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!