The Minster Practice, Lichfield
|
|
|
Page updated 26/08/2008 Information is provided for patients registered with the Minster GP Medical Practice, Lichfield which provides General Practice services to our registered patients residing within the City boundaries. This page contains 3
sections:
news items from the media selected by Dr Mike Causer that Minster
Practice patients may find of interest, website news,
& GP
practice
news
|
Tuesday 26th August 2008: Flu vaccine supply |
|
The Department of Health has confirmed that flu vaccine deliveries are on schedule and that supplies should be sufficient this year. Our vaccines should arrive on 30th September with our first clinic being on 2nd October. Click here for more information about flu vaccination and details of all our clinics. |
Monday 25th August 2008: Cervical cancer jab plan for over-18s |
|
25/08/2008 Daily Telegraph |
Wednesday 20th August 2008: Alexander technique and back pain |
|
Chronic back pain, which causes more disability and days off work than any other health condition, can be eased through teaching better posture via the Alexander technique. A study published online today by the British Medical Journal, referring to a trial with 500 patients, offers some hope. The experiment, run by researchers at the universities of Southampton and Bristol, found that patients who were taught Alexander technique and combined it with exercise were significantly better at the end of a year. Click here for more information. |
Monday 14th August 2006: Procedure for taking essential medicines on flights in current security situation |
|
Each passenger is permitted to carry one item of cabin baggage through the airport security search point, although size is restricted to 45cm x 35cm and a depth of 16cm (roughly the size of a standard sized carrier bag) including wheels, handles, side pockets etc.. Click here for latest information about medicines in the cabin. |
Friday 4th August 2006: Predicting risk of dementia |
|
A Swedish study published in Lancet Neurology used data from 1,400 people, in midlife and again 20 years later, to develop a dementia risk score. Important factors were the same as those for heart disease such as high blood pressure, body mass index (being overweight), high cholesterol, smoking and physical activity. Those with the lowest scores have just a 1% risk of developing the condition in the nest 20 years, while those at the top of the scale have a 16% risk. Around 800,000 Britons suffer from dementia. More than 500,000 have Alzheimer's, the most common form. |
Thursday 3rd August 2006: Eat Indian curry to keep Alzheimer's at bay |
|
A study published in the New Scientist by the University of Singapore, eating Indian curry could help boost mental performance and stave off Alzheimer's disease in later life. Researchers investigating why rates of Alzheimer's are lower in India than in Western Europe think that it could be down to their diet, with the spice turmeric regarded as the possible reason for this. Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance already known to improve cognitive function, which can become severely impaired as a result of Alzheimer's and other dementias. |
Wednesday 2nd August 2006: Cannabis linked to risk of miscarriage in US study |
|
Women who smoke cannabis in the early stages of pregnancy could risk miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. Click here for more information. The same applies to the new anti-obesity agent rimonabant (Acomplia). |
Thursday 27th July 2006: Influenza vaccine |
|
One of the three components of this year's flu vaccine is taking longer to grow than usual. This will mean a delay in supply and some practices will not receive enough vaccine. We ordered our vaccine earlier than most practices and will therefore receive all the vaccine we ordered. Also delivery will be amongst the first supplied but we will not know until mid August when the vaccine will arrive. We cannot therefore arrange this year's clinics yet. See this site for further information. Click here. |
Wednesday 19th July 2006: Black cohosh herb danger |
|
Alert issued today about risk of liver damage from Black cohosh often taken to relieve menopausal symptoms. For further information, see Herbs, plants & flowers |
Wednesday 5th July 2006: Syphilis rates increase 23% 2004 - 2006 |
| It is reported that figures released yesterday showed an overall rise of 3 per cent in sexually transmitted diseases between 2004 and 2005. However, this is lower than in the two previous years. The complete figures show that chlamydia infections increased by 5 per cent, syphilis by 23 per cent, genital warts by 1 per cent and genital herpes by 4 per cent, while cases of gonorrhoea decreased by 13 per cent. The figures for syphilis, which relate only to cases treated at genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics, show that while the number of cases remains relatively low - 2,807 last year compared with 2,278 the previous year - they represent a 1,159 per cent increase since 2000, and a 2,084 per cent increase over the past 10 years. Sexual infection disorders have been almost continually rising since the 1990s and yesterday's figures show the highest increase for both sexes is in the 16-24 age
