Anxiety - Top Tips From Ludmila...

Please read on for top tips on how to manage anxiety from our Primary Care Network Health & Wellbeing Coach…

Gain awareness to maintain control.

Three simple tips to help keep anxiety at bay:

  1. Rescue the mind with the physical body

    • It is hard to control the mind with the mind. We can use our body as an anchor to get results faster.

    • Physical movement, a walk in nature or simply concentrating on breathing for 60 seconds can help bring us back down when the mind starts to spin faster than we can control.

  2. No time to exercise?

    • Incorporate 1-minute-long movement routines every hour or so when you take a short break from screens and you will have completed your workout by the end of the working day. Squats, sit ups, yoga poses, stretch positions, anything you like will bring movement and flexibility whilst helping to keep the mind in a healthy state. You can do that while you wait for the kettle to boil! It does not matter where, move for 60s every hour or so and you will get some exercise into your life without any need to dedicate special time to it.

    • Experiment for a week and see how you feel at the end. If you like it, keep it up for 6 weeks and you will have incorporated a new healthy habit to keep for life.

  3. How many times do you need to check your social media every day?

    • Beware of the subconscious drive to look at social media apps that keep you hooked to your mobile phone. Give your mind a rest from the constant checking and stick to set times of the day to check your messages. It is frustrating for the brain to go in there and find nothing of relevance. Keep it to the end of the day and you will find all you want at once. It is more rewarding for the brain and a better use of your time. Avoid the repeated empty feeling through the day. Even the downward gaze with the eyes when we are hooked to a phone influences the brain. It is not a coincidence we say ‘things are looking up’ when everything is going well and we feel excited. According to neuroscience, the head position as well as the eye position send signals to the brain.

    • Paradoxically enough, having to wait for results is healthy for the mind. Immediate rewards requiring little or no effort to achieve bring frustration in the long run. The more effort we put in the process to achieve a goal, the more significant the results are for the mind. Easy immediate results chip away at our resilience. This is one of the negative aspects behind video games and social media – they offer immediate short-lived rewards that lead to addictive behaviours. It is a vicious circle and a downward spiral.

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A fond farewell to Dr Grania O'Mahony

In a few weeks my husband Tim and I will be off to Africa with Health Improvement Project Zanzibar. Do have a look at hipz.org.uk to see the great work they do.

Now my retirement from general practice is coming up, I'm feeling emotional about my time as a family doctor.

In no particular order, here are a few of the wonderful things that have made working at St Wulfstan Surgery such a satisfaction, an honour and a privilege:

the hug from a man whose cancer was cured after long and gruelling treatment;  receiving kind presents of cakes and produce from allotments; helping people come off strong painkillers; hearing "I love you" from people who have stopped getting migraines; achieving outstanding results in immunisation and safe prescribing of antibiotics; helping people recover from depression; getting encouragement and support from patients even when I have got it wrong; witnessing families provide amazing love and support to partners and family members in need; being at the bedside when someone's life is near its end.

And last but not least, I am grateful for working with such amazing staff. Thank you.

I do think that being a GP is the best job in the world.

Grania O'Mahony

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NHS Digital - General Practice Data for Planning and Research Data Collection

NHS Digital

You may have heard about this subject in the media recently.

Essentially, NHS Digital have released a Transparency Notice which gives more details on how the NHS may use your data, saved within GP practices, to aid with healthcare planning and research. You do have the option to opt-out if you so wish.

For full details please visit the NHS Digital Website.

If you have any further queries regarding this please contact NHS Digital by clicking here.

How To Opt-Out

There are 2 methods of opting out.

  1. National Data Opt-Out: NHS Digital will collect data from your GP medical record to use for planning and research, but will not share your data with external organisations. To complete this opt-out please click here.

  2. Type 1 Opt-Out: NHS Digital will not collect data from your GP medical record. In order to opt-out you will need to complete this form, and then return it to the surgery, preferably via e-mail, before 1st September 2021.

