SELF CARE

Minor Eye Conditions Service:

       brown & wenman eyecare                                                              Specsavers

    18 Albion Street, Dunstable, Lu6 1SA                              17/19 Broadwalk, South, Dunstable, LU5 4RH

            Tel no: 01582 663 770                                            Tel no: 01582 475404

            www.brwandwenman.co.uk                                        www.specsavers.co.uk

• Provide a timely assessment of the needs of patient presenting with an eye condition.
• Reduce unnecessary referrals to the hospital eye services.
• The examination will be undertaken by accredited optometrist within suitably equipped premises who will manage the patient appropriately and safely.
• Patients can self-refer and book own appointments.
• Where referral to secondary care is required it will be to a suitable specialist within appropriate urgency.

 HANDI

The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has produced a Handbook of Non-Drug Interventions (HANDI). It covers effective non-drug treatments for many conditions. We have included the link here as the doctors feel that it is a excellent resource for our patients.

Areas covered include: Children, Musculoskeletal, Cardiovascular, Mental Health, Nutrition, etc.

Click on this link to access the site: HANDI

My Health Fabric App This is a free NHS app that allows you to access self-help if you have a long term health condition. It is free on iTunes & Google Play. Follow the link for more information. My Health Fabric App

"3 Before GP"

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) advises patients to adopt the 3 steps before contacting their GP. Is it necessary for you to ask for a GP appointment, especially during the busy winter period? There may be other solutions to your questions.

1     Self Care.

2     Use NHS Choices or similar reputable web site to gain advice.     Link to NHS Choices

3     Seek advice and/or from your pharmacist. Pharmacists are highly trained and can deal with most minor ailments.

- oOo - 

Over 1 million people see a doctor every day. However, Research shows that over a quarter of GP appointments were potentially avoidable.

Rhett Syndrome

Web Site: www.rettuk.org     

Rhett UK Support Leaflet

Over the Counter Medicines

Beds CCG has issued written guidance concerning over the counter medicines. The usual position is that a GP will not prescribe such items.

You can read the guidance by clicking on the link.       Over the Counter Medicines

Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Network (RASN)

You can access their web site via this link www.rheumatoidarthritis.org 

Managing Minor Illness ... ...

Download a document by the BMA describing what you can do to manage minor illnesses, long term conditions as well as Life Style changes.

Self-Care (BMA)

We have also included the link to the to the self-care forum ( http://www.selfcareforum.org/ )     Self-Care Forum

Minor Illness

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Click in the Engage Consult Icon to create a message

Use Engage Consult to request help from the practice. This can be either a doctor a nurse or the admin team. You can send a message at any time of day (or night) and we aim to give a reply within 2-3 working hours. Messages received out of hours will be answered on the next working day. Please note at times of exceptional patient demand the response times may be slightly longer.

There is no need to register to use Engage-Consult - click on the icon to start a consultation.

The system is for non-urgent issues, both medical and administrative, without the need to telephone the surgery.

The online consultation will generate a report which comes into the surgery and is immediately tasked to the person best qualified to answer. The surgery will work on your consultation and aims to reply within the target time.

When you use Engage Consult outside the hours you will receive an automatic message informing you that we will action the request when we are next open.

Depression

Loneliness can be a big part of depression.  We have various community groups that can help with the sense of isolation.  We have the merry widows group, and the men in sheds group to name a few.

Some people can struggle with their mood.  At the severe end of this is depression where someone feels persistently sad, has a loss of interest and struggles to carry out daily activities. if this continues persistently for over 2 weeks, this

is defined as depression.

Mind Group

There are various ways that  a person can help themselves initially to see if this can help improve their symptoms. 

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/self-care-for-depression/#.WzJwX9JKi70

This support page from Mind can be helpful.  Some suggestions may seem obvious, or there may be a sense that they will not work.  Give some a try to see if they can help. 

Bedfordshire Wellbeing Service

We have an excellent counselling service in the Bedfordshire Wellbeing service which offers a broad range of different psychological therapies that can help. You can contact them on https://bedfordshirewellbeingservice.nhs.uk/ or call

01234880400 and they will arrange counselling for you.

Men in Shed Club

https://dunstablemeninsheds.org.uk/

Merry Widowed Club

An active widows and widowers club. Meetings are held locally and new members are welcomed. If you would like to make new friends and join in with the many outings and activities please ring:

Jenny     01582 67 27 66  or  Val     01582 65 97 17

If they are not helping or you do feel that symptoms are worsening, you can get in touch with the practice via

1)     Engage consult

2)      You can book an online appointment

3)      You can contact us by phone and one of our administration team will assist you

4)      You can come to see us and our reception team can help​

if you need help when the surgery is closed, you can contact 111.