No one can predict whether we will get severe weather this year but it is best to be prepared!

In the event of severe weather, the latest information about local services can be found at www.mansfield.gov.uk/severeweather

You will also find links to useful information from partner organisations.  From keeping your house warm, to protecting yourself from common ailments.  Find out how to stay healthy this winter at www.nhs.uk/staywell

Help is available to owners ad private renters with long term conditions that could worsen if they live in a cold property.

The Warm Hones on Prescription programme can provide advice (and grants for owner occupiers only) for those on low incomes who meet certain financial and health criteria.

For more details you can call the council’s Private Sector Housing Service on 01623 463212 or email adminpsh@mansfield.gov.uk

But what about those people with no home?

If you see someone who appears to be homeless please contact Framework Street Outreach 24 hour hotline on 0800 066 5356, to ensure they are offered the appropriate support.

You can volunteer at a winter shelter by emailing homelessenquiries@mansfield.gov.uk

There are lots of charities and groups already helping and if you would like to help or volunteer, or even donate food, clothing or money please also email homelessenquiries@mansfield.gov.uk or call 01623 463121

Many of you may have noticed that all staff at Forest Medical are looking very festive.  Rather than opting for the one “Christmas Jumper Day for Children in Need” we will be raising money with our festive outfits throughout the whole month.  Another Forest Medical fundraising initiative!

We are also doing very well with our Mansfield Homeless Shoe Box Appeal again this year.  Already we have over 30 parcels stacked up awaiting collection and I would like to thank our patients for their generosity and compassion once again.

The winter months are very hard for the homeless but it is also hard for vulnerable, isolated and frail people.  That is why we are opening our doors at Oak Tree Lane Surgery on Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year from 9am to 12pm and are inviting anyone that would normally spend the festive season alone, to join us for some company and cheer.

We will be providing hot and cold drinks, cakes, crackers and a game of Bingo.  Should anyone wish to donate prizes for our games or a small gift to pass on to our visitors it would be very much appreciated.

Oak Tree Lane Surgery strives to help members of the community that are most vulnerable which is why I am proud to announce that we have made great steps in becoming Dementia Friendly there.

Our Dementia Friendly signage and Dementia Friendly area was officially opened by the Oak Tree Lane District Cllr Vaughan Hopewell, Valentina Lazarevic promoting Join Dementia Research and Martin Wright representing the Health Scrutiny Committee Nottinghamshire on Thursday 22nd November 2018.  This was only made possible by the hard work and commitment of our Patient Participation Group members.

Patient Participation Groups are a way of getting a patients’ voice heard.  We discuss Research within the Practice; improvements that can be made around the buildings, improvements that can be made for patient access, content of the Forest Medical Newsletter, service development within our area and many more topics.

The minutes of our most recent meeting, information on the PPG Networking Event and the Winter Newsletter can be found here –

Minutes of PPG meeting of Forest Medical at RSHC on 08th Nov 2018

PPG Networking Event Flyer 11.12.18 Final Version

PPG Event Programme 11.12.18

ForestMedicalWinter2018issue31

Our Patient Particiation Group also raises money to purchase items based on real patient suggestions.

Recently, the PPG funds paid for bariatric waiting area chairs to enable more comfort for some of our patients.

A patient had explained to one of our Nursing staff that it was not possible to sit in the normal chairs when waiting as they were too low for the frail and elderly.

Hence our purchase was a direct result of us listening to the patient voice!!

So for now, unless you will be visiting me at Oak Tree Lane Surgery for a few festivities on Christmas Day, I would like to wish you all a…

Nicola Ryan

Practice Manager

Well the temperature has definitely dropped recently but what a wonderful summer we have enjoyed!!

Forest Medical has been actively raising money for charities throughout the year and recently raised nearly £400 for Action for Ann by providing a book and cake sale, a car boot day, and adhoc donations accepted within the Practices.

We endeavour to continue our support for Cancer Awareness, Jeans for Genes, Heart Failure, Dementia Research and numerous other charities throughout next year as we have done in 2018 and wish to thank you, our patients, for your ongoing  support.

MANSFIELD HOMELESS CHRISTMAS SHOEBOX APPEAL

Once again Rosemary Street Health Centre will be acting as a drop off point for the Mansfield Homeless Shoebox Appeal this winter.

It has proven to be extremely successful in previous years and we hope our kind and generous patients and staff will do the same again this year.

Every Christmas, homeless people not only have to deal with the fact that they are homeless as well as other issues, but also have to deal with the “happy” part of the year, sometimes alone.

Again, I am appealing to you to give a small gift and a bit of hope to a homeless person in Mansfield and surrounding areas.

I ask please that you decorate a shoebox for either a male or female (adults) and include items such as:

Gloves                                             Socks
Toothpaste / brush                        Deodorants
Razors                                             Shaving foam
Shower Gel                                    Shampoo
Sweets                                            Biscuits
Chocolate                                       Drink Sachets
Cup a soups                                    Pot Noodles
Magazine                                        anything else you can think of – no alcohol please

I also ask that you include a Christmas Card in each box.

