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News
RUDE RECEPTION STAFF ... Please inform the Practice Manager if you have received poor service from any of our receptionists. We will not tolerate poor customer care from our front of house staff.
Email pm@mertonmedical.com or ask to be put through to him from the patient line number - 08444 778 893
We also like to receive positive comments about our service, should patients feel praise is deserved.
Merton Medical Practice providing more service to our patients
We are in the process of building a closer working relationship with two other local GP surgeries. The collaboration with Cricket Green Practice, who have recently moved into brand new premises in Miles Road, Mitcham and Colliers Wood Surgery on the High Street.
Our joint aim is to provide additional services to our patients within our practices. Contact the Practice Manager for further information on this initiative.
Epsom, St Helier, Sutton and The Nelson Hospitals now have a centralised booking centre.
To book your outpatient appointment, please contact the appointments centre by phone using this number: 020 8296 2968 or visit www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/appointments
Teens offered online LifeCheck
The Department of Health has started rolling out a free, online lifestyle self-assessment service aimed at helping teenagers to improve their health. NHS Teen LifeCheck uses an interactive quiz to offer tailored health and lifestyle information to 12-15 year olds.
Later this year, NHS LifeCheck will roll-out a similar service for parents, carers of babies and 45-60 year olds.
Gillian Merron, public health minister, said: "Teenage years can be a difficult enough time without having to worry about your health. NHS Teen LifeCheck is a quick and easy way of checking your health."
Department of Health advice for toddlers and young children (1 – 5 years) to avoid rice drinks due to risk of exposure to inorganic arsenic
The Food Standards Agency has today announced the results of a survey of total and inorganic arsenic levels in 60 samples of rice drinks available in the UK. Rice drink (also known as rice milk) is a blend of filtered water and rice and is usually marketed as either a ‘dairy free-alternative to cows’ milk’ or a ’low-fat drink’ and are usually often consumed by those who wish to avoid dairy foods. Some toddlers and young children who are allergic to cows’ milk and soya drink are currently advised to use calcium fortified rice drinks. Read the full DoH advice document here.
Contraceptives advice online
NHS Direct has launched an online emergency contraceptive advice tool.
The Contraception Checker aims to deal with enquiries about emergency contraception, missed contraceptive pills, dislodged contraceptive devices, interactions with other medicines or failed contraceptives.
NHS Direct says the information provided is based on a series of questions and, depending on the data provided, may suggest a number of options including a visit to the family planning service or GP, a conversation with a nurse adviser or a visit to a pharmacy to buy over the counter emergency contraception.
NHS Direct says the online tool means enquirers can anonymous at all times, reaching those who may be less comfortable using the telephone or talking face-to-face.
View your medical records on-line
If you use our on-line appointment booking system, you can now view your medical records using the internet. Please contact pm@mertonmedical.co.uk for more information.
Prescribing and Use of Antibiotics
The Department of Health are promoting the correct prescribing of antibiotics. Please check out their web site using this link ... www.dh.gov.uk/antibiotics
Patient Participation Group
We would like to hear from one more VOLUNTEER today!
We have establishing a forum which encourages the open discussion of changes and ideas within the practice. The forum is not meant for airing clinical complaints - but can hopefully be used to defuse more general concerns and develop the services we provide to you, our patients. Currently we have 4 patients in the PPG group and we would like one more patient to join the group
Whether you can help in a small or large way, we would really appreciate your involvement. Please contact our practice manager by sending an e-mail to pm@mertonmedical.com for further information.
Antibiotic use and prescribing
And interesting and informative article on the use of Antibiotics can be found on the NHS Choices web site by following the following link ... www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Antibiotics
Find out how many units of alcohol you consume
Alcohol related social and medical problems are in the news and the following two web sites provide useful tools and information for you to check the effect drinking has on your health.
The following is an NHS health information site: http://units.nhs.uk/unitCalculator.html
Keep a diary of your alcohol consumption on the Drinkaware web site. This is a very informative web site: http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/component/option,com_drinkdiary/
Check your risk of Coronary Heart Disease using this simple tool
http://www.qrisk.org/CalculateRisk_Step1.aspx
OPTIONS - Wimbledon Pregnancy Resource Centre
An unplanned pregnancy can be a great shock and you may feel unsure how to cope or what to do next.
Need someone to talk to or more information?
We offer free confidential counselling.
We have trained volunteer counsellors who provide a listening ear, accurate information and friendly, non-judgemental support.
For more information, please visit the follow link ... www.optionswimbledon.org
Help for the mature Home owner
If you’re a home owner aged 60 or over, or a home owner of any age who’s disabled or has a disabled person living with them, Houseproud can help with repairs, improvements or adaptations to your home.
Please visit http://www.houseproud.org.uk/ for more information
The Health Survey For England
The Health Survey for England has been carried out every year since 1991 and collects information about the health of people all over England. You may be asked to complete a questionnaire for this survey?
If you would like to find out more about the Health Survey for England, please use the link below...
NHS Care Record Service
Anyone in the NHS who provides you with care has to make a record of the treatment they have provided, either on paper or computer.
But if this information is needed by a doctor or other health care professional elsewhere in the NHS, it can usually only be shared by letter, email, fax or phone.
Even having appointments in different departments of the same hospital can mean having to wait for piles of paper records to be transferred from one place to another. Doctors may have to take up valuable time during a consultation, asking patients questions which have already been answered elsewhere.
Over time, the NHS Care Records Service (NHS CRS) will begin to provide quicker ways to access important information, including in an emergency.
It is likely that your GP or consultant already uses a computer system to keep notes of appointments they have with you, plus medicines prescribed, test results and details of any referrals to other health professionals. X-rays and scans are also increasingly held on computers rather than sheets of film.
Other parts of the NHS may also have records in electronic form about the treatment they have given you. The purpose of NHS CRS is to allow this information to be accessed more quickly, and gradually to phase out paper and film records which can be more difficult to access.
For a full explanation of the NHS Care Record Service, follow this link below...
The importance of having a smear test!
All women aged 25 to 64 should have regular smear tests. The test is free on the NHS. For women aged 25-49 it is usually done every three years. For women aged 50-64 it is usually done every five years. No more tests are needed once you are over 64 if you have had two normal smears in the previous 10 years. So, the test may be advised for some women over the age of 64.
The smear test can be performed at our surgery by making an appointment to see a nurse.
We send out reminder letters and you may also be invited by the Primary Care Agency.
For more information regarding smear tests, check the following links ...
On-line appointments
It is now possible to make appointments to see your doctor using the internet. Contact our practice manager pm@mertonmedical.co.uk and request your own unique access code and password.
For more information about how this works check this site - www.patient.co.uk.
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