Combs Ford Surgery

1. Combs Ford Surgery Patient Information Screen August 2014

2. Welcome to the Surgery!

3. Please support your local surgery The Partners would like to encourage all patients to back the “Your GP Cares” campaign and the “Put Patients First” campaign Details are displayed in the waiting room and a petition and example letters for your MP are available from reception. Please sign up now…….

4. BMA Campaign -Your GP Cares The British Medical Association is calling for long-term, sustainable investment in general practice now to: • Attract, retain and expand the number of GPs • Expand the number of practice staff • Improve premises GP services are provided from • www.bma.org.uk/yourgpcares

5. RCGP – Put Patients First, Back General Practice Please also support The Royal College of General Practitioners campaign to fight the funding crisis in your local surgery – less money means a cut in services for patients. Please sign the petition now or go online www.rcgp.org.uk/campaign-home or write to you MP – sample letters available from reception.

6. Physiotherapy – self referral • Patients are able to refer themselves for physiotherapy advice either online or by phone • Initially advice and exercises • Onward referral if necessary • No need to see your GP! • Pick up a card from reception

7. Physiotherapy “Refer yourself to Physiotherapy” Via www.ahpsuffolk.co.uk Or telephone 01473 770066 This service is run by Allied Health Professionals under contract with the NHS

8. Saturday Morning Clinics From September there will be a nurse or HCA led clinic as well as a GP clinic each Saturday. All appointments must be booked in advance. We regret that “walk in” patients are not able to be seen during these surgery times. Thank you.

9. Saturday morning clinics The following nurse led clinics will be available on some Saturdays – Asthma checks Hypertension checks COPD checks Diabetic checks Travel clinic BP checks Please ask at Reception to make an appointment

10. Tuesday 7am clinic From September we will no longer be running the early Tuesday morning GP clinic or the early Blood clinic from 7-8am However we will be offering extended hours on a Saturday morning instead. Blood tests will only be available in core hours. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this change in service.

11. School Summer Holidays –Minor Injuries - Monday to Friday Don’t forget - The nurses are available to assess and treat minor injuries when appropriate • Cuts • Grazes • Lacerations • Minor eye infections • Foreign bodies and scratches • Infected wounds • Minor scalds and burns • Sprains and strains

12. Heat Health Watch Those who are elderly and or with heart, respiratory and serious health problems are more at risk in the heat Babies and young children are also especially at risk Symptoms to look out for include feeling faint and dizzy, short of breath, vomiting or increasing confusion

13. Heat wave…. Listen to the weather forecast and plan your day to stay out of the heat Avoid going out between 11am - 3pm Stay in the shade Wear a hat and loose fitting clothes Take plenty of water with you Keep an eye on elderly neighbours

14. Top tips for keeping cool Keep windows closed when the room is cooler than it is outside Open windows at night when the temperature has dropped Have plenty of cold drinks, avoid excess alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks Eat light meals with a high proportion of vegetables Have cool showers or baths, put a loose cotton damp cloth or scarf on the back of the neck, spray or splash your face with cold water frequently

15. Dr Adam Wankowski Dr Wankowski will be retiring from the practice after 25 years on the 29th of August. Dr Wankowski’s patients will be receiving letters during August with the name of their new GP. Unfortunately, at present, it is not possible to transfer patients to another Partner because of existing workloads.

16. GP Team On Dr Wankowski’s retirement the Practice GP Team will be as follows;- Dr Jackie Muir Dr Tim Watson Dr Jyoti Ravikumar Dr Alison Jones And supported by Rachel Clarke, Clinical Nurse Practitioner

17. Nursing Team Michelle Jeffreys, Minor Illness Clinic Rebecca Wilding, Practice Nurse Prescriber Ellie Wallis, Practice Nurse Janet Nunn, Practice Nurse Bev Mayhew and Janet Howard, Health Care Assistants

18. Consent • Informed implied or expressed consent will be obtained before any procedure or examination is carried out. • An explanation will be given to the patient sufficient to understand the procedure. • Should the procedure carry a risk that the patient is likely to consider as being substantial, expressed consent (written or verbal) will be obtained. Copies of the consent policy are available on request.

19. Zero Tolerance The Practice operates a zero tolerance policy • we will not hesitate to remove patients from  our list who: • are violent or abusive to any Practice member. • use or condone threatening or violent behaviour. • cause damage/steal from the Practice's premises/staff/patients. • obtain drugs and/or medical services fraudulently. We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.

20. Outside normal working hours Evenings and weekends For urgent advice and treatment Call the usual surgery number and you will be given the number to use – 111

21. Contact Us We welcome constructive feedback! Combs Ford Surgery Combs Lane STOWMARKET IP14 2SY Tel – 01449 678333 (not to be used for prescription orders) Please note that calls are recorded for quality and training purposes. www.combsfordsurgery.org.uk