Drs Tang and Amin Newsletter Winter Edition Flu, coughs and colds, Catch it, Bin it, Kill it To protect your self and others – ensure that you use a tissue, throw it away and wash your hands. Flu symptoms can hit quite suddenly and severely. They usually include fever, chills, headaches and aching muscles. You can often get a cough and sore throat. Because flu is caused by a virus and not bacteria, antibiotics won't treat it Welcome to the Winter edition, and what a winter we have had already. Snow, hail and sleet and all together on some days. One of the best ways of keeping yourself well during winter is to stay warm. Keeping warm over the winter months can help prevent colds, flu or more serious health conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, pneumonia and depression. Please see inside for tips on how to keep warm. Our new surgery building is progressing well – despite some minor setbacks due to the weather, the steel framework is up and is starting to take shape. Thank you for your suggestions for a new name. The most common theme had ‘green’ in the title, therefore the Patient group and the staff thought that a fitting name would be ‘New Green Surgery’.. PLEASE NOTE Do you have difficulty contacting the practice during working hours and have access to the internet, then we have the solution - we have available ‘on-line’ repeat prescription requests and appointments – register now by asking the receptionist. Anagrams: ‘Wrap well meek peek’ ‘Grr! New, serene guy’ NHS 111 Service Is a new service that's being introduced from April to make it easier for you to access local NHS healthcare services. You can call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency. NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help, whatever the time. Further information will be in the next newsletter.

Keep warm, keep well One of the best ways of keeping yourself well during winter is to stay warm. Keeping warm over the winter months can help prevent colds, flu or more serious health conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, pneumonia and depression. Keep your home warm. Your main living room should be between around 18-21C (65-70F) and the rest of the house at a minimum of 16C (61F). You can use a hot-water bottle or electric blanket (but not at the same time) to keep warm while you're in bed. Eat well. Food is a vital source of energy, which helps to keep your body warm. Try to make sure that you have hot meals and drinks regularly throughout the day and keep active in the home if you can. Wrap up warm, inside and out. Layer your clothing to stay warm and wear shoes with a good grip if you need to go outside. If possible, stay inside during a cold period if you have heart or respiratory problems. Check on older neighbours or relatives to make sure they're safe and well. Make sure they're warm enough, especially at night, and have stocks of food and medicines so they don't need to go out during very cold weather. If you're worried about a relative or an elderly neighbour, contact your local council or ring the Age UK helpline on Patient Survey The practice conducted a patient satisfaction survey for 4 weeks over November and December Paper copies were available in reception and an on line survey was available on our website. In all 54 were completed. Overall the results are excellent. The full report has been published on the website and a summary is available in the reception. There were some minor comments/complaints and hopefully the actions that have been agreed by the Patient Group will address these. Whooping Cough Whooping cough is a serious illness. Babies who get it can develop severe complications such as pneumonia and brain damage. Getting vaccinated while you’re pregnant may help to protect your baby from developing whooping cough in his or her first few weeks of life. The immunity you get from the vaccine will pass to your baby through the placenta. Babies are not vaccinated against whooping cough until they are two months old. The best time to get vaccinated to protect your baby is between 28 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. Please ask at reception for an appointment.