Summer 2017 Newsletter
LAMMERMUIR MEDICAL PRACTICE
(Tel: 01620 825051)
SUMMER 2017 NEWSLETTER
GPs
Congratulations to Dr MariamZikry who has successfully passed all the exams and assessments required from her Registrar year and is now a fully qualified GP! Of course this means, sadly, that she will be moving on to pastures new from the beginning of August. We will miss Mariam very much and would like to take this opportunity to wish her all the very best with her future. We hope to book her in for some return locum shifts soon!
We warmly welcome Dr Sonia Keane who will take over Mariam’s place as our Registrar/ ST3 for the year from August 2017-2018. Also Dr OmomeEtomi (FY2) will be with us from August until December. She is a hospital doctor spending time in General Practice as part of her FY2 training (the same level as Dr Katie Hunter and Dr AvrilCoughlan who joined us in 2015 and 2016 respectively).
Doctors’surgeries, see list below -
Dr Langlands -Monday, Wednesday and Thursday – All day
Dr Morrison -Monday, Wednesday and Friday – All day (Please note Dr Morrison has some early morning slots 08.10 and 08.20 on a Friday morning which are particularly meant for patients who work and cannot make later appointments)
Dr Smith -Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – All day
Dr Wilson - Monday & Tuesday – All day. Thursday and Friday Alternating each week (Please note Dr Wilson has some early morning slots 08.10 and 08.20 on Tuesday and Friday mornings which are particularly intended for patients who work and cannot make later appointments)
Dr Keane- Monday and Tuesday all day, Wednesday (variable), Thursday am, Friday all day
Dr Etomi -Monday am, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all day, Friday am
Some patients worry about which doctor they are officially registered with. Patients are welcome to request a doctor of their choice.
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
Option 1 – Appointments
Option 2 – Prescriptions & test results (between 11am & 2pm ONLY)
Option 3 – House calls (where possible please try to call before 10am)
Option 4 – Any other enquiries
APPOINTMENTS
Thank you to all patients who kept their appointment. Thanks also to those who called to cancel their appointment – this enabled the surgery to use the appointment for other patients. Unfortunately a total of 53 Doctors appointments, 35 Treatment Room appointments and 16 Practice Nurse appointments have all been missed since 01/06/17. A TOTAL OF 104 MISSED APPOINTMENTS
“We would like to remind patients that appointments are 10 minutes long. If you have several problems, please decide which is the most important to you before you see the doctor and discuss that first. There may not be enough time to deal with all your problems and you may need to make another appointment. We do recognise that addressing several things at once (‘saving them up’) is a more efficient use of your time and our appointments, but five problems in ten minutes means only two minutes per problem – which usually is not enough!”
PRESCRIPTIONS
PLEASE NOTE: PRESCRIPTION/RESULT HOURS ARE BETWEEN 11AM AND 2PM. PRESCRIPTIONS REQUIRE 48 HOURS FOR COLLECTION. HOWEVER, DUE THE HIGH VOLUME OF PRESCRIPTIONS GENERATED, THIS MAY TAKE LONGER IN SOME CASES.
Recently there has been an increase in patients requesting to collect their prescriptions on the day. ONLY URGENT PRESCRIPTIONS CAN BE COLLECTED THE SAME DAY AFTER 5PM. This is closely monitored and your assistance to keep this to a minimum would be greatly appreciated.
You can now order medication via our website at:
or by post.
PLEASE NOTE: Currently the Practice is changing some repeat medicines to the preferred drug in Lothian. The new medicine is equally effective.
East Lothian Community Health Partnership is encouraging Practices in East Lothian to prescribe medicine in the most cost effective way.
Please see the list below of the old and new medications:
OLD MEDICATION / NEW MEDICATIONLyrica / Pregabalin
Diprobase Cream / Zerobase Cream
Aqueous Cream / ZeroAQS Cream
E45 Itch Relief Cream / Calamine Lotion
Naprozen 250mg/500mg EC tabs / Naproxen 250mg/500mg tabs
Ferrous Sulphate / Ferrous Fumerate
Elocon 0.1% Cream / Mometasone Cream
Alphagan Drops / Brimonidine Drops
THE NHS MINOR AILMENTS SERVICE
Common illnesses such as coughs and snuffles affect us all from time to time. If you are suffering from a common illness such as a cold, hay fever, diarrhoea or other minor illness, you may not need to make an appointment to see the doctor. Your local pharmacy can offer advice and help on the following:
Back ache / Sprains / Strains / HaemorrhoidsColds / Hay fever / Mouth ulcers / Conjunctivitis
Nappy rash / Constipation/diarrhoea / Headache / Fever
Coughs / Heartburn / Indigestion / Teething
Insect bites / Stings / Threadworm / Earache
Dermatitis, mild eczema, minor fungal infections of skin / Thrush / Head lice / Sore throat
HAY FEVER
Now that summer is here (!) the hay fever season is looming – we recommend that sufferers take their treatment regularly. Simple measures to avoid pollen may be all that is required in mild cases.
