Newsletter October-December 2010 (Read-Only)
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Special points of interest: • The Practice will be Jubilee Lines CLOSED on the after- noon of Tuesday, 9th November, to attend a Protected Learning Time. Volume 6, Issue IV Autumn 2010 • Dr Alexandra Har- borne has returned The Jubilee Street Practice to the Practice fol- lowing her maternity leave break. Welcome back! • The Practice wel- Diabetes care on and along the “Highway” comes Kamal Uddin as its new member of As many patients will be With her help, the control your diabetes permanent staff. You aware, we are now work- ‘Highway Network’ is better (and in relation to will see Kamal in ing closer together with improving its perform- that your blood pressure action as both an neighbouring practices ance in diabetes care and cholesterol level), Advocate and a and have formed the steadily and this will help many of you will be able Health Care Assis- ‘Highway Network’. This to avoid complications. tant. has had a particularly There is still plenty of positive effect on our work to be done: still diabetes care. As a net- only 50% of patients work we have employed a achieve an optimal con- diabetes specialist nurse, trol of their blood sugars Appointments Bonnie Mpofu, who (measured as Hba1c started in May 2010. She level), and blood pressure for flu jabs sees diabetic patients at and cholesterol control are now Jubilee St Practice on can also be improved on. Mondays and As a team of doctors available for Wednesdays and and nurses at Jubilee you to book!! supports us in many We currently have 607 patients St Practice and in the ways: not only does with diabetes—and there are more ‘Highway Network’ we she add her exper- with pre-diabetic conditions. will help you with tise from hospital that, but please do diabetic care to our team, you, our patients, to re- not just wait for us to but also is able to pick main healthy. To remind contact you for help, do out the best ideas from you, we currently have make an appointment Inside this all practices and imple- 607 patients with diabe- with a doctor or the dia- issue: ment them in others. She tes mellitus and several betes nurses, should you has a big smile on her more with pre-diabetic have any concerns about face (most of the time!) conditions, so that ap- your diabetes. The Unmention- 2 and is a great addition to proximately 1:12 patients Dr Jens Ruhbach ables the team. are affected by this con- GP dition. If you manage to Childhood Imms 2 Programme Patient Participation Group RE-LAUNCH It’s all about 3 would be particularly de- strong bones For several years now, our for our services to reflect lighted to see representa- Patient Forum (formerly your needs. tion from our younger A patient’s special 3 known as Critical Friends) We would be delighted if patients and those from letter has been meeting every 6 you could attend the many different ethnic weeks to discuss issues the Patient Forum re- backgrounds we serve in and ideas related to the launch, to take place on this practice as so far you Cranberries and 3 Practice. Wednesday, 20th October Cream—the new During this time, we have at 13:30. Tea and coffee have been under- look learnt many valuable les- will be available for all, represented. You too have sons about running a pa- and perhaps you an important voice! Patient Come to our net- 4 tient participation group, work event! would like to join us in a involvement is essential to and would like to re- little tour of the surgery developing services to- enforce our commitment afterwards? gether, deciding some to this venture. To do this, Hopefully we will all leave quick wins and perhaps we need your help, your this meeting with a clear discussing strategies for ideas, your input. We want idea of what we can all the future. to keep patients at the achieve through a patient heart of our practice and participation group. We Virginia Patania Jubilee Lines Page 2 table I was in so much pain. The Unmentionables “What did I do so wrong that I was now having to suffer So called because those that leaflet – it read like a horror like this.” Doctor after doc- suffer with them politely pre- story. “No, Thank You,” I tor kept telling me the only fer not to talk about them. I’d thought and left it at that. solution was the operation. love to know what comedian Boy Oh Boy did I make a mis- Finally in May I decided to first called them “Farmer Giles” take as the next few years take the doctors’ advice. – they are no laughing matter went on to prove. Still the operation was a – they can cause excruciating I could put up with a bit of long time coming. Only pain as the millions of suffer- pain and discomfort – “Clever through the tremendous ers will testify. If you haven’t Dick” – One Saturday after- efforts of one of the Doctors caught on by now, I’m talking noon in late December 2005, at the Practice, I was booked about “Piles” or to give it it’s I was suffering excruciating to see a consultant at the correct medical name – pain. I couldn’t take any London in July 2009. He “Haemorrhoids”. more. So I took myself along said that I need to be oper- I first realised I had them back to A & E at the London Hospi- ated on as soon as possible. in 1996. Over the years that tal. I became something of a That turned out to be Friday Not hard to under- followed the condition gradu- medical exhibit. Doctors and 14 August 2009. I won’t stand why the ally got worse causing greater nurses came to look at me – forget that date ! author chose to pain and discomfort. I tried they all said the same thing, The operation was a com- title his piece “The treating them with an “off the “We’ve never seen a case as Unmentionables”! plete success though what shelf” ointment available at bad as this before.” One doc- followed afterwards was most chemists. It alleviated tor said, “It’s not if we oper- very messy and unpleasant. the pain for a while but the ate but when.” But the very But, I now had the strangest novelty soon wore off. I was in next morning a different of feelings – that of NO pain walking. Even when I was doctor examined me and pain. It seemed weird. “Piles are no sitting down there was no let said that I couldn’t have the The path to a full recovery up in the discomfort. Eventu- operation as the risk of infec- was slow and arduous. I am laughing ally by the end of 2003 I tion was too great. So they the world’s worst patient. If plucked up courage and de- sent me home with a bundle I can get through it then matter – they cided I would have to see a of painkillers and laxatives. anyone can. doctor. (I’d previously enjoyed I was housebound for the If only I had agreed to have can cause good health, only having been next week and totally reliant it done back in 2004. to the doctor once in about on my friends and My message is that if the excruciating twenty years). neighbours for my everyday doctor advises that you I was referred to the hospital needs but eventually the need to have the operation pain as the where, in February 2004, the problem subsided - but it then have it done. Don’t consultant told me that the didn’t go away – NO suffer in silence. Don’t millions of only way of curing the prob- CHANCE. make yourself out a hero. I lem was to have the operation. By the end of 2008, the con- have learned from bitter, “Think about it,” I was told, dition had worsened. The sufferers will bitter experience. Take it “Here’s a leaflet that describes pain was quite literally bring- from someone who knows. what will be done. If you are ing tears to my eyes. Every testify.” happy to proceed then just morning, for about twenty A very grateful patient at ring up my secretary and it will minutes, I would sit in the the Jubilee Street Practice. be arranged.” I scanned the kitchen, banging the kitchen Childhood immunization programme Since the formation of possibly eliminating cer- message, reminding you the Highway Network in tain diseases altogether. of all appointments with January 2010, all of the In the last 3 months we us), and also inform us if Network practices, in- have achieved over 95% you are planning to travel cluding Jubilee Street, in all of the immunisa- out of the country for ex- have been working hard tions, which is amazing. tended periods of time. to achieve the new World This is only achievable Occasionally, without this Health Organisation tar- long -term with your help. information, and if we are Help us keep up to date with the immunizations your child re- get of 95 % of all under We ask that you keep us unable to contact you, quires—inform us of any five year olds being fully updated if you change we may have to remove changes to your contact details. immunised. Reaching your address or phone you and your family from this level of protection in number (mobiles are the the practice list.