News | The Grange Practice

Your General Practice Team – Social Prescribers

November 21, 2023

Social prescribing involves helping people to improve their health and wellbeing by connecting them to activities in the community.

Their job is to connect those feeling lonely, overwhelmed or in need of help to a range of local support, from community and activity groups to work, debt or housing advice.

They can help with:

getting people to focus on their own priorities and the things that affect their wellbeing
supporting people to take more control of their health
introducing people to groups and activities in their community.

Speak to the surgery to find out more.

Your General Practice Team

November 10, 2023

A range of healthcare professionals work at, or are attached to, your local surgery to help you get the right care for you.

Around half of all appointments in Kent and Medway are now with members of the general practice team other than a GP.

Practice teams are trained to ask the right questions in order to get you to the most appropriate care.

Stay tuned to find out what staff we have at The Grange that can help you.

Unfortunately Dr Nile Asim has had to leave her employment with the practice due to personal reasons, we have however recently recruited Dr Kanwal Cheema, who was our most recent trainee GP. Dr Cheema will be working all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and some of the patients that had been registered with Dr Asim will be moved to Dr Cheema. We are currently reviewing Dr Asim’s patient list and expect to move all patients over to another GP within the practice. We are running searches to identify patients that have been seen on a number of occasions by another GP in the last year with the hope of being able to move them to that GP’s list. We will try to notify all patients effected via text or phone call over the coming weeks. We will also send letters to any patients we fail to reach. Any queries related to this should be address to William Riseborough.

Thank you for your understanding on this matter.

Are you interested in helping research to improve accuracy in earlier diagnosis of lung cancer from different imaging types?

July 27, 2023

We are looking for people who’ve had imaging for suspected lung cancer whether or not
they’ve gone on to be diagnosed, as well as those who’ve been diagnosed and treated.

A group led by the University of Oxford is planning a research study exploring whether
a CT scan can diagnose lung cancer earlier than the chest x-ray currently performed
when lung cancer is suspected. As part of this research, the team is inviting people to
join a patient and public involvement (PPI) advisory group.

What is the purpose of the PPI advisory group?
The group’s purpose is to ensure the experiences and views of those referred for chest
imaging for suspected lung cancer, and those diagnosed with lung cancer, or their family
members/carers are taken into account when planning and delivering this study.

What would PPI advisory group members be expected to do?
PPI Group members will be asked to attend up to 3 workshops, review documents being
designed for study participants, join a study steering committee and help share the final
study results. You can choose to take part in all or some of these activities.

Timeline/tenure
The first workshop is expected to be held in June/July 2023 during the preparation of
the final funding application to the National Institute for Health and Care Research
(NIHR).
If funded, the study will start early 2024 and there will be an opportunity to continue
participation in the PPI advisory group at that point.

Remuneration
You will receive payment for any time spent in these activities and travel expenses for
any face to face meetings, although most of the work will be completed remotely.
If you are interested and would like more information please contact the following:

j.rawlinson@justrealsolutions.com

anne.powell@oncology.ox.ac.uk

melissa.dobson@ndm.ox.ac.uk

Surgery Referrals

July 27, 2023

When a clinician has referred a patient to another service. Patients’ are advised that for some departments urgent referrals are being booked for 6-8 months time. The Grange is not able to expedite these referrals or chase them up. If you have been referred to a hospital, and would like to enquire about the status of your referral, please call outpatients on 01227 864202. This is the same number that the Grange has to chase referrals and as such we will not be able to call on your behalf.

Surgery Closure

June 22, 2023

The Surgery will be closed from 13:00 till 18:30 for staff training.
For all queries please call 111 and for emergencies please call 999.

May Bank holiday services & Pharmacy opening times

April 27, 2023

NHS services are very busy at the moment. It’s important to come forward with any health concerns but you can help ease the pressure by choosing the right service.

Knowing the right place to go can help you get the treatment you need faster. Please choose wisely and help us help you.

Accident and emergency (A&E) departments are currently extremely busy treating high numbers of patients.

This service is for those who need it most – like people with severe chest pains, serious head injuries, loss of consciousness or breathing difficulties.#

Your local pharmacist can give you expert advice about over-the-counter medicines that can help with lots of common conditions such as diarrhoea, a runny nose, a cough or a headache – without the need for an appointment.

As well as dispensing prescriptions, pharmacists provide a range of services related to specific health issues and can advise on minor ailments such as colds, skin conditions and allergies.

Urgent treatment centres and minor injury units are equipped to diagnose and deal with many of the most common ailments people attend emergency departments for, including sprains, minor burns, and minor illness.

Patients can visit a centre without an appointment if they have an urgent condition that needs to be seen on the same day.

Appointments can also be booked by contacting NHS 111 by phone or online. By using NHS 111, patients will know they are going to the right place for treatment.

Who is at increased risk from COVID-19?

April 25, 2023

https://www.england.nhs.uk/who-is-at-increased-risk-from-covid-19/

After 30 June 2023, COVID-19 vaccinations will only be available for people who are at higher risk from severe COVID-19, including those with a weakened immune system (described below), and a wider group of people such as those with an underlying health condition. The vaccine will then usually only be offered seasonally (for example, during the autumn-winter period), except for people who have a severely weakened immune system, who may be specifically advised to get the vaccine sooner.

For further information please see the link above or contact 119.

Tablets for fear of flying: why we don’t prescribe them any more.

April 12, 2023

People sometimes ask the doctor or nurse to prescribe diazepam, or similar drugs like lorazepam temazepam or clonazepam, for fear of flying or to help sleep during flights.

Prescribing these drugs is not recommended any more for these reasons:

The Grange Practice does NOT prescript sedatives for fear of flying. This policy decision has been made by the GP Partners and is adhered to by all prescribers working in the practice. The reasons for this can be found below:

1) Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.

2) Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than four hours.

3) Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number have paradoxical agitation and in aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This could impact on your safety as well as that of other passengers and could also get you into trouble with the law.

4) According to the prescribing guidelines doctors follow (BNF) Benzodiazepines are contraindicated (not allowed) in phobia. Your doctor is taking a significant legal risk by prescribing against these guidelines. They are only licensed short term for a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the case, you should be getting proper care and support for your mental health and not going on a flight.

5) Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated or you may find yourself in trouble with the police.

6) Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.

We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines and we have listed a number of these below.

Easy Jet www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com Tel 0203 8131644

British Airways www.flyingwithconfidence.com Tel 01252 793250

Virgin www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk Tel 01423 714900

Fly And Be Calm™ is an instant download and comes with a money back guarantee (Guarantee does not apply to app versions).6 MP3 tracks which include instructions, the fear removal tool and two hypnotic tracks. The least expensive option, takes very little time, works on the root cause of your problem. If you are not 100% happy you can get a full refund. https://flyandbecalm.co.uk/

Spring Booster program

April 6, 2023

We are starting the spring booster program from the 17th of April.

You can currently book here if you are over 75 years old and or immunocompromised.

If you are unable to book online please contact 119 to see your eligibility

Vaccine in researcher hands Vaccine in researcher hands, female doctor holds syringe and bottle with vaccine for coronavirus cure. Concept of corona virus treatment, injection, shot and clinical trial during pandemic. vaccine stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images

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