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Autumn brings the annual flu protection clinics at the practice which are very busy at the moment. Our aim is to vaccinate the patient who has a clinical condition that puts them in the ‘at risk’ category. Do you meet the criteria to receive a vaccination? Details of all the ‘at risk’ groups are available from the practice. Something I find somewhat disappointing at this practice is the number of patients who arrange an appointment with a doctor or a nurse and do not turn up or make any effort to cancel their appointment. At the end of each month a list of patient names is given to me who according to our records have ‘DNA’ (did not attend) in the last month. During the month of September the practice had 45 missed appointments with a doctor and a 173 missed appointment with the nursing team, this equates to 6 working days of doctor and nursing time. Everyone at the practice is doing their utmost for all patients to be seen promptly and by their preferred doctor whenever possible, the time taken in the number of patient DNA’s does not help. Can I now ask for all of our patients to make a conscious effort to help us to reduce the number of DNA’s by contacting the practice to cancel your appointment if it is no longer required. There are a number of options available:- • Register with the practice to use Emis Access to
cancel your appointment on-line. I will share with everyone the number of DNA’s for the month of October, November and December in the next newsletter and let us hope we see a reduction. Finally, I have some news to share with all, after 30 years of caring for the people of Pickering and the surrounding villages Dr. David Capes has made the decision to retire. Dr. Capes will be leaving the practice in early January 2012. I am sure you will join me in wishing Dr. Capes a long, happy and restful retirement. Carol Hunt. Christmas and New Year Holidays As this will be the last newsletter of 2011 we have included details of when we are closed over the holiday period. Saturday 24th December Closed Christmas Tips We hope the tips below are of help to you in planning for the holiday season Medication If you are on regular medication, please ensure you place your order and collect it in plenty of time. Medicine chest essentials Making sure you have a few over the counter essentials might make all the difference to having a happy, health Christmas at home. It should contain : · Paracetamol |
