly have Type 2 diabetes, where the body has lost the ability to utilise insulin properly, usually related to being overweight or getting older.

Find out more about Diabetes Week here.

If you think you may have diabetes then please visit your GP or see a Practice Nurse. The sooner you have it diagnosed the less likely you are to have complications and you can learn to control your blood sugar levels and lead a long and happy life.

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges that carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.

The campaign is brought to life by the individuals and organisations who come together to organise activities and events throughout the UK, drawing attention to just how important caring is.

Get involved now by pledging your support, helping us to build Carer Friendly Communities and planning your own activities and events to make Carers Week count.

Thank you to everyone who completed our recent Patient Survey. The results are back and have been analysed. You can read the report here.

In summary everyone who completed the survey think that the surgery is overall “Excellent” or “Very Good”. People commented that they feel safe, secure and well cared for by the surgery. Most people find it very easy to get an appointment when they want one and with the person they would like to see. Comparing these results to surveys from previous years shows an increase in satisfaction levels.

A few Action Points have been noted from the survey. Services available to Carers will be advertised more clearly, as 75% of respondents did not know what was available. Work will continue to improve the customer service given by staff, particularly in dispensary. Plans are underway to change the layout of the dispensary and reception, to allow the dispensary to work in peace and quiet to dispense your medications safely while maintaining a presence at the hatch to answer your queries and deliver your prescriptions.

Mid Devon Messenger – Talking newspaper for the visually impaired

Do you want to keep in touch with local news and views, what’s on, planning decisions and family announcements, etc?

Do you, or someone you know, have difficulty reading the newspaper?

The Mid Devon messenger can help keep you up to date.

They operate a totally FREE service, offering you a weekly recording (on memory stick) of news from your local paper, PLUS the free loan of a simple device on which to play it.

If you would like to trial this free service, without obligation, please contact Helen McIntosh on 01884 855464.

Anthony O’Brien explains recent changes in the fight against cancer

Every GP in the UK will see on average 3 patients/day who present with symptoms that might be caused by a cancer. However each GP will actually only have one new case of cancer per month diagnosed from the approximately 2000 patients they are responsible for. This demonstrates the difficulty of diagnosing cancer at an early stage. Catching cancer early is worthwhile as it significantly increases the prognosis for the patient. It is just clinically very difficult to do.

The NHS has been running a rapid access cancer investigation service for nearly 20 years. Patients who present with symptoms that make the ultimate diagnosis of cancer more likely are ‘Fast Tracked’ into a Two Week Wait appointment system. They are investigated and diagnosed quickly and if cancer is the cause then treatment can start as soon as possible. The thresholds for utilizing this Fast Track system have recently been lowered. This will have three effects. The first two are interdependent – the number of patients who will have rapid appointments and investigations will increase whilst the percentage of these patients who have cancer will decrease. Hopefully the overall effect will be a larger number of cancers being detected earlier and the population will reap the benefits of this.

The third effect relates to the costs of placing more people through the system. There are two elements to this. The first is the predictable financial strain on the NHS of seeing and investigating more patients overall. However this has a very measurable benefit in the expected improvement in UK cancer outcome statistics (currently lagging behind other countries in Europe). The other cost is harder to measure. More patients will be sent down the Fast Track system with the knowledge that they might have cancer and this will understandably cause concerns and anxieties. Currently only 10% (1 in 10) of patients who are ‘fast tracked’ end up with a diagnosis of cancer. In the future with the lower thresholds for investigation this is likely to fall to 5% (1 in 20). So if you do come and see your GP and are given a rapid access appointment you can be reassured that the odds still remain heavily in your favour. However if you are the unlucky patient you can also be reassured that you are getting quick investigation and treatment.

Of course in this battle we continue to fight against cancer the above system only works for patients who come to see their GP with their concerning symptoms (such as unexplained weight loss, change in bowel habit, blood in the stools). Most of the current delay in cancer diagnosis is not due to the systems or the clinicians running them it is down to the patients not using both of these early enough. The bird at least needs to have a chance of seeing the worm…… no matter how early he arrives!

Anthony O’Brien GP Wyndham House Silverton

This year’s patient survey is now complete. Thank you for all the responses. Keep your eyes open for the report on this year’s survey results. They will be displayed online and in the waiting room.