According to the NHS Digital website:

“Patient data will be collected from GP medical records about:

  • any living patient registered at a GP practice in England when the collection started - this includes children and adults

  • any patient who died after the data collection started, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started

We will not collect your name or where you live. Any other data that could directly identify you, for example NHS number, General Practice Local Patient Number, full postcode and date of birth, is replaced with unique codes which are produced by de-identification software before the data is shared with NHS Digital.

This process is called pseudonymisation and means that no one will be able to directly identify you in the data. The diagram below helps to explain what this means. Using the terms in the diagram, the data we collect would be described as de-personalised.

NHS Digital will be able to use the same software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify you in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason. Only NHS Digital has the ability to do this. This would mean that the data became personally identifiable data in the diagram above. An example would be where you consent to your identifiable data being shared with a research project or clinical trial in which you are participating, as they need to know the data is about you.”

Gentle Reminder

At St Wulfstan Surgery we pride ourselves on offering you an efficient service.

As such, and to help us keep offering an efficient service we would like to kindly remind patients to turn up to appointments on time - this applies to both telephone and face-to-face appointments.

Whilst the overwhelming majority of our patients are prompt and on time, we do still suffer the consequences of some who are late or never show up.

The consequences of being late include;

  • Loosing your appointment slot

  • The knock-on effect of delaying appointments for all other patients waiting to see us that day

  • Increased congestion within the practice meaning people may then need to wait outside

  • Increased pressure on staff

The consequences of not turning up or answering the phone mean someone else has missed the opportunity for us to help them.

Of course, sometimes you may not be able to attend an appointment with good reason. In these cases please cancel your appointment via the NHS App, Patient Access or by calling reception as soon as you can.

Help us to keep helping you!

We Are Recruiting...

We Want You

We are looking for 2 new members of staff to join our outstanding team.

We would love to hear from you if you are interested, please see below for further details….

RECEPTION SUPERVISOR

Full time post, 37.5 hours per week

Closing date for applications: 31st May 2021

Please click here fore more information

ADMIN ASSISTANT

Full time post, 37.5 hours per week

Closing date for applications: 31st May 2021

Please click here for more information

Dementia Connect

Dementia Connect is a dedicated service to support anyone living with dementia or caring for someone with dementia, providing personalised advice and practical and emotional support, helping you and your loved ones at all stages of dementia.

Dementia Connect is available online and advisors are available over the phone for a chat and to answer any questions or talk through any difficulties you may have regarding Dementia, this can include:

• Understanding more about how dementia affects you or your loved ones

• Small changes you can make at home to help someone with dementia

• Equipment that can help with daily tasks and maintaining independence

• Support to look after your physical and mental health

• Advice on latest Government Covid 19 guidance

• Connecting with others through technology and take part in online activities from the comfort of your own home

• Other services and support available locally

Please contact Dementia Connect today by phone or email.

Call: 0333 150 3456

(Calls charged at standard local rate)

Email: dementia.connect@alzheimers.org.uk

OPENING TIMES:

Monday to Wednesday: 9 am – 8 pm

Thursday to Friday: 9 am – 5 pm

Saturday to Sunday: 10 am – 4 pm

Find out more about Dementia Connect at: alzheimers.org.uk/dementiaconnect

Dementia Connect is delivered across Warwickshire by Alzheimer’s Society and is free of charge.

If you are caring for a family member or friend

Providing care to someone who could not cope without you can be hard. The Carer Wellbeing Service provides emotional and practical support to help you if you care for someone and can help you to maintain your own health and wellbeing.

The Carer’s Response Emergency Support Service (CRESS) can provide emergency cover should you need to leave the person you care for. The service is available for all carers, including those caring for a person with dementia.

