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Kessingland Surgery News
Issue 3

Medicines Use Review at Kessingland Pharmacy

A medicines use review is an opportunity to meet with your pharmacist to talk about the medicines you are taking, what they do, how well they work for you and how to get the most out of them.  Your pharmacist might suggest an appointment for a review.  If you have a lot of questions about your medicines, you can also ask for a medicines use review yourself.  Reviews are carried out as part of the NHS.  This means that there is no charge to you for the service.

• Medicines use reviews are confidential.  Only you and your GP will normally receive a record of the meeting.
• The review will be in a private area of the pharmacy where you can sit down and not be overheard by others in the pharmacy.
• The pharmacist will be there to listen and to help with your concerns and questions.
• Your pharmacist will only know about the medicines you receive from the pharmacy.  If you get medicines from other places, such as hospital, another pharmacy or by buying other medicines – including herbal and complementary medicines – please tell the pharmacist about them.
• Your pharmacist will not know all the details of your medical history or details about your illness, so it is important to tell him/her as much as you can.
• The pharmacist will check how you are getting on with your medicines.
• You will discuss together how you think your medicines are working.
• You will discuss together any of your questions or concerns, such as side-effects.
• If you are using inhalers or other types of device, your pharmacist can give you tips on how to get the most from them.
• The pharmacist will agree an action plan with you if anything needs to be done.
• A copy of this action plan will be sent to your GP and will be kept in your notes at the surgery.  You can request that a copy be sent to another person who looks after your healthcare.
• The action plan may suggest changes to your prescription or that no action is taken.

 If you are interested, please come along to Kessingland Pharmacy to book an appointment.

Smoking

As most people are aware, a ban on smoking in confined public spaces came into effect on the 1st July.

Now that the opportunity for people to smoke has been reduced, there has never been a better time for people to consider trying to stop smoking.  If you have tried before, but were unable to stop, do not despair as it is always worthwhile trying to stop again and, for many people, it can take several attempts before they finally kick the habit.

The health benefits gained by stopping smoking are well known and stopping smoking will also help the health of people who live with someone who smokes.

The surgery has two Practice Nurses who are trained Smoking Cessation advisors.  This means that they have received special nationally recognised training and they can provide advice and support to patients wishing to stop smoking.

The support that they can provide ranges from the development of quitting strategies and coping mechanisms to the provision of Nicotine Replacement Therapies.  So if you are thinking of quitting, then now is the time to contact the surgery and make an appointment with either Glynis or Linda to talk about stopping smoking.

 Practice Based Commissioning (PBC)

Two years ago, the Department of Health started a new initiative, amongst many others, through which patients and their medical carers would be able to have more say in what services were provided in their health district.  GP’s were asked by the Department of Health to set up schemes to carry out this new policy and, in our area, the Waveney Practice Based Commissioning Board was set up.

Other schemes around the country took different forms and are in different states of readiness.

Here in Waveney we have a structure that represents all the Practices of the old Waveney & Lowestoft PCT.  There is an executive committee; a small administration and a quarterly forum open to all Practices. 

The work that this organisation does centres around advising the PCT on such matters as what services are needed and how they can be achieved more effectively, efficiently and locally.  By this method, the people who deliver the service can have a say in how the service is provided.

How far or how fast this new approach will go in the future is in the hands of the government and the local PCT.  Unfortunately there has already been a significant delay whilst a new PCT has been reformed.  In theory, the role of the PCT can be reduced to just being responsible for a strategy and quality control whilst the bulk of activity will be passed through the Practice Based Commissioning Board and the Executives (in theory!). 

This innovation could be seen as an attempt to make it possible for decisions to be taken nearer to the ‘coal face’ by involving clinicians and hopefully their patient representatives too.  If you feel you want to be more involved yourself, please contact one of our local Practice Patient Group members who will be glad to tell you about the local Patient Participation Group here in Kessingland. 

 Dr Nigel Drane

Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

As part of a new initiative men and women in this area are among the first to be invited to take part in a Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.  The aim is to detect bowel cancer at an early stage (when symptoms are not apparent) and when treatment is more likely to be effective.  The screening can also detect polyps that may develop into cancers.  These can easily be removed.

Bowel cancer is the 3^rd most common cancer in the U.K. with over 16,000 people dying from it each year.  If it is detected at the earliest stage there is over a 90% chance of survival.  As someone who has received treatment with excellent results, I would urge anyone invited to participate in the screening to do so.  The initial test is carried out by you at home with samples being sent to a laboratory for testing.  You will be advised of the results and, if necessary, you will then be offered an appointment with a specialist nurse to discuss additional tests, etc.

Organ Donation for Transplants

 When patients join a new Practice they are asked to complete a New Patient Registration form. There is a section of this form that provides an opportunity to give consent to organ donation. We have noticed how few patients fill in this consent form. This may simply be due to form-filling fatigue or anxieties about the implications of giving consent to organ donation. Such anxieties might in turn be allayed by better information about what is involved.

There are in the UK currently 9000 people who need an organ transplant but only about 3000 transplants were carried out last year (with donor organs from 1500 people). More donors are desperately needed.   

We are all destined to die eventually and it does seem a pity that the opportunity should be lost to benefit others through our gift of organ transplantation.

If you are not already registered as an organ donor please do consider registering as a donor or at least obtain further information that might inform your decision.

Further information can be obtained at –

www.uktransplant.org.uk or by telephone to – NHS Organ Donor line  0845 60 60 400 (lines open 24 hrs for 365 days a year)

Donating Blood in Kessingland 

Have you ever considered giving Blood?  It’s a very worthwhile cause, it can really save lives and it’s easy.  The mobile ‘Bloodmobile’ visits the village, in the Kings Head pub carpark every three months.  The next session is on Wednesday 24th October.

All you have to do is call 0845 7 711 711 or register online at www.blood.co.uk to book an appointment.  Once you are in the system, advance screening forms are sent out to you to speed up your registration.

Giving blood is always a great feeling; you know that you are making a difference and saving peoples lives.  Its fun too - you are really looked after by the staff and  have free biscuits and a drink to look forward to after donating!  Added to that, you have the reassurance that your own blood is screened so you get a biannual blood MoT!

I recently met an old lady in my job as a carer who had had several blood transfusions and it was lovely when she said to me “Do you know - you saved my life!”  I hope I can inspire new donors to come forward and have a go, it doesn’t hurt, or take long, and its very worthwhile.

 Sue Morley

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