Saturday, March 31, 2018

Nairn Healthcare Group Spring Newsletter

Staffing

Nairn Healthcare has had a lot of changes over recent months. We have said hello to Dr Marc Macmillan, our new GP Registrar. We will also be welcoming new trainee doctor, Dr Alicia Garland, to the team from the start of April.

We will be saying goodbye to our long-term receptionist, Blan, who will be retiring after 22 years. Our HCA,Debra, will also be leaving us to take a new post with the Blood Transfusion Service. We wish both Blan and Debra all the best


Our new HCA will be Emma, who will join the team in May. Emma also works in reception and will continue her role as a receptionist on a part time basis up until the end of August.

Bowel Screening

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness month. Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in Scotland but it is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Taking part in bowel cancer screening is the best way to get diagnosed early.

From January-June 2017, 918 out of 1,469 (62.5%) took part in the Bowel Screening Programme. The majority being female. We would like to encourage all our patients between the ages of 50 to 74 to take part in this worthwhile screening. It could save your life!

If you are aged between 50-74, the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme will invite you for screening every 2 years. A kit will be sent to your home address where it is to be completed and returned to the screening centre based in Dundee.

1 in 20 over 50s will get bowel cancer at some point in their lives, screening aims to find bowel cancer at an early stage and if the cancer is detected early enough, there is a 90% chance of treating the disease successfully.

Screening saves lives but at the moment, in some areas of the UK, only a third of those who receive a test in the post complete it. Thousands of people are missing out on the best way to detect bowel cancer early when it is easier to treat and there is a greater chance of survival.

For more information call the helpline on 0800 0121 833 or visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/screening.

eConsult

Nairn Healthcare will be discontinuing the eConsult service from July 2018 however we will be offering online appointments in the near future to book a routine GP appointment.

Mobile Numbers

We would like to encourage all patients with a mobile phone to provide us with their number. Nairn Healthcare now provides 2-way texting for appointments. If you have booked an appointment 2 working days in advance, we will text you and remind you of said appointment and if you wish to cancel, you just have to reply to the text. Saves waiting in a busy telephone queue for a receptionist. We will also be introducing texts for routine appointments so if you usually receive an annual letter asking you to come in for a review nurse appointment for a certain condition, this will be done through text in the near future.

Tick Information

Winter is now officially over and we are all looking forward to summer and getting out in the countryside and gardens.

However, the country undergrowth from spring until autumn is covered in tiny ticks which may carry bacteria and can transfer to people when the tick attaches itself. If the tick is removed properly and correctly, there is no risk to health but there is a risk of developing Lyme disease if this is not done correctly.

A symptom of Lyme disease is a red skin rash which can be cured with a simple antibiotic. If the rash goes unnoticed, it can result in joint pain or nerve problems which may require stronger antibiotics.

If you find a tick on yourself or your child, wait until you get home and calmly remove the tick with a tick removal tool which is designed to get underneath the tick and lift it off safely. Don’t attempt to remove it with your fingers. Using fingers or tweezers risk squeezing the tick and actually injecting the Lyme disease bacteria into your blood.

DO NOT USE VASELINE, CIGARETTES OR ALCOHOL

For more information, please pick up the Tick Information Guide from reception or read online at http://www.nairnhealthcaregroup.co.uk/website/S55041/files/tick%20information%20sheet.pdf
Or check out the following videos on YouTube:

1 Overview (video): https://youtu.be/Quoh5YFVsX0
2 What are ticks? (video): https://youtu.be/iHXW7B6XT7E
3 Avoiding ticks (video): https://youtu.be/AlCr8KuVJrY
4 Checking for ticks (video): https://youtu.be/L3SxuRYDPcI
5 Tick removal (video): https://youtu.be/7SngcVIJ9eo
6 Lyme disease signs and symptoms (video): https://youtu.be/wuP5G7WCHbA

Are you a smoker who would like help to stop? A local advisor, Linda Hilton, will be running weekly smoking cessation clinics at Nairn Healthcare. You can self-refer to Linda by calling the Smoke Free Line on 01463 704619 or
call/text: 07771 666803 or alternatively email: linda.hilton1@nhs.net.