Some homeless people have dogs therefore I also want to provide some doggy boxes for their pets this Christmas.  Here are some suggestions – any or all of the following:

• tinned/sachet food- this is a key ingredient which goes very quickly
• bowl
• fleece blanket (fleece stays warm even when wet, so fleece is much better than a knitted blanket or quilt)
• lead/collar/toys
• treats
• coat/waterproof
• vitamin tablets/drops
• dental treats
• poo bags
• flea treatment
• worming pills
• doggy toothbrush/ toothpaste

All the boxes will then be taken and given to the people (and dogs) that need them before Christmas Day.

Please Please get involved!!!!!!

PPG FUNDRAISING

As you are aware we are always open to suggestions and comments from our patients.  One such comment was regarding the waiting area seating arrangements at Rosemary Street Health Centre.  The chairs are comfortable for most able bodied younger generations, however it was pointed out to me that elderly, and less able bodied, find them to difficult to sit down onto them and stand up off them.

Our PPG have therefore agreed that the funds they have raised so far, plus the funds we envisage to raise throughout our winter raffle, will go towards the purchase of a Bariatric Chair for the waiting room at Rosemary Street Health Centre.  Oak Tree Lane Surgery has had such a chair for a few years now and I have seen how it benefits some of our patients.

Raffle tickets are now on sale and you will find PPG members and receptionist actively selling them at both sites.

At 50 pence per ticket, with the chance of winning some wonderful prizes, please dig out your loose change for such a good cause.

If you would like to know more about the Patient Participation Group (PPG) please email ppg_rshc@hotmail.co.uk

INFLUENZA VIRUS

Yes it is that time again and this year the Department of Health has put measures in place to ensure your flu vaccine works for you as an individual.  There are three different types of vaccines this year, one for age 65 and over; one for patients aged under 65 patients who are pregnant or have a long term chronic conditions; and one for our under 5’s.

You can call into any of our surgeries at any time if you are eligible for a flu vaccine and for our under 5’s we are again holding a Fluenz Day to make the experience less traumatic for them – See our poster here inviting all our little patients –

Poster – Fluenz Halloween

OUR PATIENTS

Forest Medical are not just interested in your Health and Well-Being, we are also interest in you and your interests.  If you would like to promote any kind of event that you think would be of interest to our other patients please contact me using the Contact Us form on this website.

For example, Jo Riley is actively involved in the CENTENARY OF THE GREAT WAR AMISTACE 1918 and is promoting the “Recruitment to Remembrance Event”

This event will take place at The Hive, Four Seasons (next to Thorntons) between 30th October and 11th November 10:30 – 16:30.

The theme of this event is based around the under age recruitment in our area.  In 1914 Sir Arthur Markham, the Liberal MP of that time, discovered that children as young as 13 were being recruited into the war against Germany, posing as young men.  There was no official military law stating a minimum age for recruitment until Sir Arthur Markham had this passed – from then the minimum age was set to 18 and proof of age had to be obtained.

Unfortunately by then there were many boys who had been recruited and had lost their lives.

This event provides evidence of those recruited enabling families members to come and reminisce or in fact gain information on relatives.  There will be a ribbon of remembrance and a chance to embrace what was a poignant part of Mansfield history.

WILL IT SNOW?

Snow brings with it many hazards for our vulnerable patients especially those with frailty.  Whether it snows, gets icy, or just extremely cold, I urge you to look out for your neighbours and ensure everyone is kept safe and warm this winter.

Stay safe and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year

Kind Regards

Nicola

Forest Medical are committed to supporting events that help to raise awareness and invest in making us all healthier and happier.

Recently you will have seen us all dressed in football shirts raising awareness and donating money to the Bobby Moore Foundation which invests in Bowel Cancer Research.  We raised £17.88 and every penny counts!

Look out for our upcoming events:

14^th – 20^th May – Skin Cancer Detection / Prevention raising money for Cancer Research

MELANOMA POSTER

28^th May – 1^st June – Dementia Awareness raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society

As a Dementia Champion I will be holding a Dementia Awareness Session at Rosemary Street Health Centre, please contact me if you would like to participate.

DEMENTIA AWARENESS SESSION POSTER

31^st May is World No Tobacco Day – could you do it?

SMOKING

7^th June is Wear it Beat it – wearing Red and donating to the British Heart Foundation

WEAR IT BEAT IT

11^th – 17^th June we are raising money for Diabetes UK

DIABETES

11^th – 17^th June is also Cervical Screening Awareness week

CERVICAL SCREENING

Happy New Year to all our Forest Medical patients

PRACTICE CHANGES

2017 has seen many changes with the unfortunate restriction in opening times at Oak Tree Lane Surgery caused by the loss of some of our very valued GPs.

