Newsletter - November 2007

Smoking Cessation

 As Many patients are aware Sister Gill Harrison who ran the smoking cessation for us left the surgery in July 2007. We are pleased to announce that both Sister Yvonne Owen and Sister Sue Burton are now fully trained for smoking cessation. So if your willpower is there, or you have relapsed please book to see either nurse and  lets stop you smoking!

Comments Please

 The annual patient satisfaction survey is about to start. If you have any suggestions as to how we can improve our service please also email these to us

Patients have their say -  24/7/07

  With the recent negative press coverage critical about our doctors, (including pay and access to the services provided), latest figures on patient satisfaction show a total contradiction to this trend.

 The white paper – “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say” resulting from the consultation document “Your Health, Your Care, Your Say”, highlighted  that patients want more convenient services, with NHS and other agencies working much more closely together to deliver care and better access to doctors and their surgeries.

 To find out if doctors were meeting this need, a questionnaire survey was developed by the Department of Health and distributed to a sample of patients who were selected electronically from each practice list around the country. The patients selected had all contacted their GP between July and October last year (2006) either by telephone or in person. The Department of Health’s questionnaire was called “The GP patient survey – your doctor, your experience, your say” and some of you will have received this questionnaire to complete. 

 The results of this survey are now known and show that patients in Rowlands Castle Surgery are more than satisfied with the different methods of accessing their doctors i.e. over the telephone, making a physical appointment, booking appointments within 48 hours and booking appointments in advance and/or with a specific GP.

 This practice achieved 95+% in all/most areas of the survey (above average).

 Although this survey was commissioned and carried out without any input or control by GP surgeries, we are delighted with the results which show that a majority of patients are happy with general practice. 

 This is not to say we will become complacent about the services we offer to our patients and if you have any comments/ideas/compliments/complaints to make about your experience with the practice, please contact the Practice Manager in the first instance.

Whooping Cough -  is your child Immunised?

There has been notification of cases of Whooping cough in the locality. This is due to low uptake rates of vaccination in some areas. If your child has not had his/her vaccination please  reconsider  your decision

Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease, spread by coughing and sneezing. It can be treated with antibiotics, but if left untreated can on rare occasions cause serious complications.

The symptoms of whooping cough and the following phases of whooping cough infection have been described as apart of the syndrome:

An irritating cough gradually becomes outbursts of coughing (paroxysms), usually within one to two weeks, and often lasts for two to three months ("one-hundred-day cough"). Not all have the characteristic 'whoop', particularly in young infants, and cough spasms may be followed by a periods of vomiting. Symptoms may start similar to a common cold, progressing to coughing and choking spells. Hospitalisation is sometimes required.

Bowel Cancer Screening - Over 60?

The NHS Bowel screening programme that was commenced last summer  is now being introduced in this practice. If you are aged 60- 69  and registered with our practice you will automatically be sent a free kit to help detest bowel cancer early. If you are aged 70 or  over you can call 0800 707 60 60 to request your free kit. Click here for more details

Local Patient GP Assessment Survey

Thanks to all patients who took the time to complete the questionnaire this year. Results are very similar to previous years -with  very positive feedback from all concerned. Click here for  full details.

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