A Wonderful Patient Story...

At St Wulfstan Surgery we are always keen to hear great patient stories. And this one is particularly inspiring. Thank you Teresa for writing this article, and well done! Your amazing journey is summed up by the before and after photo above. Thank you for letting us be part of that journey!

My journey started at st Wulfstan Surgery in 2007 after being diagnosed with arthralgia of multiple joints in 1981. I had numerous hospital appointments and admissions in hospital for treatment of my painful joints.  In between, I studied at Warwickshire college and did my NVQ in business administration.

I won an award at college for my courage and bravery as I was poorly but determined to pass my qualifications.


When I joined St Wulfstan Surgery in 2007 I was very poorly, needed 24-hour care and was using an electric wheelchair. My joints had become so painful that I couldn’t walk and my asthma hit a turn for the worse. I developed swallowing problems and I had reoccurring chest infections due to aspirating and food going in to my lungs. I had to have a supra pubic catheter fitted due to fluid retention and incontinence and my kidney test results were not good. I had restricted opening of my mouth which caused me lots of pain and affected my speech and eating. After my jaw surgery, I had to have regular steroid injections in my jaw joints at the hospital.

Dr Viswa and team of GPs and nurses at the surgery have given me outstanding care and attention and looked at different treatments. They provided me a care plan to keep me from being admitted to hospital all the time always being there to support me and my family putting things in place to help my day to day quality of life.

 

Some days used to be very hard battling with this extreme pain, not being able to move, having to have help washing, dressing, feeding, not being able to sit up as my muscles got weak, not being able to stand as my leg muscles got weak. Later I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia which affected me mentally and I found it hard to cope.  Dr Viswa and the team was always there to talk to and help me get through this illness.  But the most important thing was my determination and self help!

 

In 2018 I found some inner strength with my treatment and pain under control. I started to gain some mobility. I remember going to see Dr Viswa for an appointment and she had a surprise seeing me walk into her consulting room on a walking frame.  I gradually progressed to being able to swallow better with using special thickener to put in my puréed food and fluids and gaining some strength. Also my asthma had settled as I was not getting as many chest infections and not aspirating so frequently.

 

Here I am today, coping with my illness with a manual wheelchair as back up and taking a new step everyday.  I am waiting for a hip replacement as I have osteoarthritis in my right hip but I keep my determination going. 

 

On the 9th June 2021, I walked down the aisle to marry my best friend in the world ‘Dave’. Dave has seen me through my journey as he was my wheelchair engineer and friend.  We got together in 2019. It was a day he will never forget, after coming annually to service my wheelchair, he was not expecting me to greet him at the door, standing! 

By Teresa

If you have a story you would like to share, who not email us!

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Local COVID-19 Vaccination Update

The Southam Clinic COVID-19 vaccination programme has continued at pace.

It is now possible for adults from the age of 18 upwards to book their vaccine if they have not done so already.

To book please call the Southam Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Booking line on 01926 962719.

It is also possible to book vaccinations outside of Southam by visiting the dedicated NHS vaccine booking page.

👇👇Want to stay up-to date? Why not register for our weekly newsletter by registering towards the bottom of this page… 👇👇

Welcome Carole - Our Frailty Nurse Practitioner! 👩‍⚕️👩‍⚕️

A warm welcome to the latest member of our team!

Carole is an experienced Registered Nurse whose career has spanned over 42 years to date. 

She has worked in both hospital and community settings and has cared for patients with a wide range of health conditions.  In her previous role, she was working as a nurse consultant in cancer at Oncology Unit, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust.     

Caring for patients with long term health conditions has equipped Carole with the skills and knowledge to undertake her current role as a Frailty Nurse Practitioner.  In this role, she is working within our local nursing and residential care homes.  Together with the GP’s and pharmacists, she will be working with the residents, carers/relatives and home staff to optimise the residents health, plan for future health events and support them when their health needs changes.  She will also support the care home staff with training and development.  She will play an important role in care home multidisciplinary team meetings at St Wulfstan Surgery. 

A big, warm welcome to Carole!

My Bowel Cancer Story - Why Screening Is So Important 💩💩

This little kit could save your life.

Bowel Cancer screening has been introduced to try and identify bowel cancer early, so early that you may not even have yet developed any symptoms of bowel cancer. And the sooner cancer is diagnosed, the better the chances are of having a successful treatment.

We asked Clive Challinor if he wanted to share his story having recently been diagnosed with bowel cancer, even before any symptoms actually developed. Please read his article below. Thanks Clive!

“I have been asked by my GP to put together my thoughts and honest feelings about a very important decision in my life and it is still going on today. Like most people, we get up in the morning, get dressed, pick your lunch, kiss the misses and kids and head off to work. Come home, kiss the family, do some DIY, have your evening meal, sort the kids then retire to bed ready to start again on the circle of life without a thought for things that can change your life.

Back in February I received a BOWEL TESTING KIT. I looked at it and like most people put it on the work surface to read later thinking ‘why have they sent me this, I have no symptoms, no pain, no discomfort, no bleeding.’ That’s WHY in-fact it took me about 2-3 weeks to make the decision to open it up and read it and work out the best way of using the poo stick. I finally did it and sent it off at the end of February thinking at least thats done.

I carried on with my life until one day I received a letter. ‘Please can you attend on the 5th march 2021 Warwick hospital ENDOSCOPY UNIT for a COLONOSCOPY examination’. I replied and attended my routine appointment. This took about 2 hours in total. At the end of my appointment I was in bits. See I was coming up to 63 years young, having lost my father some 30 odd years earlier with lung and brain cancer at about the same age.

WHAT NOW.... I have cancer, Christ what about my work, my family, my daughters and my grandson, I have not seen him yet. PANIC oh sh*t, I felt so alone just lying on the bed after the biggest event of my life. Then, after getting dressed and a few more tears I met Alison, my COLORECTAL NURSE, who said ‘you are not alone, we are all here to help you. All of us.’

This is now a journey of blood tests, scans, operations and chemotherapy and lots of doctors appointments and hopefully full recovery. So on the 13th April I checked into Warwick hospital 7.30 am 23 hour ward following a covid test 3 days before. I was sent upstairs after another check to meet my surgical team and got on with it. At 1530 i came round feeling rather groggy, but the nurses and doctors were fantastic, making me very welcome and comfy. I left the hospital on Saturday evening and returned home. About 2 weeks later my surgeon rang to tell me it was a success and that on further examination, they had found a small hernia and also removed 18 lymph nodes, with 1 being cancerous. Hence I needed chemo.

PLEASE DON’T IGNORE THE TEST get it done. I have and I am glad I did it.

Thank you for reading this, now for my next stage...
”
— Clive Challinor

The screening test is sent every 2 years to those aged between 60 and 74 years. If you're 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every 2 years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

For more details on screening, please visit the NHS bowel cancer screening page.

A Few Words from Mina, our Clinical Pharmacist... 💊💊

By Mina Hunjan, Clinical Pharmacist

By Mina Hunjan, Clinical Pharmacist

A few words from Mina about her new role at St Wulfstan Surgery…

My name is Mina and I'm one of the Clinical Pharmacists at St Wulfstan’s surgery.  I form part of the multi-disciplinary team looking after Care Home residents. 

 

I've always worked with Care Homes and in my last role, I helped support them through the pandemic.  I have to say that in such challenging times, the dedication and care shown by the carers was so inspiring. I'm sure we are all grateful for their efforts and thankful that Care Homes are becoming more accessible once again.  

 

The part of my job I enjoy the most is helping the residents understand their medicines and supporting carers and families during medication reviews.  To do this effectively, I spend time at the surgery checking their electronic records for medication lists and dosage, their indications, searching for any interactions and their recent investigations.  Then I arrange visits to Care Homes to discuss resident's medications to find out what they take, their medicine likes and dislikes and if it's working!  When we talk together, it is a great opportunity to hear the resident's ideas, concerns and expectations of their medicines and get the whole picture. Carers and patient’s families are also invited to give their views, meaning we can optimise resident's medicines in a holistic way and sharing the decision-making process. 

 

At the surgery, we meet in a multidisciplinary team which is led by Dr Viswa, in order to further discuss and optimise our Care Plan. This keeps the health, safety, wellbeing and most importantly of all, the wishes of our residents at the heart of Medicine Reviews and ongoing Care Planning. 

 

Working together like this is hugely satisfying and a great way to look after our most vulnerable patients. 

🤧 It's Hay Fever Season Again! 🤧

The sunshine has arrived - hooray! But for those of us with hay fever it can be bittersweet.

Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen and the symptoms occur or worsen in the Spring and Summer when pollen counts are higher. This can result in sneezing, coughing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy or watery eyes and an itchy throat.

 

We often get calls about hay fever at this time of year, but recent changes mean that most treatments for hay fever can now be purchased over the counter at your local pharmacy, meaning your pharmacist is often best placed to help.

 

The treatment of hay fever normally consists of antihistamine tablets, antihistamine eye drops and steroid nasal sprays. If required you can use a combination.

Anti-histamine tablets/syrup

There are several different types available from your pharmacy. If you try one which doesn’t help, then it is worth trying an alternative, unfortunately this often involves some degree of trial and error. Some anti-histamine’s such as Piriton (chlorphenamine maleate) can make you feel drowsy, so there are non-drowsy preparations available, such as cetirizine.

If, despite trying different anti-histamines, your symptoms persist then consider adding in eye drops, or a nasal steroid spray, or both.

Anti-histamine Eye Drops

These can be purchased from the pharmacy and work well where itchy and runny eyes are more problematic. The drug is called sodium cromoglicate.

Nasal Steroid Spray

These can work very effectively helping control your symptoms of hay fever and can be used in conjunction with the above treatments. Nasal steroid sprays can take days or weeks to reach their fullest effect so they are worth persevering with.

What Next?

If the above treatments, when used in combination, have failed to solve the problem, and you have given them a reasonable period of time to work, then please give us a call to discuss further.

