Poundbury Doctors Surgery were delighted with the donation of 12 blood pressure monitors from the Lions Club recently.  These monitors are very useful for us to lend to our patients for home use. 

When tested in a clinical setting (such as a GP surgery), patients may feel anxious, which can affect their blood pressure readings.  Monitoring at home provides a more accurate reflection of actual blood pressure and allows patients to track their blood pressure consistently over time.  Studies show that home blood pressure monitoring can lead to a reduction in clinical events such as heart attacks or strokes. 

If you borrow one of our BP monitors to use at home, please remember to return it to us along with your BP readings.

Pictured – Dr Rob Koppenhol receiving the BP monitors from Peter See and Tony Howden.

Please do not telephone Poundburgy Doctors Surgery to book your Covid vaccinations.  Covid vaccinations are not available through us and we are unable to book or assist in the booking of Covid vaccination appointments for patients.

The NHS national booking system opened for spring Covid-19 vaccination bookings on Monday (15 April).

People at increased risk from severe illness can get the vaccine, including those aged 75 or over (on 30 June 2024), people with a weakened immune system or who live in an older adult care home.

Spring vaccinations will be available until 30 June 2024.

Anyone eligible can book a vaccine appointment via the NHS.UK website or by calling 119 for free, with parents or carers able to book a Covid-19 vaccination for children under 16 on their behalf. Eligible people aged 16 and over can also use the NHS App to book an appointment.

The NHS is sending texts, emails, NHS App messages or letters to those who are eligible, but they do not have to wait for the invite to book.

Monday will also see the start of visits to older adult care homes and eligible household patients. For those that receive all their care at home, a home visit should be arranged via their GP.

Eligibility for a spring vaccination is similar to previous years but those with a weakened immune system are now eligible from 6 months instead of 5 years.

Following JCVI advice, this spring’s eligible cohorts include:

• Adults aged 75 years and over by 30 June 2024
• Residents in care homes for older adults
• Individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed.

This year there are thousands of appointments available every day across the country including at pharmacies and GP practices. Some areas also offer convenient walk-in options, with a list of available walk-in sites online.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE GP PRACTICE TO BOOK YOUR COVID VACCINATIONS.  COVID VACCINATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS GP PRACTICE AND WE ARE UNABLE TO BOOK OR ASSIST IN THE BOOKING OF APPOINTMENTS FOR PATIENTS.

Due to staff sickness, we have very few nurse appointments available at the moment.  We can only offer our sincere apologies that it may mean you will have to wait longer than usual to get a nurse appointment.

This is Tania (right-hand-side) receiving the Bronze Plus Award from Jackie Hicken, Mid Dorset PCN Carers Lead, for her work as Carer's Lead at Poundbury Doctors Surgery.  This is a new role for Tania and she has achieved so much in such a short time.  Well done Tania.

As of Monday 9th October, it can be your personal choice whether or not you wear a mask in the surgery.  However, if you have any respiratory infection or feel unwell with cold-like symptoms then please wear a mask to protect everyone.

Thank you.

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Dr Berit French, Salaried GP to Poundbury Doctors Surgery who joins us on Wednesday 13th September.

Poundbury Doctors Surgery were thrilled to receive the kind donations from Poundbury Garden Centre involved with our Social Prescribing work.  The plants all have known medical benefits and the befriending bench is to encourage patients to take a rest, have a chat with a friend or meet a new friend.

We will be running our flu clinics on Saturday 30th September and Saturday 14th October.  We urge you to book you flu vaccine online with us.  If you are unable to book your appointment online, please only telephone the surgery after 2.00 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.   

If you currently have a flu vaccine booked with a pharmacy, you may like to reconsider booking with us.

Patients Eligible for a Flu  Vaccine

The government has announced that the vaccination programme this year will focus on high-risk groups meaning healthy people aged between 50 and 64 will not be covered this year.

Please check you are in one of the following groups before booking a vaccination:

• Those aged 65 years and over
• Those aged 6 months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups
• Pregnant women
• All children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2023
• Those in long-stay residential care homes
• Carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
• Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• Frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants

The NHS teamed up with Parkrun UK to mark the NHS’s 75^th anniversary 8^th July. 

Staff from Poundbury Doctors Surgery participated in the event on the Great Field in Poundbury.  Everyone was encouraged to join in whether running, walking or walking with a four-legged “fur” friend. 

If you have borrowed one of our BP monitors to use at home, please return it to us.  We purchased 20 monitors which we have lent out to patients and none of them have been returned.  We do not have the resources to replace these machines.  Thank you.

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Dr Anne-Marie O'Carroll, Salaried GP to Poundbury Doctors Surgery who joins us on Monday 27th February.

Warm Welcomes in Dorset
Cost of Living Support in the Community

How to get help and how to give help

If you, or someone you know is struggling financially, click onto the link for information locally:

https://www.helpandkindness.co.uk/warm-welcomes-in-dorset)

Dr Simon Phillips is running this year’s London Marathon on the 2^nd October dressed as Big Ben to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK. It’s a fantastic charity and one of personal importance. The challenge is completing the event in a large, bulky costume that acts as both a sauna in heat and sail in windy weather. Let’s hope it’s cool and calm on the day!

Dr Phillips wants to raise as much as possible and has pledged at least £2500. We hope you will want to donate what you can and you may even win a prize in return!

London Marathon Sweepstake

Win £50 Amazon Voucher

It's your chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher by entering into Dr Phillip's competition. It's easy, just guess hisfinishing time for the London Marathon on the 2nd October. The closest answer wins. You can enter by donating £5 through his Just Giving page (below). All the money goes to Alzheimer's Research UK.

You can donate to Dr Phillip's JustGiving page by clicking here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/simon-phillips70

To give you an idea on times, he ran London Marathon in 3hrs 55mins in 2016. He will of course be wearing the Big Ben costume this time which will slow him down, a lot. It's big and awkward. He has done three practice Great Field Park Runs in Dorchester in 28-30 minutes.

Please enter your answer time in Hrs, Mins and Secs into the comments as you donate. This way you can avoid duplicate times and having to split the winnings. 

Thank you for all the support and kind donations. It really does make a difference. Look out for Dr Phillips on the day if you are running also or maybe even on TV.....

Good luck everyone! Enter now, go on, times ticking!

Mike Bushell, BBC sports commentator came to interview Dr Phillips today - see attached photograph.  

The GP Partners sent a lovely bouquet of flowers to all the staff today in recognition of all the hard work they continue to do during the most challenging time we have ever experienced in primary care.