Something to Think About s1

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT SURGERY OPENING Scotstown Patient Launched in 1948, the NHS was created Bridge of Don Surgery Participation Group out of the ideal that good healthcare Mon, Wed, Fri should be available to all, regardless of wealth. Nowadays, we are bombarded by 08:00 – 18:00 reports that the NHS is struggling. Tues, Thurs Although more patients are being treated than in the past, 8.00 – 21.00 the NHS faces significant problems in many areas. The rising costs, tight budgets and the rise in the need for care create widespread pressures on how effectively staff can Udny Station Surgery keep up with past performance and the high standards the Monday Tuesday Thursday service sets itself. 09:00 – 18:00 We can all help in little ways to ease the overwhelming Wednesday Friday financial pressures of the NHS. Since 2011, we, in Scotland, 09:00 – 15:00 get free prescriptions, but, like in every household budget, A Patient Participation Group provides the we need to be sensible with spending. Soaring numbers of opportunity for GPs and practice staff to Scots are getting headache tablets and other pills for free USEFUL CONTACTS through prescriptions, even though they are readily available inform patients of the reality of running a for a few pence, over the counter. A packet of sixteen 200mg NHS 24 111 General Practice, and the reasons behind capsules of own brand paracetamol can be bought at Physiotherapy Service 08456 040001 some of the decision-making. supermarkets for around 23p, a fraction of the cost to the Bridge of Don Clinic 01224 825712 NHS. Dickies Pharmacy Balmedie 01358 741226 By listening to patients' representatives, and It is hard to believe – but, in reality, the cost of handing out Abdn Royal Infirmary 08454 560000 involving them in decision-making GPs and free paracetamol, co-codamol, ibuprofen and aspirin would practice staff can ensure that their service fund a year’s salary for 1000 extra hospital nurses, for SCOTSTOWN MEDICAL PRACTICE provision is more effective and tailored to the example. Something to think about. Cairnfold Rd, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen AB22 8LD healthcare needs and desires of the Recent statistics show that in a year, the NHS spends community they care for. around £3.09 million on 2.25 million prescriptions for aspirin and £1.9 million on 73,940 prescriptions for ibuprofen. This Appointments 01224 702149 works out at £1.28 per prescription for aspirin and £2.71 for Enquiries 01224 551415 We need young people, workers, retirees, ibuprofen. These can be bought from supermarkets for as Results 01224 551400 people with long-term conditions and people little as 85p and 30p respectively. Website: www.scotstownmedicalgroup.co.uk from non-British ethnic groups – everyone in Getting a prescription for products that can easily and fact. cheaply be bought in any supermarket does not help the Woodside Terrace, Udny Station NHS. It can only reduce the funding of front-line medical staff Aberdeenshire AB41 6PJ You can download the sign-up form as a pdf and other essential treatment. Please consider carefully, document, print it out, complete it and return and, if you feel you can afford it, think about buying the likes Appointments 01651 842204 of paracetamol over the counter, from your local pharmacy. Prescriptions 01651 842559 it to the practice. You do not necessarily have to buy more expensive well- Email: known, brand-name products as supermarket own-brand [email protected] Our PPG group meets Wednesdays at Scotstown products are much cheaper and usually have exactly the Surgery. We usually meet every 2 to 3 months. same ingredients. If you find this confusing, please ask the pharmacist or your doctor, who will be happy to advise – and Do let the Surgery Do come along and help us work together with grateful that you are supporting the NHS to maintain its high know if you are held up the Scotstown team to maintain high standards of standards. Every little helps! or cannot make an provision. Register your interest at the Surgery reception and you will receive notification of the next dates for meetings. OUR SERVICES initiatives but if you wish to see the doctor alone please do not hesitate to ask for the student to leave or the video G.P. FOCUS Dr. Alasdair Forbes ALL GPs must provide essential services - that is basic camera to be switched off. TIME IS PRECIOUS… treatment of ill people. Additional and enhanced services available at Many people are surprised to discover that most GP appointments Scotstown include: are only ten minutes long and are surprised list of ailments cannot REMEMBER YOUR FLU JAB! be covered in that time. Sadly it is not possible to cope with such a list, given the increasing numbers of patients we need to see.  