December,
2017
Christmas 2017 & New Year
2018 Opening Hours
Please allow yourself enough days for
prescriptions, and ensure sufficient supply of medication
for the holiday period.
If you require a doctor outside of surgery hours
please telephone 111.
In a genuine medical emergency you should call 999.
Fri |
Dec 22 |
8.30am to 6.30pm |
Sat |
Dec 23 |
CLOSED |
Sun |
Dec 24 |
CLOSED |
Mon |
Dec 25 |
CLOSED |
Tue |
Dec 26 |
CLOSED |
Wed |
Dec 27 |
8.30am to 12.00 noon, 3.30pm to 5.30pm |
Thu |
Dec 28 |
8.30am to 6.30pm |
Fri |
Dec 29 |
8.30am to 6.30pm |
Sat |
Dec 30 |
CLOSED |
Sun |
Dec 31 |
CLOSED |
Mon |
Jan 01 |
CLOSED |
Tue |
Jan 02 |
8.30am to 6.30pm |
SUMMARY CARE RECORDS
- Helping to care for you in an emergency
You can choose if you want a summary
care record or not.
For more information click on the links below:
http://www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/
http://www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/faqs/
or call: 0300 123 3020
Be Prepared for Winter
Things you can do to increase
your chances of staying well.
Keeping well
To keep fit and well in winter you should try to carry
on doing the things that keep you fit and well during
the rest of the year. So, get ready for winter by looking
at what you
normally do every day.
Smoking
If you smoke, try to stop now. The evidence shows that
giving up smoking can improve your health, no matter
how old you are. For confidential advice and support
with giving up smoking, call the NHS Smoking Helpline:
Freephone 0800 169 0 169.
Have a flu jab
Flu is a particular winter problem. It can be a serious
health hazard for anyone in an “at risk“
group. Flu immunisation is strongly recommended for
these groups, and is free. Talk to your GP or local
surgery.
You are “at risk“ if you:
are aged 65 years or over / have chronic heart disease,
chronic respiratory disease, including asthma, chronic
renal disease, diabetes mellitus / have lowered immunity
due to a disease or treatment.
Keep warm, dress
well
There’s an increased risk of becoming ill if you
get cold, outdoors as well as at home. These simple
steps will help to protect you.
At home
- Wear several thin layers of clothes rather than one
thick layer – the warmth from your body will get
trapped between the layers.
- Choose clothes made with wool, cotton, or fleecy synthetic
fibres that are designed to be light and warm.
- In the coldest weather, a good way to keep warm in
bed is to wear bed socks and a night cap or scarf round
your head, as well as thermal underwear and a warm nightdress
or pyjamas.
Outdoors
- Several thinner layers of clothing under your coat
will keep you warmer than one thick layer.
- Wear something on your head, otherwise you’ll
get cold very quickly.
- Wear warm, dry, flat, non-slip shoes or boots, especially
in frosty weather.
Keep warm, eat well
Try to eat a mixed diet and take plenty of hot drinks
on cold days. Exercise. Stay as active as you can during
winter, as well as during the rest of the year.
Food is fuel, it helps keep you warm. Follow these suggestions
for eating well this winter.
Aim to have at least one hot meal a day and have hot
drinks regularly throughout the day.
Have a hot drink before bedtime.
Prepare a thermos flask of a hot drink to have by your
bed in case you wake up in the night feeling cold.
Include something from each of the five main food groups
in what you eat each day.
Try to keep a stock of food from all these groups in
case you can’t get out to the shops in very cold
weather. If you are on a special diet, talk to your
doctor before you make any change in what you eat or
drink.
Group 1: bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta, chapatis
Group 2: fresh fruit and vegetables (try to have at
least five portions during the course of each day)
Group 3: milk and dairy foods
Group 4: meat, fish, eggs, peas and pulses such as beans
(including baked beans)
Group 5: foods containing fat and sugar
Keep warm, keep
moving
Moving around generates extra body heat, so any kind
of activity will help to keep you warm.
