Special points of interest:
Statement from Dr Radia & Dr Parker
Is TikTok safe?
Coronavirus testing
Healthy recipe
NEWSLETTER
July 2020
Beaconsfield Road Surgery
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
NHS Digital 2
Online safety 2
Lockdown boredom 2
Sarcomas 3
Vitamin D 3
Wellbeing apps 4
Dear Patients During this unfortunate pandemic crisis, we have been forced to review how we deliver safe high quality care to our patients. It’s no surprise to any of you that a lot of our work has now become remote, based on telephone
advice and video review. As the crisis evolves, and official advice changes,
Statement from Dr. M Radia and Dr. Parker we have reflected on our
procedures. We have reluctantly come to the conclusion that our old style "open surgeries" that occurred on Mon, Thurs and Fri mornings cannot be allowed to resume. There is manifestly a risk in having so many people in one waiting room at the same time. In order to provide access, all appointments
will be managed by telephone first. There will be no FACE to FACE access, unless reviewed and triaged by telephone first. We have increased capacity by dint of using allied health professionals, including clinical pharmacists, enhanced nurse practitioners, paramedic practitioner and a physiotherapist.
We have telephone and/or digital access for advice, (via the Engage-Consult application - see our website) now. Home visit requests will be triaged in the same way, and will obviously occur where clinically required for patient care. All care homes now have facilities to access our care in several different remote ways, and their care has
already been transformed. We recognise that there will be the occasional unusual situation, where a patient has no form of telephone or internet access. If this (fortunately rare) situation occurs, then please do communicate with the senior administration team at the surgery, via your current method - we will endeavour to find a
mutually acceptable way to facilitate care in this situation. There is access to interpreting services, including sign language - these may need to be booked in advance. Together, we believe our team can continue to provide first rate care, either remotely or face-to-face when indicated. Please do use all modalities to contact us as needed.
Kind regards
page 2
“Using social
media can be
an enriching
activity for young people”
Coronavirus (COVID-
19) increase in use of
NHS Digital tech If you are interested in
statistics and would like to
find out more about how
the demand for digital
access has grown during
the pandemic, please
follow the link.
The number of visits to the
NHS website (NHS.UK)
NHS Digital
has increased
dramatically.
On 17 March 2020 visits
peaked at 3.4 million, the
highest daily total ever. Of
this, 2.2 million visits were
to coronavirus pages.
Demand for the NHS App
grew rapidly.
In March
2020: registrations to use
the NHS App increased by
111%
the number of
repeat
prescription
requests made via
the app increased
by 97%
the number of
patient record
views rose by
62%
Despite only launching in 2018, TicTok has enjoyed a dramatic rise to become one of the most popular social media apps on the
planet.
Young people, in particular, love its short-form video focus, and it is now one of Generation Z’s favourite tools of expression.
Using social media can be an enriching activity for young people and a good
TicTok – what parents need to know
way to stay in touch with their social circle during these strange times.
Social media can be
hotbeds for misinformation
and scams, so encourage
your child to think
critically about the things
they see in their feed. If
something seems too
good to be true, chances
are it probably is. TikTok
does offer its users a
range of settings to
customise their
experience and make it
safer for young people.
And although it’s
important to bear in mind
that settings and parental
controls don’t eliminate
risk, they can be a good
first step.
For information on how to
stay safe on TikTok, click
here
Teenagers are often caricatured as lazy, duvet-loving individuals who enjoy any excuse to stay in a darkened room doing very little to exercise their minds.
But, at the moment, they could be excused for fulfilling that stereotype:
30 ways to occupy your bored teenager in lockdown
with many schools closed and exams cancelled, some will lack the incentive to get up and face the day.
While those in their mid to late teens might be trying to follow the curriculum in preparation for next year’s exams,
students reaching the end of their qualifications are most likely to need some new kind of stimulus.
The lockdown may
provide the perfect
opportunity for older
teenagers to take on fresh
challenges.
Beaconsfield Road Surgery
Sarcoma Awareness Month runs for the whole of July.
Sarcomas are rare
cancers that develop in
the muscle, bone, nerves,
cartilage, tendons, blood
vessels and the fatty and
fibrous tissues.
They can affect almost
any part of the body, on
the inside or the outside.
Sarcomas commonly
affect the arms, legs and
Sarcoma Awareness Month
trunk. They also appear in
the stomach and
intestines as well as
behind the abdomen
(retroperitoneal sarcomas)
and the female
reproductive system
(gynaecological
sarcomas). Sarcoma is
very rare, and much more
research needs to be
done to fully understand
how these cancers
develop and how best to
diagnose and treat them.
People can survive
sarcoma if their cancer is
diagnosed early, when
treatments can be
effective and before the
sarcoma has spread to
other parts of the body. It
is vital that patients be
referred to a specialist
sarcoma team as early as
possible.
If you have symptoms of
coronavirus (COVID-19), you
can ask for a test to check if
you have the virus. This is
called an antigen test.
There is another type of test
(antibody test) that checks if
you've already had the virus.
This test is not widely
available yet.
You can find out about
antibody testing on GOV.UK.
Coronavirus testing
You need to get the test
done in the first 5 days of
having symptoms.
Important:
Do not wait. Ask for the test
as soon as you have
symptoms.
You can ask for a test:
for yourself, if you
have coronavirus
symptoms now (a
high temperature, a
new, continuous
cough, or a loss or
change to your
sense of smell or
taste)
for someone you
live with, if they
have coronavirus
symptoms
Because we're all indoors a lot of the time, we might not be getting enough vitamin D from sunshine. But don't worry! You might want to take a vitamin D supplement, which you can get from
Are you getting enough vitamin D?
most pharmacies, and supermarkets and other retailers. Just 10 micrograms a day is all you need – it's the same for kids and grown-ups.
Consider taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D a
day to keep your bones and muscles healthy. This is because you may not be getting enough vitamin D from sunlight if you’re indoors most of the day.
Do not buy more vitamin
D than you need.
“You need to
get the test
done in the first
5 days of having symptoms.”
page 3 Beaconsfield Road Surgery
Beaconsfield
Group Practice
Beaconsfield Road Surgery (Main site),
21 Beaconsfield Road, Hastings, East Sussex,
TN34 3TW
Little Ridge Surgery (Branch site), 38
Little Ridge Avenue, St. Leonards-on-Sea,
East Sussex, TN37 7LS
(Currently closed to all routine services)
Beaconsfield Ore Surgery Site (Branch
site),
21 Fairlight Road, Hastings, East Sussex,
TN35 5ED
Tel: 01424 755355
Beaconsfield
Road Surgery
The COVID-19 lockdown has added many new pressures to our lives. It’s therefore no surprise that more people are currently worried about their mental wellbeing than they are about their general health.
Anxiety is a natural bodily response to a major life
Mental Wellbeing Apps
Access to GP services
are based around the principles of mindfulness: meditation, breathing and stillness.
Parentzone has tried 10 of the most popular mental wellbeing and mindfulness apps available in the Apple App and Google
Play Stores.
change. But managing anxiety can be difficult, especially when we cannot do all of the things, or see all of the people, that can help us cope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of smartphone and tablet apps to help you
manage anxiety and stress – many of which
page 4 Beaconsfield Road Surgery
Chicken and vegetable parcels recipe Wrap chicken breasts and finely sliced vegetables in their own little packages to steam to perfection.
Click here for the recipe!