Please take this away with you if you would like to.
Easter opening times
The surgeries will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday,
should you need to see a doctor during this time please dial
244103.
If you require medical advice dial 111
Or in an emergency dial 999.
We can now text you with confirmation of your appointment and a reminder one day before your
appointment takes place. If you would like to subscribe to text messaging, we must have your
consent. Consent forms are available at reception and on our website (see the link on
Appointments tab) you can drop those into the surgery and we will get you set up.
Please note that parents of children aged 12 and above do not have the automatic right to have
reminders for their children's appointments. The child must give consent for you to have this
facility.
If you fail to turn up for an appointment, we will also send you a notification and ask you to contact
the surgery.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION UP TO DATE SO WE CAN
CONTACT YOU SUCCESSFULLY AND RESPECTFULLY I.E. HOME NUMBER, MOBILE NUMBER,
ADDRESS, EMAIL ADDRESS, WHETHER YOU HAVE BECOME OR ARE NO LONGER A CARER OR
CARED FOR PERSON ETC.
Would you recommend us? Did you get great care today?
Thank you to all the patients who have helped improve care for our next patient by completing the
Friends and Family Form and popping it into the surgery suggestion box.
In February we received 53 feedback forms. These are the results, of which we are very proud and
work hard to achieve
Extremely likely to recommend x 40
Likely to recommend x 6
Neither likely nor unlikely x 2 (one of which commented that appointments are difficult to book).
Unlikely x 5
The lovely feedback we got included comments such as ;
Always helpful and it’s good that you can ring up at 8am for a same day appointment
Excellent communication by GP
Receptionists very polite and efficient. Good doctors – fit you in whenever possible
I have been with the surgery for 50yrs and never experienced any problems.
Always a courteous service
Everyone here is fantastic, friendly and helpful
GP explained things well and put my mind at ease
Nurse is helpful and expert in her field
Always willing to go the extra mile to help you out
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to complete a form and give
us some kind words to boost morale. Your appreciation is welcome by all
the staff at this very busy time.
WWW.SEVENPOSTS-GREYHOLME.NHS.UK
WWW.SEVENPOSTS-GREYHOLME.NHS.UK
SMS Text messages
Please take this away with you if you would like to.
Gaining positive reviews on NHS Choices
Whether you are booking a holiday or downloading some music you’ll be presented with a raft of
user reviews, customer reviews are everywhere and, most importantly, they really do matter to
the majority of people. The healthcare sector isn’t any different and indeed a recent
study by Software Advice revealed that 62% of patients use online reviews to find a new GP
practice.
If we don’t ask…
Sadly it tends to be human nature to shout loudest when service has been poor. That means we
generally need to ask patients for positive reviews. If you are a patient who knows and trusts us,
why not leave a review? For example, you might consider mentioning posters, leaflets and
information available at the surgery or on how you have been treated by any of the staff at the
surgery. How do you feel about the new display screen in reception or the introduction of SMS
reminders?
Of course, we could be wary of requesting patient feedback for fear of generating a negative
response. However we believe that patients are savvy enough to disregard reviews that they
consider exaggerated or extreme. If you have a criticism, it would be helpful to explain the
problem to the surgery (normally the Practice Manager) before you publish a review. This gives us
an opportunity to understand your problem and deal with before it becomes a major issue.
Even negative reviews provide opportunities. Where reasonable, we can make changes and use
the feedback system to monitor patient reaction, gradually improving the practice based on
accurate feedback, not guesswork.
Your reviews are valuable to the Practice and we appreciate the time you take to send one. We
simply ask that they are thoughtful, genuine and constructive. They can be added anonymously if
you prefer.
To leave a review, go to, www.nhs.uk > Find Local Services near you(select the GP
tab) > enter our postcode (Seven Posts GL52 3DD or Greyholme GL52 8LT) > click on
Dr Young & Partners > click on Leave a Review which is on the right hand side of the
screen.
Many thanks from all the surgery staff.
General Practice is getting busier
Did you know?
The number of GP consultations has doubled in the last ten years
The increase in numbers attending GP Surgeries is six times the increases in numbers attending A&E
In 2003-13 GP numbers increased by only 14%
In 2001-2011 the number of Community Nurses went down by 38%
90% of NHS consultations take place in primary care
General Practice receives only 7% of the NHS budget
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Fear not, we are only human
Please take this away with you if you would like to.
Foodbank
Both Seven Posts and Greyholme Surgeries participate as an agency for the Foodbank which helps
people in need in our local community.
The Foodbank has been established to provide short term, emergency food to individuals and
families in crisis. They provide food parcels which give balanced and nutritional meals for a
minimum of three days.
A red foodbank voucher is available from your GP who must complete and sign the voucher, giving
a brief explanation of your situation. You can then take the voucher to your nearest foodbank.
There is no charge for the food but it is given on the understanding that it is not resold.
Food is donated by churches, individuals, companies, community groups or charities and by the
public through collection days outside major supermarkets in our area. If you wish to donate food,
you can hand it in to St Michaels Church Centre, School Road, Bishops Cleeve, GL52 8BA on a
Friday between 9.45am and 11.15am. or to the Cheltenham Foodbank, Elim Christian Centre, 115117 St Georges Road, Cheltenham, GL50 3EG. Between 9am and 5pm Monday-Friday.
