Newsletter No.7 Summer 2008

Help Save the dispensary

The Pharmacy White Paper 'Pharmacy in England - Building on Strengths, Delivering the Future' put before Parliament on 3 April 2008 may stop this surgery from being able to dispense medications to our patients.

In other words, YOU will have to take your prescriptions to a Pharmacy in Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Ledbury or Newent - very different to the short walk from the consulting room to the dispensary!

We do not consider that this is in the best interests of our patients:

It restricts your choice at the time when the Government is supposedly increasing patient choice.
It is far more inconvenient, let alone an extra cost, bus fares, fuel, parking, just to collect your medication.
It will divert resources away from the Surgery to commercial pharmacies, which may lead to a reduction in other services that the surgery can provide.

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

WRITE TO YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT at:

HOUSE OF COMMONS, SW1A 0AA

Bill Wiggins, MP Leominster, Herefordshire - www.billwiggin.com

Mark Harper, MP Forest of Dean - www.markharper.org

Sir Michael Spicer, MP West Worcestershire- www.sirmichaelspicer.net

Laurence Robertson MP Tewkesbury - www.laurencerobertsonmp.com

AND TO

The Rt. Hon. Dawn Primarolo MP, Minister of State of Public Health who is the Architect of these proposals:

Rt. Hon. Dawn Primarolo MP Richmond House 79 Whitehall

LONDON SW1A 2NS

INTERNET PETITION - saveourdispensary.com and 'sign' the

Downing Street e-petition

PLEASE ALSO WRITE TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF OUR PCT:

Ms Jan Stubbings Chief Executive

Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust 1250 Lansdowne Court

Gloucester Business Centre Brockworth

GLOUCESTER GL3 4AA

Patient and Public pressure CAN make a difference.

The Government promise a patient led NHS

HELP US REMOVE THIS THREAT TO YOUR DISPENSARY

STAUNTON AND CORSE SURGERY

www.stauntonsurgery.co.uk

Patients Comments from the Suggestion Box

Request for extending time for phone calls to GPs

If you ring the surgery between 10.30 and 10.50am and all GPs are already answering calls, leave a message with the receptionist and the doctor will ring you back by the end of the morning.

Hearing Difficulties

Patients with hearing difficulties should tell the receptionist on arrival so that the GP can be warned to the come to the waiting room for you. You could also request the Hearing Loop.

Lack of a Sign at the entrance to the Surgery

There is no sign for security reasons but the Surgery has agreed to put up new poles to mark each side of the entrance. These will be marked with fluorescent strips.

In emergencies the Red Cross can provided a weekly hire service for wheelchairs

Profile of Senior Community Nurse Mary Edginton and her Team

Mary's working day is full and varied. Before her day starts officially at 8.30am she visits her diabetic patients on the way to work. After visiting the surgery to pick up any messages about people she or her team have to see and care for that day, she goes to the community nurses office to pick up telephone messages. Once there she will organise the work schedule allocating patients and the work load between the whole team of nurses.

The work varies each day. It includes the palliative care of patients in the last days of life and their families. Also leg ulcer care eg 3 to 4 layer bandaging, taking blood for diagnostic tests, injections for an assortment of conditions, care of patients receiving chemotherapy including intravenous antibiotic therapy. There is also much routine work eg removal of sutures, clip dressings, pressure area care and ordering of equipment. The nurses also give a full assessment of a patient when they first come home from hospital. This includes ordering equipment needed from cushions and commodes to hospital beds and accessing other services that might be needed.

At 12.30pm Mary goes back to base to meet the team again and discuss and assess the mornings work and any problems that have come to light and during her lunch break answers any phone messages. She also checks with the surgery at least 3 times a day for up-dates. The community team also have the care and training of 2^nd and 3^rd year nursing students on community placement which Mary oversees.

There's also the mandatory training courses to fit in to make sure they are up to date as well as Mary's personal nursing interest studies which she often does in her own time.

She also attends the surgery Primary Healthcare meetings once a month which she feels are very important as these give across the board care of patients. Mary's says, "The Staunton Team's philosophy is to give all patients and carers the best service and care that we can".

In her leisure time Mary enjoys listening to live music, going to the theatre, reading, cooking and eating out trying different foods. She also likes walking on the Malvern Hills.