Website: www.carerstrusthofe.org.uk/warwickshire-carer-wellbeing-service/

Call: 02476 632972 (opt 2)

Email: carerssupport@carerstrusthofe.org.uk

OPENING TIMES:

Monday to Friday: 9 am to 8 pm

Saturday: 9 am to 1 pm

Further information for carers is also available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers

For more information about dementia and services that can support you, such as - Dementia Talking Point: A helpful online community, available day or night, where people affected by dementia can ask questions or share how they feel.

Please visit Warwickshire’s Living Well with Dementia website: warwickshire.gov.uk/dementia

Welcome To Our New Staff Room...

Staff Room

It has been a difficult 12 months for us all. We are so proud of all our staff who have worked so hard to make sure we keep delivering a high quality, efficient service to you all. And believe it or not we are now working harder than ever.

As a result, now is the right time to unveil our new staff room!

To all of our staff, we are proud of you!

If you would like to join our wonderful team, we currently have 2 staff vacancies. We are looking for a full-time Reception Supervisor and full-time Admin Assistant. Please click for more details.

Little Princess Trust

 
 

Last week our colleague Jodie’s daughter had those lock down locks chopped! She decided she would like to “share her hair with poorly children” and so her hair was donated to The Little Princess Trust.

When a child loses their hair to cancer, The Princess Trust are there with a free, real hair wig to help. They fund research that they hope will end childhood cancer forever. 

Please visit them at www.littleprincesses.org.uk to find out how you can help and donate yourself! 

Maeve’s initial target was to raise £100 for the charity alongside her hair donation. With the help of her friends and family she has smashed that target and so far raised £340!! As one wig costs over £500 to make, it would be great to see her raise enough to make one wig.

If anybody would like to help her achieve this goal, the link is here.

Well done Maeve! What a kind thing to do! ⭐️👑

Little Princess Trust

A day in the life of our Admin team

Hello! You probably won’t know us by face, but we make up the Admin Team at St Wulfstan Surgery.

Hidden all the way upstairs are Damaris, Sarah, Chris, Jodie, Gemma and Libby. We handle much of the behind the scenes work to your care to ensure your transition from primary to secondary care is as smooth as possible and that the administrative work behind the day to day life of the surgery is maintained to a high standard.

Our tasks are hugely varied – from chasing hospital consultants for updates on your care to comparing printer toner prices for the best deal. We’ve even been known to do a bit of the cleaning  when our resident cleaner has been off!

At the top of our priority list though is anything that involves your direct care. If the GP feels you need to be seen by a hospital or other service, we will ensure that your referral has the right information, is sent to the right place, in the right format and as quickly as possible.  We know that many hospital services have extended waiting times right now so we work hard to ensure that we don’t add to your wait.

We also are responsible for making sure that those of you due any routine checks, blood tests or immunisations are sent an invitation at the right time.  We’re trying hard to reduce our use of paper so you may start to see more of these invitations sent as a text message or email. Please help us out and let us know whenever you change any of your contact details!    

Other tasks we manage as a team include: updating your records with clinic letters and results when you have been seen in hospital, managing paper records when you join or leave the practice, handling information requests from insurance companies, solicitors, DVLA and other third parties…and a whole host of other things that ensure we are kept busy at all times.

We may not be keen on showing our faces but we do love to talk… if you need to discuss anything with us we can be contacted by selecting option 3 on the main number.

If any of the above appeals to you, we are currently hiring a full time admin assistant! If you are interested in applying, please apply via the following link.

Click here to apply!

New Southam gardening group

Warwickshire East PCN Health and Wellbeing Team

Warwickshire East PCN Health and Wellbeing Team

 

Dear Patients,

We would like to introduce ourselves.  We are Elicia Sidhu, Jo Hamilton, Rita Church and Fraser Hamilton.  We are the Social Link and Care Co-coordinating team members for Warwickshire east PCN.

As we all know, the past year has been challenging for many, as a team we are excited to be able to run a patient led gardening group at Southam Surgery – Stowe drive.