Child health surveillance, together with the health We recommend that anyone with a health visiting team Believe it or not the advent of routine ten-minute appointments is not condition (no matter how young they are or that old, less than 30 years or so. Before this, the norm used to be  Contraceptive services including contraceptive how fit and healthy they normally feel) and people over 65 seven and a half minutes, and indeed many GPs did five-minute advice, oral contraceptive pills, contraceptive have the flu vaccine every year. appointments! It took considerable research and hard work by injections, implant fitting and coil insertion academic GPs to persuade the profession to move to the ten minute Anyone with a health condition is at risk from flu. Conditions, Maternity services in the ante-natal and post- natal standard. Of course back then many people died of heart attacks in  which make flu more dangerous, include: their forties and fifties and most cancers were not remotely treatable period, together with the midwives from the - so much for the “good old days”! Aberdeen Maternity Hospital Asthma bronchitis Diabetes emphysema liver problems spleen dysfunction Nowadays we see people surviving for longer with serious illnesses Routine immunization of children, together with the  cystic fibrosis heart disease Multiple Sclerosis and people are living far longer than before. As more patients live health visiting team longer, they tend to get more than one medical condition and so can kidney failure obesity HIV infection end up on a large number of drugs. Sorting out a few conditions as  Travel advice well as checking the various drugs in ten minutes is well nigh Cervical smears Don’t risk it! Make an appointment today. impossible to do properly. This is why nurses are increasingly  involved to run clinics for patients with chronic conditions such as  Minor surgery clinics: for the removal of various For more information about the flu vaccine contact: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma, as there small skin lesions. Immunisationscotland.org.uk/flu is just not enough time to do everything that we need to do and see or phone NHS Inform 0800 22 44 88 people with acute problems as well.  An annual flu immunization programme to protect We are fortunate to see the rise of a new profession, the Nurse the elderly and at risk Practitioner (NP). These professionals are very experienced nurses  Regular monitoring, by blood and urine tests, for SCOTSTOWN WALKING GROUP who have extra training in diagnosing illness and can prescribe patients on a range of drugs for arthritis medicines. In many practices patients will see a NP for more Scotstown walking group meets every “straightforward” problems such as a chest or urinary infection, so  Regular monitoring, by blood tests for patients on Wednesday at 1.15pm. All welcome. that the GP is left to deal with the more “difficult” cases. Also, the Warfarin Contact: [email protected] falling numbers of doctors nowadays will mean that we see more Annual comprehensive reviews for patients with NPs.  heart diseaseAnnual comprehensive review for If the GP you are due to see has no “easy” cases in their list for that patients with diabetes day it may mean they will struggle to run to time. As well as seeing MESSAGING SERVICE the patient we have to type up notes, fill in forms for tests and  Minor injury service. dictate referral letters if required before calling the next patient, Dr You can now register to receive information by text message Who’s Tardis would be a great asset to any practice! on your phone regarding appointments and health care. Time is precious and we try our best to use it well for our patients WE ARE A TRAINING PRACTICE If you wish to register for this messaging service, please but it is often a real challenge. You can help by not hoarding up complete the consent form. You will find it at: several problems for us, a simple one may just need a phone call, We provide a framework that supports supervised www.scotstownmedicalgroup.co.uk/info.aspx?p=9 but if we are to do the job well we need time. If you do have a few training to allow the GP Registrar to develop and reach things to discuss, especially if an examination or tests have to be the standard required for independent general practice done, best ask for a double appointment. As a result, we are involved in the teaching of postgraduate I do hope that this has helped you all have a greater understanding doctors who wish to become general practitioners. We will ONLINE PRESCRIPTIONS of the complexity and challenges facing modern Primary Care, and have both GPST3 and GPST1 level trainees, who are From September 2017, you can no longer use our that you’ll try and be patient with your GP as we all strive to do our qualified doctors. email service for repeat prescriptions. Please best to help on time and in good time. We may on occasion use video-recording equipment in ensure you now register for our new online system. consultation as part of the teaching process. Patients’ Click on the "Online Services" tab on our website I hope too that, if you are in the at-risk groups or over 65, you have consent for this will always be requested beforehand. It is booked or had your flu jab. to learn more, or ask at reception. hoped that all patients will assist with these educational