Sue Ryder Hospice
We have received a letter from the Sue Ryder hospice thanking their lovely volunteers for
knitting and selling little Christmas puddings (you had the choice of a battery operated candle or
chocolate inside the Christmas pudding!). The volunteers raised £1200 and we were glad to sell
some of the puddings through the surgery. Keep an eye open to see what appears at Easter
time!
Sue Ryder looks after patients from across the whole of Gloucestershire and all of their services
are free of charge. Every year they have to raise £1.6 million to keep the hospice running and
so local support is important.
Cobalt
Donation from both surgeries for card sales was £81.14 If you have any event in your life for
which you receive a card, we would welcome them being handed in to the surgery for recycling
by the Cobalt Unit. Cobalt help people affected by cancer and other life-limiting conditions.
British Heart Foundation
Sally Pascall held a fantastic and educational wine tasting evening on Friday 5th February and
raised a total of £328. A grateful thanks to both Majestic Wines and Tesco for the donation of
wines, and to Sally for all the organising, the lovely supper and lots of fun. Many thanks also to
our wonderful patient who handmade and contributed all the samosa’s – DELICIOUS!
Sincere thanks for your continued support of these worthwhile charities.
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The Foodbank will inform us if any patient is abusing the system. They are also subject to the Data
Protection Agency and comply with the regulations regarding the holding of client information on a
database.
Please take this away with you if you would like to.
BODIES ARE NOT EMBARRASSING !
Number 3
No medical concern or problem will embarrass your doctor.
I think it is a real shame when people suffer in silence from a problem that may, potentially be
solvable, in some cases, very simply. I am therefore going to try highlight in our newsletter each
time we publish one, some medical concerns that people sometimes are reluctant to talk to their
doctor about. The reluctance may be for a number of reasons. Embarrassment is possibly one
of the most common reasons, or because they are afraid of being judged, or because they think
no-one else has the same problem.
Everyone has to open their bowels, and there can be a big variation on what is normal, and in
what people understand by the term constipation, or what they mean by diarrhoea. When I say
a normal bowel action, I mean that someone is opening their bowels regularly, without having
to strain, without blood or mucus, and producing a normal formed stool (or poo!) without any
pains in the tummy, and without any blood or mucus ( which is slimey stuff). Opening the
bowels regularly may mean every day, but for some people going once or twice a week is
normal, as long as all the above conditions are met.
Constipation is when someone is passing a hard stool, usually with straining. This is often less
frequently than usual but not always. My favourite analogy is a traffic jam – if there is a queue
of 10 cars in a traffic jam, and 2 leave from the front, but 2 more join the back of the queue,
there is still a traffic jam! So you can be pooing pretty regularly and still be constipated. There
may be discomfort or pain in the tummy, which may feel bloated. There may be bright red blood
on the paper or in the pan, as constipation may cause piles. If constipation is severe then the
person may feel nauseated or even be sick. Mild constipation, where the stool is harder and
some straining is needed, may just need a mild over the counter laxative to help it settle. Good
laxatives for occasional use are fybogel, lactulose, dulcolax or senna. If someone has worsening
tummy pain, feels generally unwell or has not responded to over the counter simple laxatives, it
is sensible to talk to one of the doctors, for either more advice or to be seen. Similarly if
someone thinks they have piles, but bright red bleeding continues then see the doctor.
Diarrhoea occurs when someone passes a loose, unformed and/or watery stool, usually with an
increased frequency of bowel action but not always. Diarrhoea is a common problem. Most
gastroenteritis or tummy bugs cause diarrhoea, as may changes in diet, some medicines such as
antibiotics, some health conditions, stress and anxiety. There will often be some crampy pain as
the bowel is spasmy and working faster than usual, and there may be some mucus (slime) as
the bowel may be inflamed. Most times when people get diarrhoea it settles without any
treatment, and there is no need to speak to a doctor. However, if someone has a gastroenteritis
bug and the diarrhoea does not settle within 4-5 days, you should talk to a doctor, as we may
need to send a stool sample to make sure there isn’t an infection that needs treatment.
Sometimes after having gastroenteritis, the motion may stay loose for a while as the gut may
not be absorbing foods properly for a week or two. Whatever the cause, if diarrhoea continues
for more than 3 or 4 weeks, it is sensible to see the doctor. If there is dark blood with the
motion or continuing pain, contact the doctor straight away.
Obviously one of the things we want to exclude as a cause of the problem is bowel cancer. Most
people who have a change in the way their bowels are working will not have cancer, but it is
important that persisting changes are discussed with the doctor rather than ignored!
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This time I would like to talk about something that most people really don’t like talking about –
poo! Everybody has to pass urine and open their bowels, but people are often embarrassed to
talk about these things, which can mean that they don’t come to talk to us about problems they
are having until they have put up with it for a long time, potentially allowing a minor problem to
become more serious. The information I am discussing is relevant to adults, as the advice may
be different for children.