LAWLEY MEDICAL PRACTICE

TTelephone 01952 560011

Fax 01952 501502

Newsletter

Autumn 2015 Edition

Welcome to Lawley Medical Practice’s Newsletter. These will be released quarterly to try and provide patient’s with information about changes and anything new happening at the practice.
Building Update
The long awaited building work for a practice extension started on Monday 19th October and is planned to take 6 months. Work will include building a new access road, extending the car park and building an extension. The road into the practice will shortly have bollards along it to prevent parking/prevent damage to any private vehicles during these building works, and also to ensure access at all times for ambulances etc.
While the extension is being done the dentist entrance will not be in use and therefore all patients will have to use the Doctor’s entrance.
We apologise in advance for any inconvenience these building works may cause.
Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme
This new national programme has been put into place to try and prevent anti-biotic misuse.
There are lots of useful self-help leaflets available on our practice website for acne, colds, sore throats, fever etc.

Flu Season
The flu vaccination season has now started, please book an appointment with reception if you are eligible and are:
* Over 65
* Have a serious long term condition eg. Diabetes, Asthma, Chroinic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Chronic Heart Disease etc
* You are a Carer
* Your are Pregnant
* Children aged 2 -4
GP 10 Minute Appointments – Questionnaire
The results of the patient group questionnaire on what a GP does in 10 minutes have now been completed and are available at reception/on the website. / Home Visits
Doctors prefer to see patients in the surgery whenever possible rather than at home – this is because they have all the equipment that they need at the surgery, and they also have access to other practice staff here. Home visits are therefore only done for housebound patients, and those patients too physically ill to get to the surgery. All requests for home visits are therefore assessed on a case by case basis on the phone by a GP. If possible, please request any visit in the morning
Giving a reason when booking an Appointment
The practice now routinely asks all patients the reason for any appointment to aid the clinical staff in their workload, and also to ensure that any work that could be done by other staff is directed appropriately. All staff regard patient information as confidential. Please share the reason for your appointment request with them.
Practice News
Dr Gail Nandhra’s 6 months position of registrar has now finished.
We also say goodbye to Leanne Ridley who joined us as an apprentice 3.5 years ago, and who has now gone to work in a law firm.
We wish them both luck in the future .
We would like to welcome to the practice Dr Fanny Iklaki. Dr Iklaki will be with us for 12 months as a registrar.
We also welcome back Hayley Breese, who left us last April but has now returned to us once again as an administrator.
Good Night’s Sleep
Did you know almost half of Britons have never taken steps to help them sleep, even though just short of a third admit they sleep poorly? One in 10 people have consulted their GPs about this and three times this number have taken medication in an attempt to relieve the problem.
A good night’s sleep is vitally important to health and wellbeing. We believe that, armed with more information, many adults and children could sleep a lot better than they currently do. There is plenty of advice and awareness about adopting healthy diets and exercise regimes but advice on how to improve sleep quality is not widely available. Consequently many do not realise that making small adjustments to lifestyle or environment could significantly improve sleep quality.
10 Tips for better sleep
-Keep regular hours (going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time everyday).
-Create a restful sleeping environment by keeping the bedroom quiet and dark.
-Take more exercise, but not too close to bedtime.
-Make sure your bedroom isn’t too hot or too cold.
-Reduce caffeine intake especially in the evening, they interfere with falling asleep and prevent deep sleep. Have a hot milky drink or herbal tea instead.
-Write down worries on your to-do list. If you can't sleep, don't lie there worrying about it. Get up and do something you find relaxing until you feel sleepy again - then go back to bed.
-Don’t over indulge on food and alcohol. Alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, but will interrupt your sleep later on in the night.
-Turn off gadgets 1 hour before bedtime, the blueish light screens emit can prevent sleep because it mimics daylight, convincing the brain that it is still daytime.
-Relax properly before going to bed -Have a warm bath, listen to some quiet music, do some yoga - all help to relax both the mind and body.
-Invest in a comfortable, supportive bed.
You can find out lots more advice from
Medicines Waste Campaign Key messages from the Clinical Commissioning Group:
Medicines waste money
Unused prescription medicines cost your local NHS an estimated £1million every year.
Unused medicines cannot be recycled
Even if you never open them, unused medicines that are returned to a pharmacycannot
be recycled or used for anyone else.
How can you help?
Think carefully before ordering your repeat prescription and only order the items you need.
Please remember your medicines are prescribed for you - it is not safe to share them

Patient Group- Please let us know if you are interested or would like more information on becoming a member of the patient group.