group. The figures came ahead of a report by the Men's Health Forum, calling on the Government to target young men in the chlamydia screening programme. At present only 17 per cent of those screened are men, although the incidence of the disease is as high among women. Peter Borriello, director of the Health Protection Agency's Centre for Infections, said that too many people treated such infections as trivial, warning that 'human papilloma virus can give you cancer, chlamydia can make you sterile, and syphilis can cause brain disease'. Locally we understand that the increase in the Birmingham to Burton area is much greater than this. See STDs. |
Wednesday 28th June 2006: Betablockers and blood pressure |
|
Up to 2 million people with high blood pressure should switch from beta-blockers to a more modern drug, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has announced. The group advised that the vast majority of patients should switch to a marginally more expensive drug to cut their risk of diabetes and halve their risk of a stroke. Research recently revealed that switching from beta-blockers to newer drugs, such as ACE inhibitors or Calcium Channel Blockers, not only reduced the risk of a heart attack by 20 per cent, but also halved the risk of a stroke. |
Tuesday 2nd May 2006: Flight socks and thrombosis |
|
Flight socks have been shown to reduce the risk of DVT. A review of 9 studies covering 2,800 passengers showed a risk reduction of 90%. They also control the postural leg swelling which is a common cause of discomfort. Ensure that the correct size is purchased and they are worn correctly. See Flying & health |
Saturday 29th April 2006: Bowel Cancer Screening |
|
The Screening Programme should have started in April but funding has only just been allocated by the Government. The national roll out of the programme should now start in the summer of 2006 and be fully rolled out nationwide by 2009. See Bowel Cancer |
Saturday 8th April 2006: The partially sighted |
|
After the Bichard inquiry into the Soham child murders, draft proposals were drawn up to ensure that health professionals were subject to rules requiring mandatory reporting to the police of under age sex regardless of the age of the participants. This was in conflict with existing guidelines enforcing a duty of confidentiality even to under-16s after the House of Lords Gillick judgment and the assessment of maturity it required. The latest proposals for 13-15 year olds will require us to consult a child protection expert within the PCT. The Children’s Commissioner for England will monitor the working of these proposals to ensure that young people still felt confident in accessing contraceptive and other sexual health services. |
Friday 31st March 2006: Increased NHS charges
|
| The cost of single prescription will rise to ₤6.65p from April 1, an increase of 15p. Prepayment certificates will increase to ₤34.65 for four months and ₤95.30 for twelve months. As around 87% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge, the increases will raise about ₤430m for the NHS in 2006-07. Dental charging arrangements also change on this date. See: For further information on this site about NHS charges click here. |
Thursday 30th March 2006: Charity accuses government of bowel cancer screening delays
|
| Newspapers today report on problems with the government's national bowel cancer screening programme (Click here to see news items on site). Cancer Research UK has accused the government of a "gross betrayal of trust" as little has been done to prepare for the introduction of the programme, which was promised in August 2005 and is due to begin next week. The charity says that none of the home testing kits that are supposed to sent to men and women aged 60-69 have yet been ordered, and the government has so far failed to confirm full funding for the programme. Additionally, according to Cancer Research UK, of the five screening "hubs" that are supposed to be set up around the country, four locations are yet to be decided, and it is now estimating a year delay, which it says would result in the needless loss of life. A Department of Health spokesperson responded saying: "There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that the national programme will be shelved. Funding has been agreed for the programme, which will be rolled out as planned from April 2006." It is estimated that screening would reduce deaths by 16%, equating to 2,560 lives a year. |
Thursday 9th February 2006: New childhood immunisation schedule
|
| See latest information on this site and follow links for further information. |
Tuesday 10th January 2006: Prostate cancer blood test may not cut death rate |
| The PSA test, the most widely-used test for prostate cancer, may not reduce the risk of men dying from the disease, according to research by the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System in New Haven and Yale University. Research at the institute has found that, following the examination of approximately 72,000 older men receiving healthcare, that 70 of the men who died and 65 of those who had lived underwent a PSA test, leading the scientists to conclude that the test proved to be of little effectiveness. The results are to be published in the US journal Archives of Internal Medicine. Also see information on this site. |
