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Newsletter
Winter 2014
Sunny Grasmere by NP Dee Howkins
The Partners and Staff of
James Cochrane Practice
wish you all a
Happy New Year
Maude Street Surgery
Helme Chase Surgery
Maude Street, Kendal.
Burton Road, Kendal.
LA9 4QE
LA9 7HR
Tel 01539 718080
www.jamescochranepractice.co.uk
Practice News
Arrivals and Departures
Lynne Ashton joined us in December, she is an
independent prescribing Nurse, who will be providing
Chronic Disease Management clinics alongside our current
Specialist Nurses, Naomi and Abby.
Lynne has relocated from Derbyshire where she worked for
12 years as a Practice Nurse in a large Practice. Prior to this
she worked as a Sister on an Intensive Care ward.
Lynne
Lynne came to Kendal when her husband’s job relocated.
She is currently assisting in the renovations of her home in
Low Bentham where she is settling in with her husband,
two children and two ‘adorable’ border terriers. She looks
forward to meeting you!
Emily Armer has joined the Dispensary team on a 1 year Apprenticeship via the Buttercups
Apprenticeship Scheme. Emily has previously studied business at Kendal College. Emily says
she is enjoying meeting new people and learning new skills. She is working 5 days a week,
completing her coursework along the way.
Janine Hill left the Practice in November after many years working with us, latterly working as
both a Nurse Practitioner and our Nursing Team Manager. We all miss Janine and wish her
every success with her future career.
Update on Dr Simon Jones
We are sorry to report Dr Simon Jones sustained some serious injuries whilst on a climbing
holiday in October and has been unable to consult with patients for some time. We are
anticipating he will return to work on a part-time basis early in the New Year. To help with
appointment availability during his absence, we have an excellent locum GP, Dr Arash
Naraghi, working 4 sessions each week. In addition, Dr Phillippa Hall and Dr Ian Tod will be
working occasional sessions during January and February.
Access to Appointments
We would like to apologise for the difficulties you may have
experienced recently when booking routine appointments.
Due to staffing issues we have been unable to offer as many
appointments as we would like and we have had to organise
the surgeries to manage the on-the-day demand. Please be
assured we are working hard to improve this situation.
We also ask for your assistance. Please book your
appointments well in advance where you can, and also try
to see the same GP or Nurse Practitioner each time for
routine appointments, to maintain continuity.
Dr Alistair Mackenzie & Dr Maria Martin
Following a recent audit of available appointments, we have recognised we
are not able to provide sufficient routine appointments with Dr MacKenzie
and Dr Martin each week. Both Dr MacKenzie and Dr Martin now work 3
days a week as GPs for the Practice, and their patient lists have to be
adjusted to reflect their reduced sessions.
Dr MacKenzie also works for the NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group. Dr Martin
provides the South Lakes Dermatology Service which runs from The Helme Chase Surgery, and
The Health Centre in Grange.
Therefore our receptionists may suggest you register with an alternative GP; either Dr Clare
O’Sullivan or Dr Joanna Cobley, both of whom can at the moment
provide better access to routine appointments.
Dr MacKenzie or Dr Martin are of course happy for you to remain
registered with them, or to see you even if you are registered with
another GP. The wait to see them may be longer than for other GPs.
Thank you for your understanding.
Nursing Team : Who’s who?
There have been some changes within the Nursing Team in recent months, so
here is a handy guide as to who does what!
Nursing Assistants :Angela Taylor
Carol Grayson
Christine McNamee
Cindy Sargeant
Hannah Sutcliffe
Rebecca Smith
Sarah Page
Practice Nurses:Jane Owen
Laura Remington
Rachel Murphy
Some also specialise in
Specialist Nurses:Abby Alexander
Lynne Ashton
Naomi Fisher
Nurse Practitioners:-
*Blood tests
*Blood Pressure
*Diabetes foot check
*ECG
*INR testing
*Spirometry testing
*New Patient Health Check
*Flu & Pneumonia injections (adults)
*B12 injection
*Depot injection
*Shingles injection
*Travel health
*Flu injection (children)
*Ear syringe
*Stitch removal
*Wound dressing
*Cervical Smears
*Family planning
*Compression dressings
*Sexual health
Undertake Assessment & Management
(including Medication Reviews) of patients with
long term conditions such as :*Asthma
*COPD
*Diabetes
*Stroke
*Hypertension *Heart Failure
*Chronic Heart Disease
*Hypothyroidism
*Atrial Fibrillation
Dave Clarke
Martin Higgins (joining us in February 2015)
Abby Alexander & Naomi Fisher (training for this role in the future)
Nurse Practitioners are skilled in diagnosing new medical problems. They take medical
history, do physical examinations, diagnose, prescribe medications and if necessary order
blood tests and x-rays and refer patients for further care or investigation at hospital.
Did You Know?
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
If your GP or Nurse Practitioner has asked
you to keep a record of your home blood
pressure readings, we have a recording
form for this purpose we would really like
you to use.
The forms are available from our Reception
desk and are also available to download
from our website.
Christmas Jumper Day at Maude Street Surgery on 12th December.
We all had a great day raising money for ‘Save The Children’.
You can see the Helme Chase crew strutting their stuff on the front cover!
NOTICEBOARD
The surgeries will be closed from 1pm on the following dates
for staff trainingThursday 15th January
Tuesday 10th February
Thursday 19th March
Our Helme Chase Dispensary is open until 5pm on these dates, for collections only.
For medical emergencies during these times contact
Cumbria Health On Call on 03000 247 247
Computer Whizz?
Remember we have an Online Access service
for booking appointments and ordering repeat
prescriptions. Also a text message service
where we send you appointment reminders and
other information by text.
Please contact our Reception staff if you wish to
sign up to either of these services.
Have you had your flu jab this season?
If you are 65 or over, or are in an At Risk group…Book now!
Be the first to get the news!
We now Email our newsletter to over
2000 patients. If you would like to
receive it in this way, please let us know
your email address.
A LARGE PRINT copy is also
available in the surgery waiting room.
If you would be
interested in joining the
JCP team, do keep
checking our website for
current job vacancies
Our Clinic Room Policies
Chaperone Policy
Patients are entitled to be
accompanied by a
Chaperone for any
consultation, examination
or procedure.
Please ask at reception at
the time of booking your
appointment, if you would
like one.
Consent Policy
This is a patient’s
agreement for a health
professional to provide
care.
Consent may be given
non-verbally, orally or in
writing.
Needle Stick Policy
Hand Washing Policy
This is covered under
our Blood Borne Virus
Policy.
Our clinicians are fully
trained in clinical hand
washing procedures.
It is important for ALL
staff to report this type
of accident by
completing an accident
form and following the
correct procedure.
Each of our clinic rooms
has hand washing
facilities and each clinician
has access to hand
sanitizer gel.
At The James Cochrane Practice, we are dedicated to providing the best
possible service for our patients, please reflect on your experience with us
and give us your feedback!
You can do this any time via:
Filling in a feedback card next time you visit either of our surgeries. Or
simply tear off the form at the top of this page and hand it in.
If you are registered for our text messaging service, you may receive a
text message asking you for your opinion after your appointment.
By downloading the feedback card from our website and posting it to us,
or dropping it off at the surgery next time you’re in.