Uncertainty, loneliness, anxiety, and social media – how do these relate?

By Ludmila Enticott, Health & Wellbeing Coach

By Ludmila Enticott, Health & Wellbeing Coach

Please read on for the latest article from our Health & Wellbeing Coach, Ludmila.

It is interesting how anxiety seems to creep up these days even for those who do not present with apparently obvious reasons.  There may be several factors we overlook today as part of our normal way of life which might come together to evoke a range of negative feelings and affect our internal balance.

When we constantly had to look for food and engage with the outside world as part of our daily routines, the motivation to live was enough to keep ourselves happy. Making it through to the next day alive meant we had a successful day. Basic needs relating to immediate survival are perceived as very important by our mammal brains and are therefore thoroughly rewarded with the release of ‘happy hormones’. There was a sense of achievement in each day and life was simpler from that angle, albeit much harder in other aspects. Depression does not tend to feature so much when we are heavily involved with our basic survival.

Now, for those living in a world where basic needs are routinely met without much effort, the only other human needs left for our brain to pursue in hope for ‘happy brain chemicals’ are the more complex social needs. This is one of the reasons why the social media craze has taken over the world with virtually no exceptions amongst the many different cultures. It is interesting to think about how this has come to be.

One of the worse things for humans is social isolation. Looking back at our ancestral ways, studies show that humans are not meant to live alone or amongst too many strangers and that is because our chances of survival have always been much better within communities. Today research shows the risk of mortality for most diseases increases by about three-fold for those who are ill and lonely at the same time. The brain gets overwhelmed with fear when it senses we are alone. The perceived danger in the brain is huge when we cannot detect anything like a support network for us.

So, if a support network is so important for the human brain, what about social media? The problems seem to come from how virtual contact differs from real contact. The social media community does not offer the same level of safety & security that humans find in small tight communities where people know each other well and interdepend. This is central to the issue around resilience. As humans, we love stress: we seek adventure, amusement parts, horror films and even PhD’s! But the caveat here is: we welcome stress or challenges when we feel safe and supported. These feelings inform our brain that we have better chances to win and, even if we do not win, somebody will be there to pick us up from the fall. Another point is knowing the stress will be of reasonable duration, not too long lasting or extremely energy consuming. We tend to naturally put ourselves up for challenges when we know we have got our backs covered.

Humans are not wired to face too many strangers in their lifetime because, deep inside us, there are brain mechanisms that link ‘strangers’ with ‘danger’. Social media exposes us to a lot more strangers than it is healthy for our mammal brains. Besides, those relationships based on ‘likes’ do not count to make us feel safe or accepted. Hence, there is no amount of ‘likes’ or ‘Facebook friends’ that seem to be enough. This is especially noticeable for youngsters who associate their self-worth with the amounts of comments, likes or subscribers they have in their YouTube channels for example.  Online relationships, by nature, cannot offer the same level of acceptance we seek to replace since our loss of community life. The need for validation is a constant variable that does not go unnoticed by our brains, even if at a more subconscious level. Interactions charged with this level of vulnerability do not activate the real ‘feel good’ areas of our brain because the areas involved with alert and caution will be active in these situations. The brain is not so convinced these are fully benign interactions because it suspects too many factors as ‘unknown’. As a result, anxiety could creep up even whilst we think we are just having fun.

Although it is not quite so possible to live in small tight communities in the ‘globalised world’, an awareness of this shared human need for community life may help us avoid the pitfalls of technology. It might prevent us from falling prey to a ‘need for connection’ in a world that does not offer the sense of belonging. Online communities can be most helpful when they complement our existing relationships with families and friends without attempting to replace them. The current challenges the world faces could serve to bring back simple but essential ‘human needs’ to centre of stage and inspire us all to pay more attention to the basics. More meaningful positive interactions can start at work, at home and in the wider community, especially as we develop new insights through the adversities we face.  Lastly, it is worth mentioning that the part of the nervous system involved with social engagement is the same one for health, growth, and restoration.

Named GP Changes

Following Dr O’Mahony’s retirement on Friday 4th June we would like to advise that all her patients have been re-allocated to Dr Viswanathan. This is purely an administrative exercise as all patients must be registered with a named GP Partner. This will not affect how or who you book appointments with and you are, of course, free to choose whichever GP prefer to see .

Foods for every need! 🍎

Wiltshire Farm Foods are a company who offer delivery of high quality frozen meals for a variety of needs.

They offer free delivery, and no obligation to subscribe or sign a contract. You can order as often or as little as you like.

The types of meals they offer are extensive! You can browse the meals by ingredient eg. Chicken, Turkey and Duck, by dietary requirement eg. low-fat, gluten-free, free-from, and by size eg. hearty, standard and mini.

They also offer softer food meals for those with swallowing difficulties, which range from level 4 - puree meals, level 5 - minced meals and level 6 soft and bite-sized.

If this is something that may be interesting to you, you can go to their website here, or by phone on 0800 077 3100.

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!