However the future is getting brighter!!

We have managed to recruit Dr Stephanie Hill, 2 days per week; Dr Ben Wootton, 3 days per week; and January will see the return of Dr Jeffrey Ho for 3 days a week.

Whereby the increase in GPs will mean we can look at opening up more days at Oak Tree Lane, you will rarely see Dr Smith or Dr Park there as they remain the only Clinical Supervisors and must be sited where the Registrars are.

Dr Hill and Dr Ho will complete their Clinical Supervisor course by March so you will have much more variety in the Spring.

WIFI

We have recently been given the ability to use WIFI within each Practice and in 2018 this will be rolled out for use by our patients in our waiting rooms.

I am hoping that this will enable us to gain some real time patient feedback into the service we are providing you, and also help to gather health and social information that you may not necessarily feel is relevant to your consultation but assists us to look at what we offer in the Practices.

You will also, of course, be able to log straight into our web page and read my interesting and exciting blogs!!

PPG

As ever our Patient Participation Group has been working hard to enhance the services provided by Forest Medical.  Rosemary Street Health Centre is now well on its way to becoming the first Dementia Friendly Practice in this area.

You will find memorabilia donated by our PPG which assists reminiscence in patients with Dementia.  There is clear signage recommended by Dementia UK around the building and also a quiet area for patients to escape from a busy and noisy waiting room.

If you would like to know more about our move towards becoming more Dementia Friendly please contact Neil Hill who is the PPG lead for this:

ppg_rshc@hotmail.co.uk

Minutes PPG meeting of Forest Medical at RSHC on 9thNov

ForestMedicaWinter2017issue28

I would finally just like to wish you all a healthy happy 2018, and as ever I will be available to listen to any concerns, compliments and recommendations you have for our Practices.

Kind Regards

Nicola Ryan

Practice Manager

The Homeless Christmas shoe box appeal is again here in Mansfield – we were extremely successful last year as you can see below and we hope our kind and generous patients and staff will do the same again this year. (Do excuse my scary expression!)

Every Christmas, homeless people not only have to deal with the fact that they are homeless as well as other issues, but also have to deal with the “happy” part of the year, sometimes alone.

This year, I am appealing to you to give a small gift and a bit of hope to a homeless person in Mansfield and surrounding areas.

GP ACCESS SCHEME

Monday to Friday 6.30 – 8.00pm

Saturday Morning 8-12am

MANSFIELD SOUTH PRACTICES

Mansfield South Federation of practices includes:

 Millview Surgery

Acorn Medical Practice

Churchside Medical Practice

Forest Medical

Roundwood Surgery 

We are a group of practices who are working together to offer our patients  access to GP pre-booked appointments from 6.30pm until 8.00pm during the week and on Saturday mornings.

These appointments can only be booked through your own GP Practice.  There will be a GP and sometimes nurse on duty at each surgery.   Your appointment will be at any one of the sites listed as part of this federation.  These appointments are 15 minutes long.  There are no emergency appointments available during extended GP Access Surgeries.  Should the GP you see like to refer you for further investigations or procedures, this information will be passed on to your usual GP practice to process.

High Blood Pressure Service

Do you know the easiest and most convenient way to keep track of your blood pressure?

It is actually to keep track of your blood pressure at home and by keeping a log of your blood pressure for a week.  For many people you’ll only need to do this once a year.

Reduce the stress of making appointments and coming to the surgery by using our new home blood pressure service.  It will also help you to get an accurate measurement of your blood pressure and could help you to reduce any medication side effects.  Use our secure service by emailing your.pressure@nhs.net with your name, date of birth and the first line of your address, and we will get you started.

We are setting-up this service so that you can measure and look after your blood pressure at a time and place that is convenient to you.  You will be able to use the service to get answers to any questions that you have about your blood pressure and we will provide any information you need to help you adjust your medications.

To use the service you will need your own email address and access to an automatic blood pressure monitor.  These can be bought in most pharmacies and some supermarkets, starting from £10.

Please make sure that you use one with a cuff that goes around your upper arm, as these are more accurate.

We want to make this service easy and convenient to use.  We are keen to hear your opinions, so be sure to email us at your.pressure@nhs.net with any feedback or questions.

We look forward to hearing from you, and helping you to look after your blood pressure at home.

Dr Colin Coulthard & Dr Richard Thomas

YourPressure.com

As part of our campaign to raise awareness of the importance of getting your flu vaccination we have put together a compilation of videos for you to watch.

Despite the fun I cannot stress enough how important it is to have you flu vaccination if you fall into any of the following categories –

Those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups:

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Chronic Asthma
• Diabetes
• BMI over 40
• Coronary Heart Disease
• Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attacks (TIA)
• Learning Disability

Pregnant women

Those aged 65 years and over

Those in long-stay residential care homes

Carers

Call in any time it only takes 2 minutes!!!