Don’t stay sitting still for long periods.
Spread chores out through the day so you can alternate
between rest and activity.
Moderate exercise, such as walking, has real health
benefits if you do it regularly all year round.
Try to keep your exercise up in winter, without taking
risks in wet or icy weather
Courtesy: information leaflet
Influenza
• Influenza is a highly
infectious viral infection which occurs mainly in Winter.
It is usually of sudden onset with fever, chills, painful
muscles, headache, backache and cough.
• Influenza for most people is an unpleasant but
self-limiting illness, the main symptoms lasting up
to about a week. Treatment is symptomatic and those
affected are advised to stay at home, rest and drink
plenty of fluids.
• For people in certain 'high risk' groups, such
as those with underlying respiratory, heart or renal
disease, diabetes mellitus, those with impaired immune
systems and elderly people, 'flu is a significant cause
of more serious illness and deaths.
• Complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia
are more common in these 'high risk groups' especially
if they are also elderly, and mortality is almost entirely
in these groups.
• Even during a winter where the incidence of
flu is low, 3-4000 deaths may be attributed to 'flu;
this can rise much higher in epidemic years, for example
there were an estimated 13,000 deaths in 1993 which
were attributable to 'flu and 29,000 in 1989/90.
• Up to 10 to 15% of the population may develop
influenza in any one year, varying from year to year.
The number of people who consult their GP with 'flu-like
illness during influenza epidemics also varies considerably
from year to year.
• Influenza-like illness may be due to viruses
other than influenza. Even during an influenza epidemic
a proportion of so-called 'influenza' is due to other
viruses.
INFLUENZA IMMUNISATION - KEY POINTS
• The annual 'flu immunisation
is the best protection against 'flu for people with
underlying health problems that put them at risk of
complications from 'flu, and for all those aged 65 and
over or in long stay residential care.
• Government policy is to recommend immunisation
for people aged 65 years and over.
• Immunisation is one of the most effective healthcare
interventions available and 'flu vaccines are highly
effective in preventing illness and hospital admissions
among these groups of people.
• Increasing the uptake of 'flu vaccine among
these high risk groups should also contribute to easing
winter pressure on primary care services and hospital
admissions.
• 'Flu is not usually life threatening for healthy
people.
DOH
Smoking and Blindness
Smokers are three
times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration
than non-smokers.
Stopping
smoking is the best way to prevent the disease, which
is the most common cause of blindness in adults in the
UK.
Stopping
smoking can slow down the progression of the disease
and make treatment more effective.
Media report:
In early March, the media reported that
smokers not only have a higher risk of heart disease
and lung cancer, but that they are also more likely
to go blind. The papers claimed that smokers are four
times more likely to lose their sight through age-related
macular degeneration (AMD) than non-smokers.
The research:
The media reports were based on an editorial
in the BMJ (2004; 328: 537-8) which estimated that there
are 53,900 people in the UK with AMD attributable to
smoking, of whom 17,800 are blind.
This calculation was based on the results of a meta-analysis
of three studies including 12,468 people which found
that the risk of AMD in smokers is three to four times
higher than in people who had never smoked.
The conclusion was that, despite strong evidence of
the link between smoking and AMD, there was not enough
public awareness of the risk to sight.
Dr Edwards said that by giving up smoking, patients
could reduce their risk of AMD. He explained that giving
up smoking would also benefit patients who had already
developed the condition in one eye and could thus reduce
the risk that they will develop it in their other eye.
Improved smoking cessation:
Dr Lightstone said that if doctors
can raise the awareness of people that their sight can
be affected by smoking, it could have quite a dramatic
effect on smoking cessation rates. She said: ‘If
you ask people about which sense they fear losing the
most, nine out of ten people will say they fear losing
their sight most.