With summer approaching we are hoping to run a gardening group once a week, aimed at individuals of all abilities. The garden area has been kindly offered up by Stowe Drive Practice for all patients within the Primary Care Network to be involved. This project offers exciting and rewarding activities with the hope to have designated areas such as a sensory garden, planting flower beds, possibility of veg patches, we feel that this enables individuals to work alongside each other doing something they all have a passion with.

Due to the uncertainty of COVID restrictions, we will provisionally be keeping the groups at 6 individuals at a time, with the hope we could expand this in time, if restrictions do change. We are now taking names of individuals who are interested. We are appealing for donations for gardening equipment to start up the project, any donations would be gratefully received. 

If you are interested please don’t hesitate to email us on we.connect@nhs.net otherwise please do speak with the surgery, who in turn will contact us directly.

Best Wishes,

Elicia, Jo, Rita and Fraser

Dementia Action Week - 17th May to 23rd May. What can we all do to help?

This week is Dementia Action Week - 17th May to 23rd May. What can we all do to help?

Dementia refers to a group of symptoms which affect memory and cognitive skills thereby affecting daily activities. One in three of us born in UK will develop dementia in our life time and by 2025 there will be a million people living with dementia.

Dementia is an umbrella term for loss of memory and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life.

Dementia Action week is a national event to ensure action is taken to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.

We all have a role to play in making UK a dementia friendly place to live.

Did you know that most of the staff at St Wulfstan surgery are dementia friends?

Please have a look at the resources for ideas and links to see how you can help.

 

Written by Dr K Viswanathan

 

Dr Viswanathan's Veggie Recipes - Carrot Pudding (Gajjar Halwa)

Day 7- Carrot Pudding (Gajjar Halwa)

Let’s celebrate the end of veggie week with a modified version of Indian sweet. This is a low calorie and easy to make version of this traditional pudding. Carrots are rich in vitamins and antioxidants, enables us to have good vision, glowing skin and boasts our immunity.

Prep time : 10mins              Cooking time :15mins      Servings : 4

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of grated carrot

  • 1 tsp of ghee

  • 2 tbsp sugar

  • 2 tbsp of milk powder

  • 2 tbsp of skimmed milk

  • ½ tsp cardamom powder

  • ½ tbsp. of finely chopped almonds ( optional)

 

Method :

  1. Place the carrot on a sieve and steam cook the carrots for 5mins.

  2. Remove it and keep aside.

  3. Heat the ghee in a non stick pan, add the steamed carrots and cook for 2-3mins.

  4. Now add the sugar and mix well, cook on medium flame for 2mins.

  5. Then add skimmed milk and milk powder, keep stirring continuously and cook for 3-4mins.

  6. Finally add cardamom powder and serve it warm.

Tips :

  • Sugar can be substituted with stevia sweetener.

  • It tastes best when it is warm. It can be reheated in microwave.

  • Almonds are optional and can be eliminated to reduce calories.

 

Recipe by Dr Viswanathan

 

Dr Viswanathan's Veggie Recipes - Spicy Cauliflower

Day 6 - Spicy Cauliflower

Spicy cauliflower roast is a tasty side dish, easy to prepare and healthy. Cauliflower has high fibre content, rich in vitamins and minerals and added as superfood in weight loss diet. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory benefits and plenty of anti-oxidants, helps with joint aches and boosts memory. It also adds colour and flavour to the vegetables.

