Drs Feeney, Corbett and Maguire
Branch End Surgery, Stocksfield, Northumberland, NE43 7LL
Telephone 01661 842626. Fax 01661 844392.

Branch End Surgery also have their own website.

Click on the "newsletters' link on the right for the latest news from Branch End Surgery.

Branch End Newsletter April / May 2008 online now, click here.

There are 7 doctors working on several days during the week all the following doctors are permanent.

DR FEENEY Will USUALLY have appointments on:
MONDAY morning and afternoon
WEDNESDAY afternoon
THURSDAY morning
FRIDAY morning

DR MAGUIRE Will USUALLY have appointments on:
MONDAY morning and afternoon
TUESDAY morning and afternoon
WEDNESDAY morning
THURSDAY morning
FRIDAY morning and afternoon

DR CORBETT (Female Dr.) Will USUALLY have appointments on:
MONDAY morning
TUESDAY morning
WEDNESDAY morning

DR.DORNAN (Female Dr) Will USUALLY have appointments on:
TUESDAY morning and afternoon
WEDNESDAY morning and afternoon

DR BURRIDGE Will USUALLY have appointments on:
WEDNESDAY morning and afternoon
FRIDAY afternoon

DR GUELLARD Will USUALLY have appointments on:
TUESDAY afternoon

DR RANDLES (GP Registrar) Will USUALLY have appointments on:
MONDAY morning and afternoon
TUESDAY morning and afternoon
THURSDAY morning
FRIDAY morning and afternoon

How do I make an appointment?

Appointments for all Doctors and Nurses can be made up to one month in advance and because of this you may find the earliest appointment you can book could be up to 2 or 3 weeks away.

There are seven appointments released for each Doctor on duty every day. These appointments can only be booked from 8am - On the Day.

Unfortunately sometimes all the appointments for the day are booked within a very short period depending on how many Doctors are on duty so it would be beneficial to book in advance especially if a specific Doctor is preferred.

If we are booked up for the day when you ring, we will inform you of this and ask you if your problem is an emergency eg: Chest pain, Breathing Problems, Eye Problems, Earache or something that could not wait until the next day. Any baby or children's problem which are urgent will always be fitted into the surgery that morning.

We also have three telephone appointments for each Doctor on duty on the day, these are for urgent matters that can be dealt with over the phone without being seen or examined.

Appointments are given priority between 8am and 10am so if patients wanting to discuss any other matters could they wait until after this time this would be greatly appreciated.

Walk-in Centre

NHS Walk-in Centres offer fast and convenient access to local NHS services, information and treatment without needing an appointment. They do not replace local GP or hospital services but compliment them.

There is a walk-in centre at Newcastle General Hospital and another near the Centre of Life not far from the central station. The address is:

Care Uk
Unit 5
The Bar
St James Gate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4BH

Tel: 0191 233 3760
Open from 7.00am - 7.00pm Monday - Friday

There are some variations between services offered by Walk-in Centres across the country but normally most centres can provide the following services:

• Blood Pressure checks
• Contraceptive advice
• Coughs, colds and flu-like symptoms. Dressing care
• Emergency contraception
• Hayfever, bites and stings
• Health promotion: diet exercise
• Minor cuts and wounds
• Muscle and joint injuries-strains and sprains
• Smoking cessation support
• Suturing
• Women's health problems, eg: thrush, menstrual advice.

Stocksfield Community Care Fund

The Stocksfield Community Care Fund (SCCF) has purchased a wheelchair for all of our patients to borrow if necessary eg: if a relative coming to visit who would need a wheelchair or for patients who cannot walk for a short time etc. Please ask at reception for more information.

Pre Payment Prescriptions

Do you need more than 5 prescription items in 4 months or 14 in twelve months? You could save money by buying a Prescription Pre-payment Certificate.

This can be a 3 monthly certificate costing £26.85 or a 12 monthly certificate costing £98.70 and from the 1st of July you can a yearly certificate with 10 month equal Direct Debit. Please ask at Branch End Surgery reception for details.

Missed appointments

There were 62 people who did not arrive for their appointment in April and 102 in June. Please cancel your appointment if you do not want it so someone else can use it.

Chicken Pox

There have been lots of cases of chicken pox reported. Here are some helpful points. You may not need a Doctor's appointment.

• Children often present with a high temperature, tiredness, irritability and off their food.
• Spots appear very gradually and can be anywhere on the body including mouth and nose.
• The spots change to form a blister. The number of spots can be 1-100.

You can help by:

1. Taking off their clothes
2. Keep the room cool
3. Give regular children's paracetamol.
4. Offer frequent drinks
5. Use calamine lotion if necessary to reduce itching.

The spots will be infectious until the last spot has dried up.

Safety in the Sun

In the current warm weather it is important we protect our children against the effects of the sun.

The following guidelines will help parents to protect their children.

• Keep your child out of the sun between 11am-3pm
• Keep babies under the age of 6 months out of the sun altogether.
• Cover your child up with loose baggy clothing
• Ensure all children wear a floppy hat with a wide brim that shades the face and neck.
• Ensure you protect your child's shoulders and back of neck when playing as these are the most common places to be burnt.
• Cover exposed areas of your child's skin with a sunscreen, even on cloudy or overcast days.
• Use a cream with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or above and which is effective against UVA and UVB. Always reapply often - every hour if possible.
• Ensure your child drinks plenty of fluids - water if possible.

Smoking

It is now against the law to smoke in public places, so we can help you.
Please make an appointment with Jennie our practice nurse. Your 1st appointment will be for half an hour so please mention this to the receptionist when booking your appointment.

Why stop smoking?

• AFTER 20 MINUTES  Your blood pressure and pulse rate stabilize.
• AFTER 8 HOURS  Oxygen levels in your blood return to normal.
• AFTER 24 HOURS  Carbon monoxide disappears from your system. The build-up of tar starts to clear from your lungs.
• AFTER 48 HOURS  All nicotine will have left your body.
• AFTER 1 YEAR   The risk of a heart attack is now half that of a smoker.
• AFTER 10 YEARS  The risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of a smoker.
• AFTER 15 YEARS   The risk of a heart attack is similar to that of someone who’s never smoked

Medicine Manager

The medicine manager for the practice is Linda Ratcliffe. The job she does includes identifying and making savings for the NHS. This is done by changing some patient's medication and you may receive a letter about this. If you have any queries at all about medication she will be happy to help you and consult the doctor on your behalf.