- Listen to pollen forecast – if the count is HIGH – avoid going out, shut windows and do not dry washing outside.
- Avoid peak pollen times – early morning (07:00 – 10.00) and late afternoon (16:00 – 19:00).
- Wear sunglasses when outside.
- Shower and wash hair before going to sleep.
- Keep car windows closed.
PODIATRY - self referral
Foot pains? Ingrowing toenails?
Did you know you can self refer to podiatry?
Self referral forms are available at Reception – complete the form and pass back to reception staff and they will send it off to Roodlands Hospital for you.
Please ask at reception for more information. Please note this Service does not provide toenail cutting.
PHYSIOTHERAPY – self referral
Do you have an injury, muscle pains or joint problems? You can self-refer to physiotherapy by calling 0800 917 9390 for advice, information and assessment. Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm. You do not have to see a GP first to use this service.
MALE & FEMALE CONTRACEPTION
The surgery has C-Card facilities available. Please enquire at reception. The practice offers a variety of services including insertion and removal of contraceptive rods (Drs Morrison, Smith and Wilson) and Coils (Dr Morrison only). If you require a Coil fitting you will need to discuss this specifically with Dr Morrison for counselling first. We also offer depoinjections and oral contraception. Women wishing to discuss their options need to see a GP for counselling in the first instance.
WELL MAN/WOMAN HEALTH CHECK
Blood test 2 weeks before appointment. 20 Minute appointment with Practice Nurse.
SMEARS
Women aged 25 to 49 are offered a smear test every 3 years. Women aged 50 to 64 are invited every 5 years. Women under the age of 25 who have already been invited for screening may be invited again before they reach 25. Some women are also offered screening more frequently, up to the age of 70 years.
BREAST SCREENING
AllWoman in Scotland aged 50 - 70 are invited for a routine breast x-ray known as a mammogram once every 3 years.
BOWEL SCREENING
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Scotland after lung and breast cancer. Every year, over 3,000 people are diagnosed with the disease. The Scottish Bowel Screening Programme invites all men and women in Scotland between the ages of 50 to 74 for screening every two years. Details of this can be found at also by calling the Scottish Bowel Screening Helpline on 0800 012 1833. Repeat sampling kits can also be requested using these contact details if you misplaced the ones you received in the post.
ROYAL VOLUNTARY SERVICE
If you have difficulty getting to the surgery, this service could be of benefit to you! A volunteer will pick you up at home and bring you to the surgery. Please contact the surgery if you would like to use this service to attend an appointment at the surgery; this service is free. You can also use this service to attend hospital appointments, although there is a fee per mile for this service. Volunteers are also needed to help provide this service for the elderly in our community – enquire at Reception for more details if you might be interested in volunteering.
TRAVEL ADVICE SERVICE
The surgery offers a travel advice service. Please ensure you let the receptionist know how many people the information is for, where you are travelling to and whether you are back packing or in a hotel.
COUNSELLING
Ewan Davidson is our resident Counsellors who work for Eclipse. Patients who would like to be seen at this clinic need to be seen by a GP in the first instance and will then refer you on to Ewan. The counselling service offers various appointment times throughout the week. Contact number 07703469587
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS & SURGERY CLOSURE DAYS
PLT (Staff Training) 8thNovember2017
The surgery will close7thFebruary2018
at 1pm on these days!7thMarch2018
Public Holidays 18thSeptember2017
25th & 26thDecember2017
1st & 2ndJanuary2018
We have recently set up a Facebook page at Why not take a look and give us some feedback.
ZERO TOLERANCE
We have been receiving an increasing number of reports of patients and relatives acting in an aggressive, threatening or abusive way towards our staff, either on the telephone or at the reception desk. Our staff do a difficult and challenging job and we think they do it very well. If you are dissatisfied with anything in relation to your experience at the practice, we would welcome your feedback. Please contact our Practice Manager (Stephanie Currie). Abusive, aggressive or threatening behaviour is never acceptable. We will be taking an increasingly serious view of any such instances and we will not hesitate to remove patients from our list if we deem this to be warranted.