• Are you happy to share your private records?..
• National Swine Flu Helpline Closes..
• New national bowel screening program..
• Shay Lane Swine Flu Campaign..
• HPV Vaccine Scare - latest information
• National Cardiovascular Screening program progress...
• How to save money on repeat prescriptions...
• Automatic Check-in System...
• Chlamydia testing for under 25's..

Sharing your confidential records

You may have had a letter in February 2010 from Trafford PCT. They would like your permission to share your confidential records. Please click here to find out more..

The National Swine Flu Helpline is now closed..
The National Pandemic Flu Service, set up to offer online and telephone assessments for people worried that they might have swine flu, closed on February 11th 2010.
The number of new swine flu cases has fallen to a point where the service is no longer needed.
Ring the surgery on 0161 980 3835 if you think you have swine flu.

Symptoms are:
A FEVER OF 38°C or above PLUS TWO of the following:

• cough;
• sore throat;
• runny nose/mucus;
• limb or joint pain;
• headache;
• vomiting or diarrhoea

OR
• A severe and/or life-threatening illness suggestive of an infectious process

You must not pick up any treatment prescribed by the helpline yourself, you must nominate a "Flu Friend" to pick it up for you.
The illness can last for up to SEVEN DAYS and you should isolate yourself for this time period. Please do not come to the surgery as you may infect others.

 
New national bowel screening program
now underway in the Manchester area.
More information is available in our
Bowel Cancer Screening section.

 
Shay Lane Swine Flu Campaign
More information about arrangments for vaccinating patients at our practice is available in our Swine Flu Section.

 
HPV vaccination campaign latest

It seems that the young girl who died after having the HPV vaccine, did not die because of the vaccine, rather from an undiagnosed malignant tumour. - more here.
This link is to more information about the vaccine.
GPs are being advised to continue with the vaccination program. It seems that some girls do get a reaction to the vaccine, but in most cases this is relatively mild, with a mild temperature and soreness where the injection was given.
 

New Heart Disease screening program progress

This is continuing at the practice. As part of a national programme, all adults aged between 40 and 74 who do not have established heart disease are being invited for a health check.

Background
We use a risk calculator called the "Framingham Score". This gives a rough idea of your risk of developing cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks or stroke) over a 10 year time frame.
Classifications are as follows:

• High risk – if your score is 20% or more. (That is, a 2 in 10 chance or more of developing cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years.)
• Moderate risk – if your score is 10 – 20% (between 1 in 10 and 2 in 10 chance).
• Low risk – if your score is less than 10% (less than a 1 in 10 chance).

Since May 2009 we have been inviting all those aged 40-75 with an ESTIMATED RISK of over 20% to have a cholesterol and sugar blood test, as well as blood pressure measurement and an overall assessment. You may receive a note and a blood test form with your repeat prescription or we may write to you.
In 2010 we will continue to contact those at high risk but will also be offering an assessment to those at moderate risk.
Your doctor or nurse may mention this to you or you may receive a note with your repeat prescription.
We will work out your "risk Score" and give advice about how to reduce your risk. This may involve just diet and exercise advice or if your blood pressure or cholesterol is high, these may be treated.

This has never been done before and is quite an exciting project in the battle against heart disease.
If you would like more information about how our practice plans to tackle the project, why not visit our Cardiovascular Disease Initiative page.

 

Save on repeat prescriptions

The current prescription charge is £7.20 (August 2009). If you pay for prescriptions and you need more than one item each month, you may be able to save money with a "season ticket" or pre-payment certificate

There are two types, one lasting just three months for £28.25, and a year long certificate for £104.
You can pay for the latter via 10 monthly Direct Debit instalments.
If you have a condition requiring long-term treatment, the 12 month certificate is the better value of the two. Someone getting two prescriptions a month over a year would save £70.

You can buy certificates on-line at the NHS Prescription Pricing Authority website and pay by debit or credit card, or by direct debit and spread the cost over 10 months.
Forms are also available in main Post Offices and some pharmacies; alternatively you can call up and pay over the phone on 0845 850 0030.

Should you become eligible for free prescriptions after buying a certificate, you can reclaim the proportional cost of the certificate for that time. You can back date the start date for up to a month, so if you've just paid for several items on prescriptions you can reclaim the cost -but you need to ask the pharmacist for an NHS receipt (FP57).
Do note, though, the pharmacist can only give you an FP57 when you're paying for a prescription.

 

NEW AUTOMATIC CHECK-IN
We are pleased to announce a new way of booking in for your appointment. We have responded to feedback that sometimes it was difficult to book in for an appointment at reception if the receptionist was tied up with another patient.
We have now installed a simple touch-screen arrival system in the far reception window.
When you arrive, just tap the screen and follow the prompts, its very easy!

Our reception desk is the furthest from the surgery entrance. The first desk on the left belongs to the Primary Care Trust. Ignore this. The second desk belongs to the practice that we share our building with. Walk past this.
The third check-in desk is ours. There are two windows. The first will usually be occupied by a receptionist. If there is nobody there they can see you arrive from the reception area behind the desk and will come out to you.
If you just wish to book in rather than see the receptionist, the next desk along now contains our new automated check-in. It is a touch screen with simple prompts to follow. We have installed this to save time. Feedback is good so far.
We would like to hear your opinions on the system. Please let us know what you think.
 
A new way of getting a hospital appointment- Choose and Book..

We have been trying this out for a several months now. We still have mixed feelings. Some of us a little less favourable than others.
The government has spent about 4 Billion pounds on this and other NHS computing projects. Because of this we feel should persevere!

Sometimes if we use this system, we may either give you a piece of paper with a password and phone number to ring to make your own appointment or we may ask you to call back for it if the system is playing up.

 

Chlamydia testing..RU CLEAR

A national chlamydia screening programme for under 25 year olds is under way.Chlamydia is a disease which can affect fertility. Kits are available from reception. The test is very easy to do. More information is available from the RU Clear website


Dr. J. Cranston