Welcome to our April Newsletter.
The clocks have changed bringing lighter nights, and let’s hope with it the benefits brought about with increased sunlight exposure on our health and our mood. It seems to have been a long cold winter this year, with lots of added pressures in changes to almost everything which affects our lives.
The end of the financial year brought news of the abolition of NHS England. Some of you will know that NHS England was originally created as part of Andrew Lansley’s 2012 reforms, with a view to give independence to the NHS, thus freeing it from day to day political interference. However, Ara Darzi’s review of the NHS last year said the Lansley review was ‘disastrous’ with burdensome layers of bureaucracy impacting on the way the service is run. Of course, this change doesn’t mean the end of the NHS, but it does mark a seismic shift in how our health service is run, with the NHS being under direct government control. So what will this mean for the surgery and for us as patients? The honest answer is ‘who knows’, but be assured we will continue to work with the surgery to ensure we are kept informed about changes as the occur.
The major issue this month has yet again been communication with the surgery. We hear constantly of the difficulties in getting appointments, waiting times on the phone and general lack of communication between the surgery and patients. I’m sure most of us are empathetic to the stress on the surgery. A simple Google search talks of unsustainable work loads resulting in ‘stress and burnout’ amongst doctors, highlighted by a February 2025 BMA survey of 1400 family doctors which indicated that 47% were expecting to make changes by either taking clinical work outside the NHS or working abroad. So the issues in general practice are not confined to Parkwood Surgery by any means. However, whilst we understand, we also have our own health needs and we want and expect them to be met.
As representatives of you as patients, it is vital that we have a sound understanding of what is happening in the surgery. To that end, we were able to arrange an extra daytime meeting with the practice manager, one of the clinical partners and admin staff to iron out future ways of working to ensure we are kept informed about developments and changes. I was reassured from the meeting that we have found a workable way forward and a schedule of meetings involving the practice manager has now been formulated for 2025/26. As chair of FPS, I am moving into this new financial year with both hope and expectation that there will be an improvement in our relationship with the surgery and we will be able to fulfil our role as your representatives more effectively .
Minutes of our meetings are published on our website. Do please read them. As ever, we are happy to hear from you with general comments.
As your committee, we regularly put forward your queries, concerns and feedback to the surgery management. As you’ll see reflected in our March minutes, communication between FPS and the surgery has not been as constructive as we would like in recent weeks. Since that meeting, members of the committee have met with Ranvir Kalra, managing partner of the surgery, and worked on a way forwards to be able to provide more information to our members in the future. You can see the minutes of that meeting here.
Check out the minutes of our meetings
The minutes from FPS’ monthly meetings, including our most recent March meeting, are available here. We hope this will improve the transparency for patients so you can see your concerns and queries are being raised.
HWEDSG webinars
Knit and Natter Group
The Knit and Natter group continues to meet on Tuesdays from 2-4pm, but temporarily at William Crook House, whilst the Community Hall on Great Sturgess Road is closed. If you’d like to come along to it, or know someone who would like a chat and some company, please contact Val on 01442 255449. Entrance to William Crook House is controlled, so calling Val is essential if you want to join.
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
Stress Awareness Month
Stress is something we all experience from time to time – it’s a normal part of being human – but excessive stress is bad for our mental and physical health. A survey by Mental Health First Aid UK suggests that 25% of us are experiencing intolerable levels of stress.
Stress Awareness Month is focusing on helping us to recognise stress within ourselves and others, and find ways of managing and reducing it.
Find out your stress levels by taking the Stress Test and then find out more from the Stress Management Society
Or maybe Hertfordshire and Mid Essex Talking Therapies’ webinar on how to cope with stress might be for you. Find out more here.
Finding the motivation – a note from our chair
Our newsletter can be a bit depressing when we think of the state of the NHS! We’ve been doing some thinking about what we can all do to keep ourselves out of the doctor’s surgery at a time when we can’t take health care for granted.
Last month, we focused on the benefits of exercise. In thinking of all the things we can do to help ourselves, I realised that behind it all is our motivation for change.
A few weeks ago, as an ex smoker (stopped many years ago now) I had an interview with Healthwatch about stopping smoking. As I related my story of how I both started and stopped (grew up in a smoking household/put on rubber gloves immediately after a meal so I just couldn’t !!!), what I realised was behind it all is motivation, i.e. wanting to make that change. So what was it that time after many times of trying to stop made me do it? Mine was a chance remark in my office about the smell of smoke on clothing – nothing that dramatic but never forgotten.
A simple definition of motivation is ‘the driving force behind human actions, encompassing the desire to initiate, continue, and maintain change’. It is, of course, very complex. We all know that we shouldn’t eat that last chocolate, but then close on the heels of the Xmas tub of sparkly wrapped chocolates is the Easter Bunny bearing gifts. We all know, too, that when things are tough, it’s easy to reach for a biscuit, a glass of wine, a cigarette or whatever gives you that immediate sense of relief. Earlier today, I spoke with a friend about to lose his driving license for speeding – he knows very well that he shouldn’t speed but like all of us we think ‘not me’.
As part of my thinking, I spoke with four fellow patients about their motivation for losing weight. Each has had a different weight loss journey, but what was clear was that for three, there was an external factor which influenced them. A health issue was common; for one, it was the thought that they might not see their little granddaughter grow up; another that they might be at a serious health risk, and the third that maybe losing weight would help their very painful joints. The fourth, perhaps similar to my stopping smoking, seemed to be in the right headspace at the time when they joined a weight loss organisation. What was also clear was that being supported was part of the journey. Again, they had different experiences ranging from a slimming organisation, to their GP or the pharmacist at the surgery, and behind it all support from family and friends.
The NHS has lots of advice about weight loss, smoking, and alcohol consumption, and you are able to seek support from the surgery. As we go into the warmer months, I might take my own advice!!!!!