Bruntsfield Medical Practice

Alcohol Awareness Week

Nov 142011

This week is Alcohol Awareness Week, and the Practice is urging all of our patients to be a little more aware of their alcohol consumption to encourage a healthy and safe lifestyle.

If you have an appointment with a GP or Practice Nurse this week, you may be given a questionnaire by our Reception team to fill out while you wait. This is to give our clinical staff an idea of your current consumption, so we can concentrate our efforts and give advice to those who need it.

How much is too much?

Everyone is different, and alcohol affects us all in slightly different ways, depending on factors such as your weight and how frequently you consume alcohol. As a rule though, women cannot tolerate as much alcohol as men, because they usually weigh less, their bodies contain less water, and they have different metabolisms or body chemistries.

However, medical experts have drawn up useful guidelines on sensible drinking, based on the available evidence to date, to help people keep their alcohol consumption within safe limits.

The recommendations are that men should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol a week, and that women should have no more than 14 units.

To protect against the risks from alcohol, your drinking should also be spread over the week, rather than saved up for the weekend – so men should aim to drink no more than 3 to 4 units a day, and women 2 to 3 units, with at least a couple of alcohol free days a week.

What’s in a Unit?

Unfortunately you can’t just count each drink as a unit of alcohol. The number of units depends on the different strength and size of each drink, so it can vary a lot.

NHS Choices have created a calculator to help you plan a night out, or help you work out how much you drank last night: Units Calculator

You can also use the poster below as a guide to how many units are in your drinks (click for larger size).

Scotland has the highest level of consumption and harm in the UK. Over the past year, Scots drank almost 51 million litres of pure alcohol – that’s 1,190 units per year or 22.8 units per week. This is the equivalent of every person over the age of 16 drinking 119 bottles of wine.

25 people die in Scotland every week as a direct result of their drinking.
Accident and emergency units treat an average of 4 alcohol-related cases every hour. (1)
Alcohol misuse in Scotland costs £3.5billion every year – equivalent to £900 for every taxpayer.
At least 65,000 children in Scotland live with a problem drinking parent (2) and
it is estimated that 30% of children in the UK live with at least one binge drinking parent (3)
Half of Scottish prisoners and 77% of young offenders were drunk at the time of their offence.
During 2009, Scottish hospitals dealt with 39,278 alcohol-related discharges. Of these, 36,121 were emergency admissions.
In the 25-34 age group, more than half of men (53%) and 44% of women exceeded recommended daily limits on their heaviest drinking day.

Ref: All statistics from Alcohol Statistics Scotland 2011, ISD Scotland Publications with the exception of 1-3 below

(1) Calculated from Alcohol Statistics Scotland 2011. ISD Scotland.
(2) Changing Scotland’s relationship with alcohol: a framework for action. (2009) Scottish Government.
(3) Manning, V et al (2009) New estimates of the number of children living with substance misusing parents: results from UK household surveys, BMC Public Health 9.

If you would like more information about alcohol, or need to contact someone about your drinking or someone else’s, the following sites might help you:
Alcohol Focus Scotland
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcohol Information Scotland

Flu Vaccination Appointments still available

Flu vaccination programme

Nov 092011

Are you in one of the at risk groups for flu? Have you been putting off coming in to get your vaccination?

We still have flu vaccination appointments available to be booked, including some on Thursday after 6pm if you are unable to come in to the practice during normal working hours.

The sooner you’re vaccinated, the sooner you will be protected against the major flu viruses for the year. It’s quick, it’s safe and it could save you weeks of misery as well as prevent the complications that can exacerbate or worsen an existing condition.

Call us today on 228 6081 to book your appointment!

Patient Alerts

Did You Know

Nov 082011

Our attention has been brought to the following two alerts. Please be aware and act with caution if you are approached in the same way.

Bogus callers offering flu vaccination
An elderly patient in the Muirhouse area was approached in her home regarding her flu injection. When she said that she was going to get it done at the surgery, the person indicated that she could have it right there and then if she would prefer. The patient declined as they had no ID, and when advised that she would check with the surgery, the caller asked her not to. They left when the patient closed the door. The incident has been reported to the Police.

Practices have been asked to warn patients regarding this incident and advise that they contact the Police immediately if approached in this manner.

Scam by Company Specialising in Beds & Aids for Elderly and Infirm People – Relief Healthcare, Blantyre
A patient was approached by the above company who made an appointment. They allegedly specialise in beds and aids for the elderly and infirm. They apparently were aware that this particular patient had recently been in hospital, although the patient is not aware of how they got this information.

Thursday evening Flu Vaccination Appointments

Flu vaccination programme, Practice Info, Services

Sep 292011

Starting on Thursday 13th October, and available to book from next week, the practice will have a few flu vaccination appointments available during our Thursday late opening between 6pm-7:20pm.

We hope that these appointments will be useful for those who aren’t able to come in during the day because of work, or other responsibilities, and we are prioritising them as such. If you are able to attend during normal working hours please book your appointment for then. We have plenty of flu vaccination appointments with our Practice Nurses.

As with the nurse flu vaccination appointments, the Thursday late flu clinic appointments are shorter than standard consultations, and are for getting your flu jab only! If you have other health matters to discuss with your GP you will need to make a separate appointment.

Remember, the practice is only able to vaccinate our patients who are in the Scottish Government defined at risk groups for flu – you can read our practice Flu Vaccination Programme for all the details.

Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme 2011-12

Flu vaccination programme

Sep 202011

This year the practice is starting our Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme the week beginning Monday 3rd October 2011. Flu clinic appointments are available now, so call us on 228 6081 or come in to the practice to book yours.

The seasonal flu vaccine is a trivalent vaccine which includes a component for the H1N1 virus.

As in previous years, our flu vaccination clinic appointments are for the vaccinations only, so please make a separate appointment if you need to address any other health matters. This allows the Practice Nurses to administer the flu vaccinations as swiftly as possible, and allows us the time to see all eligible patients.

The following groups of patients are eligible to receive the flu vaccination from the NHS:

If you are aged 65 or over as at 31st March 2012

Or if you have one of the following conditions:

Diabetes
Lowered immunity due to disease or treatment
Asthma that requires regular use of steroid inhaler or tablets for control
Chronic respiratory disease such as COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and cystic fibrosis
Heart Disease
Neurological Disease (e.g. Stroke/TIA, MS)
Severe Kidney or liver disease
Are a carer for someone who is at risk (and you are registered with the practice)
Any stage of pregnancy

Patients under the age of 18, who are in one of these at risk groups, with a known egg allergy, will be contacted by the Childrens’ Hospital so that arrangements can be made to administer the vaccine.

In addition, patients aged 65 and over, or in an at risk group, who have not had a Pneumoccal vaccination, will be offered this vaccine too.

Please note that we don’t send out letters routinely inviting you to attend for your vaccination, so if you’re in one of the groups mentioned above, you don’t need to wait on an invite to contact the practice to make your apppointment.

Further information and Leaflets on the Flu or Pneumococcal Immunisations can be found if you click the following links:

www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/seasonalflu/index.aspx

www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/seasonalflu/pregnantwomen.aspx

If you have any queries in the meantime please contact your usual GP between 10.40 and 11.00 am on one of the days they normally consult.

Freshers Week 2011

Did You Know, Practice Info

Sep 052011

Napier Merchiston Campus

It’s Freshers Week, and for students just starting out at Napier who need to register with a new GP surgery, Bruntsfield Medical Practice will be on hand at the Merchiston campus from Monday 5th September to Friday 9th September, except for Thursday 8th when we will be at the Fresher’s Fair at Craiglockhart.

Come find us and say hi to Charlotte, Liz and Harriet who will be manning our stall, and can answer your questions about the practice and give you the forms you need to register as a patient. You can also download the forms from this site and bring them in yourself to the practice. Our friendly reception staff are here to help you.

Remember, whether you fill in the forms then and there to hand over to the girls at the stall during Fresher’s week, or whether you bring them in yourself later on, you will need some form of identification to say you are who you say you are, and that you are a legitimate student at Napier. Especially if you have come from abroad to study in Edinburgh, as you will need a letter saying you are a full-time student before you are entitled to NHS care for the length of your course.

It’s important, especially if you have any ongoing medical conditions, that you register with a GP, and our practice is here to help you with any health related questions you have. We hope you don’t need us, but we’re here for you if you do.

Continuity of Care

Feature

Jun 302011

Studies and surveys repeatedly confirm that patients value continuity of medical care. Continuity of care makes it easier to:

Build trust;
Discuss the wider and less tangible social and lifestyle issues that affect health; and
Co-ordinate the investigation and management of all health problems – particularly where there are multiple problems or complicated issues.

What is not always highlighted after these surveys is that GPs value continuity of care for exactly the same reasons.

We like to offer patients the flexibility to choose which doctor or nurse they wish to see, recognising that individuals offer different consulting styles and differing areas of special interest and expertise. We also recognise that patients may prefer to see a male or female doctor about some complaints. We do, however, strongly encourage patients to see their usual doctor or nurse for the management and review of long-term conditions. It is also very useful to try and see just one clinician when a new problem is being initially assessed and treated.

Continuity with your usual GP can be improved by a little bit of planning ahead.

For example, when you can anticipate an appointment in advance all the clinicians at the practice have appointments available for booking 2-3 weeks in advance. GPs’ sessions are documented on our website and the reception desk can also confirm which days they work.

That is the most certain way to see your preferred GP, however in the early morning open surgeries (before 11am) you can request to see a specific GP (or GP of a particular gender). As long as this GP is available, and does not have too many prior nominations, they will see you.

GPs who are consulting in the mornings also have a gap between surgeries from 10.40am to 11am when they take phone calls. If they are unable to take your call they will call you back, normally later that day and certainly before the end of the following day.

For problems which occur at short notice there are always a small number of emergency slots available on the day – where you will be seen on a first come, first served basis – and a duty doctor who can provide telephone advice in the first instance before arranging a face to face review when this is required.

For further reading on this, and other issues in General Practice, there are a couple of articles on the British Medical Association website that might be of interest:
General practice in Scotland: The way ahead
Fit for the future – the evolution of general practice

Lothian Measles Update

Did You Know, NHS Info

May 302011

Message from the NHS Lothian Health Protection Team:

There has been a recent upsurge of measles cases in Lothian and the rest of the UK in children and younger adults. The cases are mainly associated with recent travel abroad, especially to France and other countries where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles at the moment.

Measles is a high infectious and dangerous illness which spreads easily in schools, universities, and summer camps. Those who are not fully immunised are most at risk.

Many children and families may be travelling outside Scotland on trips and family holidays this summer. If your child may have missed out on two doses of MMR vaccine when they were youngers, please consider getting your child immunised with MMR before you travel abroad during the summer break.

If you or a member of your family need an MMR vaccination, please make an appointment with one of our practice nurses.