Overton Park Surgery

News:

**PLEASE NOTE THAT 524605 IS NO LONGER IN OPERATION - PLEASE USE 580511 FOR ALL CALLS**
OVERTON PARK SURGERY NEW BUILDING EXTENSIONS
**From the beginning of November, we shall be having a new building extensions constructed. Please look at the plans in the Surgery Reception area which explians where the new extensions are going to be. We shall be increasing the size of the Waiting Room and there will be 5 more Consulting Rooms, all to accomodate the fact that we now have more than 11,000 patients. When we moved here in 1991, we had only 6,500! We are desperate for more space.
Please bear with us during this work and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused. There will be no parking available during the building work, which will take 3-4 months.**
For information about Swine Flu symptoms please go to www.nhs.uk and use the 'Flu Checker' to check your symptoms or contact NHS Direct.

**OPENING TIMES**

Please note our Surgery opening times have
changed as from 1st December 2008:

Mondays and Thursday we are open from 8:30am until 7:30pm.
Wednesdays we are open from 8:30am until 6:30pm.
Tuesdays and Fridays we are open at 7:30am closing at 6:30pm.
We will also be open on two Saturdays during the month from 9:00am until 11:00am.

**HEALTH VISITORS DROP-IN CLINIC**
Please note that from 01.07.2009 there will no longer be a drop-in clinic. You should instead book an appointment between 9:40am and 11:30am.

Prescription telephone line
Please note that the prescription phone line was closed from the 2nd June 2008. Please take advantage of the online repeat prescription ordering service - details below.

Travel Vaccination Charges
Please note our new travel vaccination charges - see the link under Practice Information on our homepage for info.

Out of Hours
During the overnight and weekend hours, if you require medical attention, you should ring the Out-of-Hours telephone number (08454 220220).

Home Visits
Telephone: Cheltenham 580511. Patients whose illness prevents them from coming to the Surgery, can be visited in their own homes. However, on average, seeing you at home takes four times as long as seeing you in the Surgery, so please come along if you can.

Online Prescriptions
Order prescriptions online and book appointments via our Emis Access system. You must register in the practice for this service.

Announcements

01 Mar - 31 Mar
Great Daffodil Appeal

Marie Curie is asking everyone to paint the UK yellow this March by making a donation and wearing a daffodil pin for the Great Daffodil Appeal.

01 Mar - 31 Mar
Prostate Cancer Awareness

We want men, the general public, and health professionals, to be more aware of prostate cancer. Our awareness month helps raise vital funds for much needed support and information for men who have been diagnosed and their families.

01 Jan - 31 Mar
Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Ovarian Cancer Action will be raising awareness in a variety of communities throughout March to ensure we are doing everything we can to inform women about the disease and its symptoms

BBC Health

Call to halt NHS medical database

Doctors' leaders urge ministers to halt the development of a medical records database for patients in England.

Social care deal 'dead in water'

Attempts to reach a cross-party deal on funding social care appear to be dead in the water ahead of a key summit.

'No proof' IVF aided by acupuncture

There is no evidence acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine boost the chance of IVF success, fertility experts warn.

'Problem kids' risk future pain

Children with behavioural problems are twice as likely to suffer chronic pain as adults than others, say researchers.

Illegal cord blood sample warning

Parents, hospitals and private firms are being warned over risky and illegal collections of umbilical cord blood

'London bomb stress' recognised

Psychologists say they have treated hundreds of survivors of the 2005 London bombings for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Patients 'get care in cupboards'

Patients are being treated in mop cupboards, storerooms and kitchens due to wards being full, a survey suggests.

Pharmacy probe over pill refusal

A high street chemist is investigating after a religious employee refused a customer in Sheffield the contraceptive pill.

UK gives SA millions of condoms

The UK donates £1m ($1.5m) to South Africa to buy 42m condoms, as the nation builds up to the football World Cup.

Women who drink wine in moderation stay slim, says study

Women can enjoy a tipple and stay slim, according to a study showing moderate drinkers gain less weight than teetotallers.

WHO Swine Flu

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 90

As of 28 February 2010, worldwide more than 213 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16455 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 89

As of 21 February 2010, worldwide more than 213 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16226 deaths.

Director-General statement following the seventh meeting of the Emergency Committee

The Emergency Committee held its seventh meeting by teleconference on 23 February 2010. The Director-General sought the Committee's views on the determination of the pandemic status.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 88

As of 14 February 2010, worldwide more than 212 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 15921 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 87

As of 7 February 2010, worldwide more than 212 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 15292 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 86

As of 31 January 2010, worldwide more than 211 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 15174 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 85

As of 24 January 2010, worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 14711 deaths.

Statement of the World Health Organization on allegations of conflict of interest and 'fake' pandemic

22 January 2010 -- Providing independent advice to Member States is a very important function of the World Health Organization (WHO). We take this work seriously and guard against the influence of any improper interests. The WHO influenza pandemic policies and response have not been improperly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 84

As of 17 January 2010, worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 14142 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 83

As of 10 January 2010, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 13554 deaths.

MedPage Today

Labor Groups Protest Insurance Companies

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Supporters of healthcare reform rallied against health insurers Tuesday, further casting the industry as the villain in the often theatrical healthcare reform debate.

Americans Have Sex into Their 60s and Beyond (CME/CE, with audio)

Thirty-somethings can expect to enjoy at least another 30 years of sex, researchers have found.

Medicare to Drug Plan Operator: You're Fired

Medicare has terminated its contract with Fox Insurance Co., a prescription drug plan operator handling 123,000 beneficiaries in 21 states, because the government said it was improperly denying claims.

FDA Panels to Advise on LABA Study Designs

The FDA is seeking advice this week from two of its advisory committees on how manufacturers of a major group of asthma drugs should study their potential risks.

ACS Stats Find Gains in War on Cancer

Cancer is not quite the killer it was 20 years ago. The American Cancer Society found that "age-standardized" cancer deaths among men declined by 21% from 1990, while the rate among women declined by 12% from 1991 to 2006.

ASCO GU: Robotic Surgery Changes Some Prostate CA Treatment

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- Robot-assisted surgery for prostate cancer may require alteration in radiation planning but doesn't preclude sufficient lymph node sampling, according to results of two studies.

Comparative Effectiveness Studies Found Wanting (CME/CE)

Head-to-head studies of different drugs have dominated comparative effectiveness research to date, while other types of studies that might be equally useful have been neglected, researchers said.

Kidney Donors Survive Just Fine (CME/CE, with video)

Donors who gave up a kidney to save another person's life paid no penalty in their own long-term survival, a study of national data suggested.

ASCO GU: BP Reveals Hit or Miss for Targeted Tx

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- Early response to preoperative targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma may indicate efficacy, while treatment-induced hypertension may be another marker after surgery, according to studies reported here.

Pain Common in Systemic Sclerosis (CME/CE)

Pain is common and can be severe in patients with systemic sclerosis, a Canadian cross-sectional analysis found. This is an underappreciated aspect of this disease.