Christmas 2001

Patient Services Information

Stay Warm in Winter

Cold and dampness can contribute to and exacerbate ill health. Poorly insulated Edinburgh homes provide a cold environment and high fuel bills. The Scottish Executive has launched warm deal grants for all over Scotland. Warm Deal Programme – offers grants of up to £500 for a range of insulation measures and energy advice. To qualify householders must own or rent their home and be in receipt of one benefit. Anyone aged 60 or over not in receipt of a qualifying benefit will receive a 25% grant of up to £125. For more information contact: Eaga Scotland : 0800 0720150 The Central Heating Initiative scheme offers grants averaging £2,500 for central heating and insulation to householders over the age of 60 and for any social housing tenants without a working central heating system. Tenants of a local authority or housing associations should be contacted by their landlord. To apply contact the above number or write to The Scottish Executive, Central Heating Initiative, PO Box 23408, EH6 6XY.
For free independent advice on home energy, contact Energy Efficiency Advice (EEAC) 0800 512012

Staff Roles: Receptionist

It is 8am and Pauline arrives to take any emergency calls, as the out-of-hours service has now closed. At 8.20am Fiona, Christine and Pat arrive to set up for the day, hoping that all staff and GPs are coming in. Receptionists, GPs and Nurses are easy targets for any current bugs and a surgery may have to be cancelled and patients contacted. The team rotates between the main areas with perhaps Fiona taking the appointments and Pat as her back up. They answer all calls, arranging current and future appointments. They ensure that the GP and Nurse have the patient medical notes and appropriate paperwork for their surgeries, replace these notes after consultations, prepare notes for the following days surgeries and register new patients. The Receptionist Team are trained to be aware of/and to respond appropriately to any acutely ill patients in the waiting area. Meanwhile Christine answers all calls on the enquiry line, with requests for home visits, emergencies, and calls from hospitals and general enquiries. A gentleman now arrives with a large sack (no, its not Santa Claus) which contains internal/external mail, hospital letters, test results, admin correspondence which has to be dealt with on arrival, subsequently returned and added to the large volume of filing carried out by the team. Russel’s extensive computer duties include manning the repeat prescription order line, preparing these for the GPs signature. There is a protected hour for admin work, with everyone catching up with the large volume of filing and when patients are identified and contacted for review e.g. blood pressure monitoring, maternity and child care. The afternoon brings a change of rotas, the enquiry line opens for patients to receive test results, the prescription and appointment lines reopen and a second internal mail bag is delivered. Reception’s ever-busy day closes at 6pm when the out-of-hours service takes over. Our recently depleted team of loyal full and part time staff has had to cope with an even heavier workload and Lee-Anne our new recruit is very welcome.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Tuesday 25 December 2001 - Closed

Wednesday 26 December 2001 - Closed

Tuesday 1 January 2002 - Closed

Wednesday 2 January 2002 - Closed

Clinical Issues

Winter Ills and Chills

Winter brings with it coughs, colds and flu which can be treated with over the counter remedies. Many different viruses cause the common cold, for which there is no known cure. Symptoms area a blocked and runny nose, sneezing, aches and pains and generally feeling unwell. These can be relieved by paracetamol or aspiri (aspirin is not suitable for children under 12).Steam inhalation and decongestants clear a blocked nose.
Drink plenty of fluids and rest.Consult your doctorif you have severe ear or sinus pain, a high temperature for more than 3 days or your child shows signs of serious infection such as wheeze, difficulty breathing, drowsiness or a temperature that does not settle with paracetamol. Coughing is a protective mechanism the body uses to clear the airways. Productive or chesty coughs make you feel you want to bring up phlegm, non-productive coughs can be dry ‘tickly’ and hacking. Your Pharmacist can advise you about cough medicines. Steam inhalation and sipping lemon and honey drinks can give relief. Avoid smoking and smoky atmospheres.Drink plenty of fluids.
Consult your doctorif you cough up mucus with blood in it, if your symptoms are not better in 2 weeks, your breathing is painful, wheezy, loud or difficult or you have trouble swallowing.
Flu is a virus so antibiotics will not help. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and chestiness. The fever usually settles within 3-5 days but it can take up to 2 weeks to feel better.
Treat the cold and cough symptoms as above. Drink plenty of fluids. Avoid infecting other people.
Consult your doctor if your child is having breathing problems or in pain when breathing, is drowsy or confused, vomiting or very weak.
Flu vaccines are still available for all people over 65 years of age and those with lung, heart, kidney, liver problems or diabetes. Ask at reception for an appointment.

Patient Information

The Green Practice recently celebrated our success in obtaining the Quality Practice Award of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Every member of the team has worked very hard over the last two years to meet the high standards set in this award, which covers all aspects of our service. To date, only a select number of practices in the UK have been given the award. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our patients who helped us with this activity by giving feedback and advice on a range of issues. The GPs would also like to thank all the extremely dedicated team members who contributed so much and made the whole process so successful. The award is valid for five years, so we have a little time to think about things before we start all over again!

May we take this opportunity to wish all our patients a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

(Editor, Sub-Editor & Manager!!)