A View from the Chair – Yvonne Metcalf
Welcome to the FPS August Newsletter. We’ve been in a heatwave for what seems like weeks now and the warm weather and the World Cup have been described as a ‘ summer onslaught’ in the NHS accounting for record attendances in A&E . NHS News this month indicates that satisfaction with GP services is bouncing back too which means that there is an inevitable increase in demand for GP services.
FPS committee members have held two Tuesday afternoon surgery visits since our last newsletter. These have given us the opportunity talk with patients about their experience of the surgery and with minor exceptions, feedback has generally been more positive than when we started these sessions a few months ago.
We have continued with our monthly committee meetings. There have been staff changes in the surgery, with a new Interim Practice Manager, Syed Ali, having joined recently, and several new faces in reception. Lloanne, our secretary, and I met with Syed prior to our July committee meeting to introduce ourselves and the work of FPS in liaising with the surgery. I have had the misfortune of having to visit the surgery more often than I might wish over the last 6 weeks and on one visit, I noted with interest that most patients were called to see a clinician other than a GP highlighting the difference in how our health care is provided in the ever changing NHS.
A new development is that from this month FPS is able to send out our Newsletter to patients via email. This is of course dependent on the surgery having your email address so please ensure your information is up to date . You can do this by pressing the ‘ Update your Details’ tab on the surgery website.
As usual, the minutes of our monthly meetings are on our website. Do have a look and see what we’ve been doing in more detail. Our next visit to the surgery is in the afternoon of 4th August. We’d love the opportunity to be able to talk with you whether or not you have an appointment that day. Perhaps we’ll see you then ?
Yvonne Metcalf
Chair FPS
Feedback from the Surgery
As your committee, we regularly put forward your queries, concerns and feedback to the surgery management.
Bringing back old services
The availability of an ECG machine was raised at our recent meeting and it was confirmed that this service is fully operational.
Providing feedback to the surgery
The link at the bottom of the Contact page on the Parkwood Surgery website is available for patients would like to leave a review of their recent experience at the Surgery.
Giving the surgery your email address
The surgery would be grateful if you were able to give them your email address to enable cheaper communications. Text messages have text limits and significant costs, whilst emails are more flexible and cost effective. If you’re able to give the surgery this information, you can do so via the online form, selecting ‘I have an admin or routine care request’.
We are now using patient’s email addresses to inform them when the latest edition of this newsletter is available and to provide a link to it’s place on the FPS website.
What’s been happening with FPS?
Come and see us on 4th August
Members of the FPS committee will be available to talk to at the surgery on Tuesday 4th August between 2.00pm and 4.00pm.
Let us know what’s working and what isn’t, and what you’d like to see FPS doing more.
Check out the minutes of our meetings
The minutes from FPS’ monthly meetings, including our most recent meeting, are available here.
Want to stay up to date?
One easy way to keep up to date with FPS’ events is to follow us on
our Facebook page. Every time we update the website, we’ll post a link there!
Unsubscribe from FPS communications
If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving communications about FPS, you will need to contact the surgery to ask for this note to be placed on your file. FPS does not hold any data on patients other than that provided directly by them, such as emails sent to the FPS mailbox
Tech and Tea
Tea and Tech takes place at The Centre in the Park, Half Moon Yard, Hemel Hempstead between 10.30am and 12 noon.
Help is provided with emails, the NHS App, staying safe online and anything else that you’d like to know about using computers, tablets and mobile phones.
More information is available here.
Community Cars
Many Parkwood Surgery patients already use the Community Cars service provided by Dacorum Community Transport
At very reasonable cost, patients who require assistance or don’t have access to transport of their own can book journeys to hospitals, and other appointments.
The drivers who are all DBS certified, will also wait for around an hour before picking patients up again for their return journey.
Click the link below to go to their website that shows contact details and other information.
Community Transport – Community Action Dacorum
One Small Change: Activity Snacking
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always hated exercise: sports and gym classes have never appealed to me. But, as I get older, I know it’s important to do more exercise – and we all know all the reasons why. Exercise can help to keep weight and blood pressure under control, it can help strengthen bones and so reduce the risk of fractures as we age, it can improve blood glucose control (I have diabetes) and alleviate aches and pains from day to day work especially if sitting at a computer all day.
So the question is – how do I motivate myself to exercise when I hate exercise?
The answer has been to take a different approach. Instead of trying to do a whole hour of exercise three or four times each week, I’ve adopted “activity snacking” – a few minutes of exercise several times throughout the day. It’s surprising how quickly it all adds up!
And the best part is, it’s really easy to fit this sort of activity into my day. I don’t need to change clothes, I don’t need specialist equipment, I don’t need to block time out in my diary – I simply work with what I have around me.
My favourite is to dance around the kitchen while I’m making dinner – put the right music on and it’s impossible not to dance: it’s amazing how many steps you can do without even realising!
When making a cuppa, I do squats or walk up and down the stairs a few times while I wait for the kettle to boil.
I also try to do a couple of smaller food shops during the week so that I’m walking to the local shops and carrying weights home.
In between work meetings, I march on the spot at my desk or stretch my shoulders, neck and back so that I’m not just sitting at the computer.
There are many options – doing a few press-ups against the wall, pacing whilst on the phone or lifting weights whilst watching TV. Every few minutes of exercise helps to increase movement and this in turn can help to improve health.
Activity snacking takes just a few minutes, a few times through the day – give it a try!
Lloanne Lees
Secretary FPS