JANUARY 2012

Launch of Bristol, Bath & Weston Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme

Men will be invited for abdominal ultrasound scan during the year they turn 65. Men with a normal result will be discharged from the programme, those with small aneurysms will be offered advice and surveillance, and men with large aneurysms will be referred by the programme to a vascular surgeon within the local vascular network. Details of eligible patients registered at each practice are provided from the NHS Connecting for Health system. Men over 65 will be able to self refer to the programme.

The first cohort of eligible patients for the local programme will be men turning 65 in the year 2012-13, registered with a GP practice in Bristol, Bath, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire.

The programme will screen the majority of these men between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

However a phased approach is being taken and a very small cohort of patients will be invited from mid January whilst local implementation is continuing to gear up and more community venues identified.

OCTOBER 2011

From the Practice Diary..

Flu Day

Thank you to all those patients who continue to support our flu day which is always held on the first Friday in October. By prioritising the flu clinic you enabled us to deliver the bulk of our vaccines to those of you who are most at risk. In return we hope we delivered an effective service which allowed you to be immunised early in the season and with the minimum of fuss! It is not too late if you missed the clinic to be immunised, but please mark the date on your calendar for next year! Thank you once again.

 Patient Group

Patients are the heart of the NHS and your patient support group work hard on your behalf to ensure the surgery continues to provide a patient focussed service. We appreciate that an awful lot of people work and find it especially hard to give time to join the patient support group in person. For that reason we have introduced a “Virtual Patient Group” and you can join the group by applying on line at the surgery website (CLICK HERE) and registering your interest. We hope that we can use this forum to update you on surgery news and get your views and opinions. You might even be in a position to help us from time to time when we have event!

 The New Pharmacy

The pharmacy building development is now in full swing and we hope that completion will be within the next   6- 8 weeks. Practice dispensers continue to be a vital and valued part of a comprehensive pharmacy team.  Changes to the team are thankfully infrequent but we have had two retirement celebrations this year - Jan and Dee and we wish them both a very long and happy retirement from the NHS!

 The New Building - Your Feedback

Thank you for your kind comments about the new surgery building. There are some aspects of the new building that you have suggested could be improved and we are looking at your suggestions. You mentioned that the cycle stands are not good if you need to chain your bicycle and we are looking to replace them, because we do want to encourage cycling or walking to the surgery. You mentioned that the walk from the car park is further and if you didn’t already know, the surgery has a loan wheel chair, for those who need it.  You mentioned that the exit back to reception isn’t clear from the consulting rooms and we have a sign which should go up later this month to rectify this.  The bench is not situated directly outside the entrance but remains in its original position - we do not have a covered area suitable, so for the time being we are leaving it where it is, but we will review this when the Pharmacy is opened. 

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