‘People need to be made aware that smokers develop
AMD around 10 years earlier than non-smokers. That is
a significant cost to the person concerned, in terms
of their own lifestyle, and also a cost to the community
at large. And smoking is not only related to AMD. Smoking
is a risk factor for other eye diseases, including cataract,
and thyroid eye disease.’
Dr Edwards agreed that increased public awareness of
the link between smoking and blindness could increase
smoking cessation rates.
From GP magazine, July 2004
Salt and
Cancer
Studies have consistently shown a link
between high salt intake and gastric cancer. However,
many of us continue to consume almost three times the
daily recommended intake.
Recent Study
In January this year, the findings of
a study involving 40,000 middle-aged Japanese men and
women were published in the British Journal of Cancer
[3]. The results suggested that people who eat a high-salt
diet may have double the risk of developing stomach
cancer. The study was carried out in Japan over a period
of 11 years.
Significant Findings
The links between the cases of gastric
cancer and a high intake of salt and salted food, such
as dried or salted fish, pickled vegetables and miso
soup were investigated. The researchers concluded that
the association between salt and cancer was strong enough
to warrant advising the restriction of salty foods.
Hidden Salt
The recommended of salt for an adult is
6g per day. Children should eat much less and babies
should have no salt at all added to their food. However,
all of us consume a great deal more salt that we think.
In fact, the International Conference on Salt and Health
in 2002 stated that salt consumption in the UK runs
around 9-15g per day, about 80 per cent of which comes
from processed foods.
What we can do
Eating fewer processed foods and more
fresh and homemade foods will help to keep a check on
salt intake. If possible check labels, although often
salt is not included. In many cases, only sodium is
listed and this does not mean anything to most people.
To convert sodium to salt, multiply the amount by 2.5.
For example, 1g sodium/100g = 2.5g salt/100g.
Weaning yourself on It can be quite
difficult to reduce salt intake as without it we can
perceive food as tasteless. However, if you reduce your
salt intake, the salt receptors in your mouth gradually
become more sensitive, so that less salt is needed to
stimulate them.
This article
was taken from the ‘World Cancer Research Fund’
and from ‘Informed’ (14), Spring 2004.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
and increase of Breast Cancer Risk
Many women suffer from menopausal
symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats. They
find relief by taking estrogens or an estrogen-progestin
combination. These treatments are known as hormone replacement
therapy (HRT). HRT is also taken to build bone strength
and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Doctors had also
prescribed HRT to lower the risk of heart disease and
Alzheimer's disease in post-menopausal women.
Recent studies however, of women without a history of
breast cancer, seem to indicate that HRT containing
both estrogens and progestin may actually:
• Increase the risk of heart attacks, blood clots,
stroke and Alzheimer's disease
• Increase the risk of developing breast cancer
The study also suggests that even HRT patches and creams
or low-dose formulations increase breast cancer risk.
On a more encouraging note, the study did find that
for women who stop HRT, the risk of breast cancer drops
back down to that of women who never took the hormones.
Some experts think that short-term use of HRT (5 years
or less), the use of low-dose HRT or patch formulations,
or the use of only estrogens (without progestin) does
not pose substantial health risks. But other experts
caution that it's too soon to feel comfortable with
these other preparations or approaches, because we still
don't know enough about them.
V. Beral et al. The Lancet
MMR news
The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine
has been blamed by a vast majority of people, for the
dramatic increase in autism prevalence. These hypotheses
have now been tested in numerous epidemiologic studies.
None has found any evidence of the existence of autism
in children who received the MMR vaccine or of a clustering
of onset symptoms in children who are autistic after
receiving the MMR vaccine. There is no proof that the
overall risk of autism is higher in children who were
vaccinated with MMR or of an increase in autism prevalence
associated with the use of the MMR vaccine. Moreover,
there is more compelling epidemiologic evidence against
such an association.
A new study has also now confirmed that the introduction
of measles vaccine in this country played no part in
causing Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative colitis.
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