Saturday 3rd September 2005: Quality and Outcomes Framework - Practice scores |
| The Department of Health has released the figures for practices' achievement scores under the Quality and Outcomes framework. You need to know the practice code for the practice you are looking up. Our code is M83735 and we achieved 100% in the clinical domains and 91.8% in the organisational domains giving us an overall score of 98.6%. The national average was 91.3%. See: http://www.icservices.nhs.uk/qofdocuments/QOF0405_Practices_DomainSummary_NorthWest.xls |
Monday 8th November 2004: Traditional Chinese Medicines |
| The MHRA continues to receive reports of Traditional Chinese Medicines containing prohibited ingredients . Click here for more information. |
Saturday 29th November 2003: Melanoma - skin cancer |
| The incidence of melanoma between 1991 and 2000 has increased by 64% in men and 45% in women. Click here for more information on identification. |
Sunday 31st August 2003: Appointments with GPs |
| The Secretary of State for Health has expressed concern at a growing trend for GP practices to restrict the forward booking of appointments by patients. This is not the Advanced Access system supported by the Government so sanctions are being considered. Click here for information about Advanced Access, your practice's undertaking to continue allowing advance booking and a link from that page to historical information behind the changes. |
Tuesday 29th July 2003: Advance booking of GP appointments being withdrawn around the UK |
| 2 million patients around the country can no longer book appointments in advance and many other practices are not releasing appointments until 48 hours beforehand. Click here for information about the policy in your practice. |
This is where we announce the most recent additions to our web site. If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed, take a look here first.
Monday 25th August 2008: Flu clinics 2008 |
| Click here. for details on our website. |
July 2008: Local mammography service and reminder about over 70s |
| Click here. for details on our website. |
Friday 4th April 2008: Out of Hours services changes including new phone number |
| We have now received updated details from the PCT regarding out of hours services. The new out of hours telephone number is 0300 1 30 30 30. Click here. for details on our website. |
Monday 11th August 2003: Searching the Internet for medical information |
| To help you in your search for information about medical matters, a section of the website is devoted to the principles to be borne in mind. Click here for advice on medical evidence. |
Saturday 9th August 2003: Searching this website using altavista |
| Our web server cannot carry out searches of the site but altavista can be used to search just this site. Click here for information on how to use this service. |
This section is where we add news about the practice and its services.
Monday 25th August 2008: Flu clinics 2008 |
| Click here. for details on our website. |
Friday 4th April 2008: Out of Hours services changes including new phone number |
| We have now received updated details from the PCT regarding out of hours services. The new out of hours telephone number is 0300 1 30 30 30. Click here. for details on our website. |
Friday 23rd December 2000: Hearing aid wearers |
| All consulting rooms including nurses rooms
have been fitted with mini-loop systems. There is also a system at the
main reception desk and at the subwaiting room hatch. These systems pick
up sound from a microphone and transmit it electronically over a circle 1
metre in diameter. Hearing aid users should switch their aids to the
T position to pick up the transmitted sound. This sound is usually clearer
than the amplified sound usually picked up by the aid. The equipment was
installed after seeking advice from the Royal National Institute for the
Deaf on how we can help deaf patients clearly hear all that is said during
the consultation. The restriction to a 1 metre diameter ensures
confidentiality is maintained as a hearing aid wearer outside the
consulting room cannot pick up what is said inside. We also have a portable device with a set of headphones. This is used when deaf patients do not have a hearing aid or choose not to wear it. |
Friday 23rd December 2000: The partially sighted |
|
The lighting in our corridor has been upgraded to the highest specification currently available for corridor lighting. The dark brickwork reduces reflected light and partially sighted patients were having difficulty in the corridor. We are looking into purchasing highly reflective signs for the corridor and consulting room doors to identify them more clearly. |
Page updated 26/08/2008
Items will be moved from this page to the Archives when they expire or are to be deleted.
| |
Send mail to webmaster @minster.org.uk with questions or comments about our website. N.B. Website is for practice patients ONLY.
|