Prep time : 5 mins              Cooking time: 30 to 40 mins      Servings : 3

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium head of cauliflower – chopped into florets

  • 2 tbsp of mild olive oil

  • ½  tsp of turmeric powder

  • ½ tsp of chilli powder

  • ½ red pepper flakes

  • ½ tsp garlic powder

  • ¼ tsp black pepper

  • Handful of coriander leaves – finely chopped

  • ½ tsp salt

  • 1tbsp of lemon juice (optional)

Method :

  1. Blend together olive oil, turmeric, chilli, garlic powder, pepper flakes and black pepper in a large bowl.

  2. Preheat the oven to 450F for 2-3mins.

  3. Add the cauliflower florets to the spice mix and combine until it’s well coated.

  4. Now place the florets on baking sheet and roast for 25-30mins until it’s brown and crispy.

  5. Remove from oven and finally add lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves before serving.

Tips :

  • Soak the cauliflower in warm salted water for 5 to 10mins and pat dry before cooking to reduce cooking time.

  • Adding lemon juices gives it a fresh tangy taste.

  • t can be eaten with mint chutney dips.

 

Recipe by Dr Viswanathan

 

Dr Viswanathan's Veggie Recipes - Seitan Indian Fried Rice

Day 5- Seitan Indian Fried Rice

Seitan is an excellent plant protein source, low in fat and very healthy. It has texture similar to meat and makes a great vegan/vegetarian substitute in any meal. Ready to cook Seitan is easily available in supermarkets and online as logs, burgers or pickled/ marinated in jars.

Prep time : 10mins              Cooking time :20mins      Servings : 4

Ingredients:

  • 200gm of Seitan log - chopped into cubes

  • 2 cups of cooked basmati rice

  • 1 small onion - chopped

  • 1tsp ginger garlic paste

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

  • 1 tsp chilli powder

  • Handful of coriander leaves – finely chopped

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds

  • ½ tsp salt

  • 1 tablespoon of mild olive oil/rapeseed oil

  • 1 tsp soya sauce ( optional)

  • 1tsp of ghee ( optional)

 

Method :

  1. Heat a pan with oil and add cumin seeds, onion, ginger garlic paste and fry for 1-2min.

  2. Add the Seitan cubes, turmeric powder and chilli powder and sauté them well for 4-5mins 

  3. Now add the cooked basmati rice and mix gently so all ingredients are combined well.

  4. Finally add soya sauce, ghee and chopped coriander leaves and cook for a minute.

Tips :

  • This recipe works well for brown rice and jasmine rice too.

  • If using marinated Seitan in garlic sauce, you can omit ginger garlic paste.

  • You can add bell peppers /celery/carrots/peas along with onion.

  • The same recipe can used for cooking stir fry noodles instead of rice.

 

Recipe by Dr Viswanathan

 

Dr Viswanathan's Veggie Recipes - Garlic Paneer

Day 4- Garlic Paneer

Garlic Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is a great appetizer for a party menu or as filling for wraps. Paneer is high in calcium and protein and easily available in supermarkets. Garlic boosts immunity, acts as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidants and promotes skin and hair growth.

Prep time : 5mins              Cooking time :10mins      Servings : 3

Ingredients:

  • 300gm of paneer- cubed

  • 6 large garlic cloves

  • 3-4 red chillies ( seeds removed)

  • 1tsp apple cider vinegar

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • Handful of coriander leaves – finely chopped

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds

  • 2 small red onions

  • ½ tsp salt

  • 1 tablespoon of mild olive oil/rapeseed oil

  • ½ bell peppers –sliced ( optional)

  • 1 tsp soya sauce ( optional)

 

Method :

  1. Blend together garlic, chillies, sugar, salt and vinegar with 2-3tbsp water into smooth paste.

  2. Heat a pan with oil and add cumin seeds, onion and fry for 1-2min.

  3. Add the above grinded paste and cook until it thickens, usually takes 2-3mins.

  4. Now paneer cubes and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

  5. Finally add soya sauce and chopped coriander leaves and cook for a minute.

Tips :

  • Soak the paneer in warm salted water for 5mins before cooking which makes it soft. Dry it with paper towel before cooking.

  • Never overcook garlic as it would taste bitter.

  • You can add bell peppers /celery along with onion.

  • It can be eaten as a snack or as roll with roti/tortilla wraps.

 

Recipe by Dr Viswanathan