LAURENCEKIRK MEDICAL CENTRE – Newsletter Summer 2013
Inside this issue:
Headlines:Staff News
Nurse Led Minor Illness Clinic
Practice Closures
Missed Appointments
Vision Online Services
PPG Health Event
Staff News
Dr MacDonald will be leaving the Laurencekirk practice on 13th September to take up a new position in Friockheim. He has been working in Laurencekirk since 2004. We will all miss him, but we have appointed Dr Vera Hogg and Dr Janet Ellis to cover some of his sessions and Dr Box will also be increasing the number of sessions she works in the practice. We wish Dr MacDonald well on his move to Friockheim.
Lesley Clark joins the team as the Practice Pharmacist. We’re delighted to have Lesley on board.
Vision Online Services (VOS)
We have improved the way you book appointments online and order repeat prescriptions. With the pace of modern life, it’s not always convenient to book appointments and order repeat prescriptions during practice opening hours. Patients wishing to order repeat prescriptions and on line appointments are required to register for and use VOS.
There are two ways in which you can register for Vision Online Services:
By Post. To do this you need to complete the attachedregistration form. Once you have completed and signed the form you should send it to :-
The Practice Manager
Laurencekirk Medical Group
Laurencekirk Healthcare Centre
Blackiemuir Avenue
Laurencekirk
AB30 1GX
Or
(2) By Email. To do this you should open theattached Registration Form at – “on line services form”. Please save a copy to your computer, update the saved document with your details, and then email it to us at:: .
Practice Closure
Bank Holiday – Monday 23rd September 2013.
The practice will also be closed for statutory staff training from 11.30 am to 4 pm on the following date:
Tuesday 1st October 2013.
If you have a problem and require emergency medical or nursing care when the surgery is closed please call NHS 24 on 08454 24 24 24. In a life threatening emergency dial 999 for an ambulance before calling the surgery.
Missed Appointments
Over the last 3 months – 258 patients have failed to turn up to appointments without letting us know in advance..
If you know you are going to be unable to attend, even if it is at the last minute then please telephone us to cancel. We will then be able to offer that appointment to someone else.
MMR Vaccination
Following the recent increase in cases of measles across the UK, NHS
Grampian are offering a catch-up MMR vaccination programme for
children aged 10-17 years old. If you believe your child has not had 2
doses of MMR vaccination and you wish for them to be vaccinated,
please contact the surgery to make an appointment.
Shingles Vaccine
A new single vaccine to prevent shingles will be routinely
offered to patients aged 70 to79. Unlike the flu jab, you'll only
need to have the vaccination once.
We will be offering vaccination to any patient aged 70 to 79
within our flu clinics in October and November.
2013 Seasonal Flu Vaccination Clinics
Patients will be able to book for our Seasonal Flu Vaccination clinics from Wednesday 2nd October .
Seasonal Flu Vaccination is provided by the NHS for all patients aged 65 and over, carers and any patient considered “at risk”.
This includes patients with chronic respiratory, heart, renal, liver and neurological conditions, patients with diabetes and pregnant ladies.
If you are over 65, please do not wait for a letter inviting you for vaccination – just contact the surgery directly (from 2nd October) where we can arrange your appointment.
Please note: You do not need a separate appointment for your flu vaccination if you are likely to be attending the surgery to see a Doctor, Nurse or Healthcare Assistant in October, November or December – your vaccination can be given at this appointment. This year children are also to be offered Flu vaccination (a nasal spray rather than an injection).
Rotavirus
As from July 2013 all babies born on or after 1st May are being offered this vaccine. Rotavirus is an infection that causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting in babies and young children.
To get the best protection, babies should get two rotavirus immunisations one month apart. The vaccine will be given with your baby’s other routine immunisations at 2 months and again at 3 months of age, so there is no need for extra visits to the surgery.
Nurse Led Minor Illness Clinic
In May 2013 Anita Connell, Practice Nurse successfully completed her Minor Illness Module at AbertayUniversity. The aims of undertaking this course were to inevitably allow patients quicker access to health care provision for minor illnesses without the delay incorporated often in seeing a GP and allow GPs more time to deal with more complex cases. This qualification allows Anita to assess, manage and evaluate a number of common minor illnesses such as:
·Respiratory tractinfections i.e chest
infections,exacerbations of asthma COPD.
·Ear, Nose and Throat – Tonsillitis, earache, upper respiratory infections i.e sinusitis
·Urinary tract infections.
·Skin conditions and infections, wound infections, boils, abscesses etc.
·Musculo-skeletal complaints i.e joint sprains, muscle sprains, common injuries.
·Digestive complaints– indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea and vomiting.
The minor illness clinic runs runs Monday to Friday. Appointments can be made via reception in the normal way.
Laurencekirk Medical Practice And Patient Participation
Date For Your Diary.
You are invited to visit the Laurencekirk Health Event being held in the St. Laurence Hall, Conveth Place Laurencekirk on Saturday 31st August 2013 from 10.00am to 12 noon.
The event is free and is designed to allow the whole family to discover the very wide range of opportunities available to everyone in this area to enjoy life to the full.
We want to demonstrate that this is “The healthy centre of South Aberdeenshire” and that your lifestyle can be even better!
Representatives of a wide range of organisations will attend and additional information will be available on a full range of other options, covering both physical exercise as well as the equally important social groups.
Making the best of your leisure time.
Here is just a sample of the activities that the area has to offer:- Football, hockey, rugby, tennis,
bowling, piping, singing, clay pigeon shooting, angling, netball, vintage vehicle restoration, pilates,
tae kwan do, ladies social club, oasis group, probus club, hill walking club, ladies social club, Scottish
country dancing, Scouts and Guides, Art and craft classes, book club, running group, archery, music
group, folk music, golf, bridge club, fitness classes galore, curling, heritage club, lunch club, news
group, family history group, music society, Burns Choir, International family group, WRI,
YouthForum, LaurencekirkDevelopment Trust and of course, the Patients Participation Group
Feedback
All constructive suggestions as to how we might improve our service are welcomed…..please feel free to let us have your thoughts by completing the feedback slips and posting it anonymously in the Feedback box on front desk reception.
Complaints are taken very seriously and should be directed in writing to our Practice Manager, Marion Taylor, who will ensure that this is dealt with promptly and thoroughly
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Practice Website
We are constantly updating the practice website. If you need to update us on a change of telephone number or address you can complete the online form by clicking on Your Contact Details. If you wish to subscribe to this newsletter please click on Subscribe to Practice Newsletter.
The website is at: