St Wulfstan Surgery - Warwickshire's First Pride Ally GP Surgery

St Wulfstan surgery is celebrating Pride month by showing equality, diversity and inclusion for our LGBT+ community. Clinical lead Dr Kirti Viswa and operational lead Mrs Amanda Cogley have been busy co-ordinating policies, protocols and training for all staff.

We are the extremely delighted and proud to be the first practice in Warwickshire to have teamed up with LGBT foundation LGBT Foundation - Training for Organisations for our training. Pride in Practice Co-ordination Stevie Watson –Andrews has conducted our staff training, which was immensely helpful. She helped us understand the inclusive language and the barriers faced by LGBT community. Stevie will be continuing her support for the next year as we are currently in the process of applying for accreditation

We will soon be making changes in our new patient registration forms and adding an exclusive area for LGBT support services on our website.

Dr Viswa attended the Coventry and Warwickshire Pride webinar by Dr Michael Brady ( National LGBT health advisor at NHS England) on 13th June Coventry. She has also completed all the RCGP e-learning modules in Our LGBT+ GP community | RCGP to ensure that St Wulfstan surgery meets all standards and is certainly a Pride Ally.

Do you know your defibs? 🫀⚕️

This week at the surgery we have been refreshing our knowledge surrounding CPR and defibrillators, guided by a 30-year veteran of the West Midlands Ambulance Service. This information is of the utmost importance, not just to those of us who work within a healthcare setting but for everyone. You never know when a loved one, friend, colleague or member of the public may need your help.

“A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it's an essential part in trying to save the life of someone who’s in cardiac arrest. A defibrillator may also be called a defib, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) or a PAD (Public Access Defibrillator).” British Heart Foundation

“The Circuit” is the National Defibrillator Network that provides a national overview of where your nearest defibrillator can be found through their online database. When defibrillators are purchased by anyone, it is vital that they are registered with The Circuit to enable the 999 operators to advise you on where your nearest defibrillator is, and provide you with the access code for its container. Our nearest defibrillators in Southam are located at the following points:

  • Fire Station Southam, Coventry Street, Southam

  • Flying Fields, Daventry Road, Southam

  • Southam Swimming Pool, Welsh Road, Southam

  • Cyber-Weld Ltd Lion House, Welsh Road East, Southam

  • St Wulfstan Surgery, Northfield Road, Southam

  • The Tool Connection Ltd, Kineton Road, Southam

To find out more on the use of defibrillators and CPR, you can find an abundance of useful information at https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/defibrillators

To explore further defibrillator locations, please visit https://www.defibfinder.uk

Do you take orange juice with your breakfast?

Do you take orange juice with your breakfast? Please read on for some tips from our Health & Wellbeing Coach, Ludmila Enticott


Orange juice is normally seen as a source of vitamin C and a 'healthy option' to add to breakfasts. However, it is important to note that fruit juice is devoid of fibre and has therefore a lot of concentrated sugar. What started as a healthy piece of fruit easily turns into something quite far from it when you realise that you are taking in all the sugar from about 6 or 9 oranges, all at once, in one average glass of the stuff.

And more: the vitamin C content of the juice is not that viable as it is separate from the pith and pulp, which contain five times more nutrients than the juice and the bioflavonoids that work in synergy. The reality is vitamin C is utilised in the body as part of a complex, which includes a range of nutrients present in the rest of the fruit but discarded when you drink just the juice. That also goes for the vitamin C capsules if you buy them in isolated form such as ascorbic acid. So, in the end, drinking just the juice means you've missed out on most nutrition from the fruit, the vitamin C in it will not be well utilised in the body, and you will dose yourself up with sugar in liquid form.

A better alternative would be to use the whole fruit, perhaps by blending it into a smoothie (peel, pith, pulp, seeds and all). Something very good to do is to buy some organic lemons, freeze them whole and then grate about 1/3 of a lemon on top of your salads. That way, you get the full nutritional benefits from citrus fruit without throwing out the most valuable parts. It is all edible, including the seeds, and the nutritional value is much superior to juice alone. Stick to whole foods whenever possible, that’s what nature intended, that’s how our bodies can benefit the most. 

Lifestyle management for the improvement of health is what we focus on during our Health Coaching Sessions. If you would like to invest in your long-term health, please come talk to us. Referrals are easy and straight forward with no waiting lists. Health coaching sessions cover all aspects of lifestyle and wellbeing with topics varying amongst diet, exercise, emotional health, stress management, sleep hygiene and more. Talk to your GP for an easy referral, or e-mail us at we.connect@nhs.net to self refer.

Make time for your health. We are here to help. 

By Ludmila Enticott, Health & Wellbeing Coach

 

Galanos House Dementia Café

Galanos House are proud to introduce their new Southam Dementia Café support group, being held at the Community Hub next to Galanos House. They are welcoming those living with Dementia to join them along with their carers to join them at this new local support group, where a fantastic opportunity to meet others and share experiences can be had. There will also be volunteers on hand to offer support and advice. Southam Dementia Café will open on Thursday 30th June, and thereafter the last Friday of each month at 2:30pm. Further dates can be found below:

  • Thursday 30th June 2022

  • 29th July 2022

  • 26th August 2022

  • 30th September 2022

  • 28th October 2022

  • 25th November 2022

For further information, please contact Galanos House

Galanos House
Banbury Road
Southam
Telephone - 01926 812815

🤧 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.

