Spring 2003

SPRING HOLIDAYS
MONDAY 21 APRIL 2003
MONDAY 5 MAY 2003
MONDAY 19 MAY 2003
Urgent Medical Attention ONLY
8.30am to 11.30am

Clinical Issues

Practice Nurse New Clinics:
Coronary Heart Disease

Scotland has one of the highest rates of coronary heart disease in the world with approximately 7600 men and 6100 women dying each year. These high rates are associated with our unhealthy lifestyle i.e. high fat diets, smoking, drinking excessively and taking very little exercise. Targeting preventative care towards patients with established coronary heart disease i.e. people who have had heart attacks or bypass surgery helps to prevent further heart problems. The Practice Nurses are now running clinics for all patients who have had a heart problem. Patients with a relevant history are being invited by the Practice Nurses for blood pressure checks, blood tests, advice about current medications and health promotion including diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking cessation advice.

Diabetes Clinic

Approximately 1.4 million people in the UK are know to have diabetes. There are 2 main types of diabetes: Type 1, also known as insulin dependent diabetes and Type 2, also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes. Over 3 quarters of people with diabetes have Type 2 which usually appears in middle-aged or elderly people. The main causes are that the body no longer responds normally to its own insulin and/or that the body does not produce insulin. Insulin regulates the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood, stopping it from getting too high. If there is little or no insulin available glucose levels rise leading to an increased risk of developing serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, circulation problems, nerve, kidney and eye damage.
It is therefore very important that patients with diabetes have regular checks. The practice is now offering these checks to our patients with Type 2 diabetes. They will be given the opportunity to discuss their diagnosis, blood sugar monitoring, diet issues, smoking cessation, foot care and have their medications reviewed. Appointments will be by letter invite.

Thiomersal Containing Vaccines

Two global committees on vaccine safety established by the World Health Organisation confirm that “there is no evidence of any significant health risk associated with the amount of thiomersal contained in vaccines”.

For further information consult websites:
www.greenpractice-shc.co.uk
www.show.scot.nhs.uk

Service Information

Public Reference Group for Health

Zoe Eden, patient involvement worker has formed a group of local people interested in health services to liaise with health service staff and discuss patient priorities. “The aim of our group is to make sure the views and needs of local people are heard and acted upon”.
The Public Reference Group for Health’s action plan provides focus and direction. In 2003 objectives are supporting general practice/patient involvement, patient training, chronic pain and complementary therapy. To find out more about the action plan or if you want to join the group, please contact Zoe Eden on 334 5593.

Number Withheld Telephones

To ensure confidentiality the Green Practice has a number withheld facility on all phones. It is therefore impossible to return calls or relate important test results to telephones not accepting calls from a number withheld. Mobile phones, because of cost, can only be used in emergencies. Please ensure the practice can contact you.

New Contracts for GPs

We have just agreed to provide care for our patients under a new NHS contract called Personal Medical Services or PMS. Our main reason for agreeing to this is that it allows us to access extra support and funding so that we can expand our existing services and improve patient care. We will therefore be offering regular diabetic, ischaemic heart disease and asthma clinic appointments for patients in addition to the services we already provide.
The PMS contract is not to be confused with the widely publicised new GMS(General Medical Services) contract which has been negotiated nationally and which GPs have yet to vote on. If the GMS contract is accepted, we will have the option to switch to it in due course.
The financial details of both contracts are complicated and lengthy, but at the end of the day our aim will be to choose the option which allows us to provide the best quality care for our patients.
If you would like further information on any changes, then please do not hesitate to ask one of our team.

Staff Roles: District Nurse

Hello, my name is Judy Searle and I joined the Green Practice as their District Nurse Team Leader in January. I have previously worked in Corstorphine, Liberton and Leith. I did my General Nurse training in the South of England and my District Nurse training in Edinburgh. There has been a lot of change recently in the nursing team. We are currently in the process of recruiting 2 staff nurses and hope to be up to full strength in the next few weeks.
I’ve been very busy settling in and getting to know the staff, patients and geography of Stockbridge. I very much look forward to working with everyone to provide a high quality nursing service to housebound patients.
There are District Nursing Service leaflets available in the reception area. Please feel free to take one and if you know anyone who is unable to pick one up themselves, why not drop one in and spend a few minutes reading it with them. Contact details are on the leaflets and we offer a direct referral service.