We hope you find this newsletter helpful and

We hope you find this newsletter helpful and informative. We welcome any ideas or feedback about the newsletter or about the surgery in general. As a group we aim to make positive changes to the surgery, have guest speakers at our meetings and support our local community- can you spare a little time to join us? We are always looking for group members. For this or any other matter mentioned in the newsletter please get in touch via: • • • The red folder in the waiting room Surgery reception Or email Heather at heather_gregory@tiscali. co. uk Don’t forget to ok at the notice board in the reception area for updates and news. HOT TOPICS this season: Medicines TOP TIPS see page 2 PPG Group Survey results page 2 Food Fun Autumn Stew steaming on page 3 Use the website for online access to services such as prescription ordering and appointment booking

Take them at the correct time as prescribed Look out for possible side effects Take the full course Order medications before they run out Take enough for holiday AND when you are home Attend for reviews to ensure you are still on the most suitable medication • Seek medical advice if you are not getting better OR you are getting worse • Don’t forget the pharmacist can advise on health complaints too • • • PPG Group Survey 2015 Please find two minutes to complete a short survey to see how you feel about the practice- Be honest! PP We are proud of the services the surgery offers but we strive to improve where we can, without feedback we cannot do this. We welcome positive and negative comments and aim to address them. In addition to booking appointments and prescription ordering our new website also offers online access to update your personal details, check opening times, keep up to date with surgery news and provide s information about your local services.

Named Accountable GP All patients now have a named GP. This GP is responsible for coordinating care and would be your ‘usual GP’. Please ask at reception if you don’t know who yours is. You are still free to see who you choose but as reminder please try to see the same GP for ongoing problems- it saves time during consultation and helps with continuity. This process is made easier when appointments are kept or cancelled if you can no longer attend. To offer more appointments we have a new appointment system plus bookings can be made online too. We are still able to offer routine appointments within 7 -10 days, less if possible. This time could be reduced if patients attended their appointments or cancelled them so they are not wasted- PLEASE HELP!! Autumn Slow Cooker Stew Slow cooking is easy convenient and delicious so why not give it a try. You don’t have to pre fry meat or veg but it helps to seal in the flavour and if you add flour it will self thicken the stew too. Put all the veg and meat (if using meat) into the slow cooker, season with a little salt, pepper and maybe some herbs such as rosemary for lamb. Add stock to cover the ingredients, or you can use left over gravy or meat juices. Cook on low / medium all day whilst you are out and hey presto, a little corn flour to thicken if needed and a tasty stew awaits. You can even add Dumplings for the last 40 mins on high if you like! SIMPLE Be sure to cut the veg to quite small pieces so they cook especially the harder ones such as swede, you can use other veg too. Try: carrots, leeks, parsnips, potatoes , beans, lentils. Anything you fancy just give it a try.