Kindness, by Dr Jaiye Olaleye

““On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.””
— Quote HM Queen Elizabeth II

As we celebrate the Queens' Platinum Jubilee this weekend, kindness is a word that shines in my heart. Her pictures, her presence, her poise, her eyes,  speak kindness and calm.

 

I fully recollect periods in my life when

I have received kindness from others through their actions,  gifts, or from words. 

I want to believe I have also been a giver of kindness in various different ways.

 

Kindness can be an act of compassion towards others but also to ourselves. The latter is also termed 'self-compassion'.

 

 As humans,  we all have this inborn need to feel connected, accepted, understood, cared for or even believed! This need can sometimes make us vulnerable, it causes us to give, sometimes beyond our perceived capacity.

 

Remember, you can only give what you have.  Taking some time to be kind to yourself everyday, helps build a reservoir from where you can dip from to give others.

Self- Compassion can be specific acts that boost our physical and emotional wellbeing on a regular basis.

-       Healthful Eating, reducing intake of ultra-processed foods.

-       Regular Physical Activity, reducing time spent sitting.

-       Avoid behaviours that affect sleep.

-       Minimising harmful substances or behaviour.

-       Develop and sustain healthy relationships that increase social connection.

-       Actively managing stress, improving health through connection to nature.

 

I think of  self -compassion both as a Proactive kindness and  a reactive one. We should aim to do more proactive self - kindness.

 

Proactive self - kindness is being kind to oneself  with the fullness of  intention, taking specific action steps even before an event triggers it compared to Reactive self - kindness, waiting to reward oneself only after a negative or stressful situation or a specific goal is achieved. It is not unusual for this to be linked with unhealthy choices which unfortunately have further negative impact on our health and wellbeing.

 

I really want to encourage us not to wait till we are stressed before we start looking after our physical and emotional health.

 

Proactive self - kindness can be practised daily. A mindset that is ready to do, ready to go and not giving up is a good starting point!

Remember small acts of goodness can cause changes bigger than we imagine.

 

If you need help starting  or wish to explore more health and wellbeing topics why not have a look at the silvercloud digital wellbeing help on our website:

https://www.stwulfstan.co.uk/news/silver-cloud-immediate-online-help-for-your-mental-wellbeing

 

We also have a health and wellbeing coach for the area and social prescribers who are very nice! Please let us know if you would like to be put in touch with them.

 

Thank you all for the lovely Welcome to the practice! I look forward to meeting you at some point.

 

Yours truly,

Dr Jaiye Olaleye.

GP | Interests in Lifestyle Medicine & Women's Health.

Want To Increase Your Resilience & Improve Your Wellbeing?

Resilience is the capacity to face, overcome, and even be strengthened by difficult experiences.

If you would like to develop your resilience, why not give our online learning module, SPACE FOR RESILIENCE, a try via the Silver Cloud Platform. It is free and can be accessed immediately by registering below or visiting https://wepcn.silvercloudhealth.com/signup/ or see the poster below for more details.

Jubilee Bank Holiday

St Wulfstan Surgery will be closed on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd June

If you have a life-threatening emergency, please call 999 immediately

For any other medical advice whilst we are closed, please call 111

Please call the surgery number on 01926 810939 for further information on what to do if you need help when we are closed.

The Saturday morning clinic will move to 11th June. The early bird clinic will run on Monday 6th June as normal (pre-booking essential)

Pharmacies:

If you need to visit a pharmacy Asda Pharmacy is open:

10.00 -16:00 on Thursday 2nd June and Friday 3rd June

Address: Chesterton Drive, Leamington Spa, CV31 1YD , 01926 459010

Please click here for further information on pharmacies open over the Bank holiday period.

 

New Artwork Coming Soon...

We are so proud to be close to unveiling new artwork at St Wulfstan Surgery, produced by our wonderful local artist Scot Harris. He has created a collection which encapsulates the spirit of our surgery: Care, Quality and Compassion. He perfectly captures our vision that healthcare, when done well, is about having a great relationship between our staff and patients.

The photo gives a brief glimpse into the collection, but we look forward to revealing the full collection soon!

Stay tuned!

Congratulations Maddie - MoonWalk 2022!

We just wanted to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to our superstar receptionist Maddie, who completed an overnight walk through London last weekend to raise money for Walk the Walk - Uniting Against Breast Cancer.

Please read on for some comments from Maddie, feel free to visit the funding page to find out more or donate.

“As a team of 13 called “Watts the Journey”, I participated in the Moonwalk on Saturday 14th May, through the streets of London, organised by Walk the Walk.
They are dedicated to raising money and awareness for vital breast cancer causes. As a team we walked a marathon, 26.2miles throughout the night to raise money for this amazing organisation. An overwhelming experience full of laughter, tears and plenty of blisters, but as a team we were determined to finish the walk which we all did. We have all been touched in one way or another by breast cancer and wanted to support the fantastic work of Walk the Walk. Any donation you feel you could give would be gratefully received. Thank you so very much.”
— Maddie

Well-being for Life Festival - Saturday 14th May 2022

The Wellbeing for Life festival comes to Leamington Spa on Saturday 14 May

Partners across Coventry and Warwickshire have teamed up to bring together over 30 stands of NHS, local charities and organisations which will take over the Pump Room Gardens in Leamington from 10am-3pm.

The Wellbeing for Life festival aims to advise the public all about looking after their physical and mental health - from promoting services, signposting opportunities, and hosting activities, all in the name of helping people improve their wellbeing. 

For further information please visit the website