Nairn Healthcare has had a lot of changes over recent months. We have said hello to Dr Marc Macmillan, our new GP Registrar. We will also be welcoming new trainee doctor, Dr Alicia Garland, to the team from the start of April.

We will be saying goodbye to our long-term receptionist, Blan, who will be retiring after 22 years. Our HCA, Debra, will also be leaving us to take a new post with the Blood Transfusion Service. We wish both Blan and Debra all the best

Our new HCA will be Emma, who will join the team in May. Emma also works in reception and will continue her role as a receptionist on a part time basis up until the end of August.

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness month. Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in Scotland but it is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Taking part in bowel cancer screening is the best way to get diagnosed early.

From January-June 2017, 918 out of 1,469 (62.5%) took part in the Bowel Screening Programme. The majority being female. We would like to encourage all our patients between the ages of 50 to 74 to take part in this worthwhile screening. It could save your life!

If you are aged between 50-74, the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme will invite you for screening every 2 years. A kit will be sent to your home address where it is to be completed and returned to the screening centre based in Dundee.

1 in 20 over 50s will get bowel cancer at some point in their lives, screening aims to find bowel cancer at an early stage and if the cancer is detected early enough, there is a 90% chance of treating the disease successfully.


Screening saves lives but at the moment, in some areas of the UK, only a third of those who receive a test in the post complete it. Thousands of people are missing out on the best way to detect bowel cancer early when it is easier to treat and there is a greater chance of survival. 

For more information call the helpline on 0800 0121 833 or visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/screening.


Nairn Healthcare will be discontinuing the eConsult service from July 2018 however we will be offering online appointments in the near future to book a routine GP appointment.


We would like to encourage all patients with a mobile phone to provide us with their number. Nairn Healthcare now provides 2-way texting for appointments. If you have booked an appointment 2 working days in advance, we will text you and remind you of said appointment and if you wish to cancel, you just have to reply to the text. Saves waiting in a busy telephone queue for a receptionist. We will also be introducing texts for routine appointments so if you usually receive an annual letter asking you to come in for a review nurse appointment for a certain condition, this will be done through text in the near future.


Winter is now officially over and we are all looking forward to summer and getting out in the countryside and gardens.


However, the country undergrowth from spring until autumn is covered in tiny ticks which may carry bacteria and can transfer to people when the tick attaches itself. If the tick is removed properly and correctly, there is no risk to health but there is a risk of developing Lyme disease if this is not done correctly.


A symptom of Lyme disease is a red skin rash which can be cured with a simple antibiotic. If the rash goes unnoticed, it can result in joint pain or nerve problems which may require stronger antibiotics.




If you find a tick on yourself or your child, wait until you get home and calmly remove the tick with a tick removal tool which is designed to get underneath the tick and lift it off safely. Don’t attempt to remove it with your fingers. Using fingers or tweezers risk squeezing the tick and actually injecting the Lyme disease bacteria into your blood.


DO NOT USE VASELINE, CIGARETTES OR ALCOHOL



For more information, please pick up the Tick Information Guide from reception or read online at http://www.nairnhealthcaregroup.co.uk/website/S55041/files/tick%20information%20sheet.pdf


Or check out the following videos on YouTube: 



1 Overview (video): https://youtu.be/Quoh5YFVsX0


2 What are ticks? (video): https://youtu.be/iHXW7B6XT7E


3 Avoiding ticks (video): https://youtu.be/AlCr8KuVJrY


4 Checking for ticks (video): https://youtu.be/L3SxuRYDPcI


5 Tick removal (video): https://youtu.be/7SngcVIJ9eo


6 Lyme disease signs and symptoms (video): https://youtu.be/wuP5G7WCHbA


Smoking Cessation


Are you a smoker who would like help to stop? A local advisor, Linda Hilton, will be running weekly smoking cessation clinics at Nairn Healthcare. You can self-refer to Linda by calling the Smoke Free Line on 01463 704619 or call/text: 07771 666803 or alternatively email: linda.hilton1@nhs.net.

http://www.nairnhealthcaregroup.co.uk/

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