Staffing
The past season has brought a lot of new faces to Nairn Healthcare Group. We have welcomed our new Nurse, Jeanne McComasky to the team. We have a new doctor joining us in August, Dr Callum Mitchell along with 2 trainee doctors, Dr Duncan Brown and Dr Marc MacMillan. Kate Benson, Healthcare Assistant and Nicola Thomson, Practice Nurse will soon be rejoining us from maternity leave in September.
Our goodbyes and good lucks are extended to Dr Daniel Carolan, who finishes with us in August after a 6-month placement and Nurse Norma Strachan who finishes with us at the end of July following a year maternity cover. We wish both Dr Carolan and Norma all the best with their new ventures.
Changing Contact Details
We would like to remind all patients to make sure you update us with new addresses/telephone numbers. Also, if you are waiting for a hospital appointment please contact the hospital and provide them with an update if your contact details change.
For younger adults and teenagers who have their parents’ number recorded in their medical records, please inform the practice if you would like to change this.
Sun Protection
Although Nairn hasn’t seen much of the sun so far this summer, on the odd occasion when the sun does comes out and for those who will be holidaying abroad, we need to protect our skin with suitable clothing, seeking shade and applying sunscreen.
Sunscreen should be suitable for your skin type and block both UVA and UVB radiation, at least SPF15 should be applied and the product shouldn’t be applied if after its expiry date.
Children and babies have more sensitive skin than adults so please take extra care to protect them. Children under 6 months should be kept out of direct strong sunlight. There are sunscreens available that are formulated for children and babies, these are less likely to irritate their skin.
If you do happen to get sunburnt, paracetamol and ibuprofen will ease the pain by helping to reduce inflammation. Sponge the sore skin with cool water and apply aftersun lotion. If you feel unwell or the skin swells or blisters, please seek medical help and stay out of the sun until all redness has gone.
For more information on sun protection, please visit www.nhs.uk/livewell/travelhealth/pages/sunsafetyqa.aspx
Hayfever
Hay fever is one of the most common allergic conditions affecting one in five people at some point in their life and unfortunately, it is during the summer months that it surfaces. It is an allergy to pollen and the symptoms include sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes.
There is currently no cure for hay fever but most people are able to relieve symptoms with treatment to a certain extent. Treatment options include antihistamines which can help prevent an allergic reaction from occurring. Steroids are sometimes recommended to reduce inflammation and swelling.
Most hay fever cases can be controlled with over-the-counter medication from the pharmacy, however if you feel your hay fever is more troublesome, it may be worth speaking to a GP as you may require prescribed medication.
Some self-help tips:
Wearing sunglasses outdoors to stop pollen reaching your eyes
Take a shower after being outdoors to remove unwanted pollen from your body
Apply a small amount of Vaseline to the nasal opening to trap pollen grains.
House of Care
Nairn Healthcare will soon be changing the way we recall patients for their annual routine health checks. So rather than booking numerous appointments if you have more than one condition, we are going to combine your checks to allow you to attend one to two appointments per year. Some patients may only need to attend for one appointment where they will have all of their checks done. This is the “House of Care” model that we are currently working on and will provide more information once available. To be continued.....
Serial Prescribing
Nairn Healthcare Group is improving how we manage repeat prescriptions for certain patients whose medicines are stable, and who always come for their treatment checks when asked.
For these patients, we are now providing a prescription which looks like a normal prescription but is called a serial prescription and lasts for up to 56 weeks (just over one year). Medicines on a serial prescription will be dispensed in instalments every 4 or 8 weeks, depending on what the prescriber feels is appropriate.
If we feel that you meet the criteria for switching to the serial prescription service, we will prescribe your medicines in this way. Your community pharmacy will keep hold of your serial prescription and have your repeat medicines ready for you to collect when your medicines are due. For medicines prescribed on a serial prescription, this means you will no longer have to request these from your pharmacy or the GP practice. You will receive notification if you are one of these patients with a “Frequently Asked Questions” leaflet attached.
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