A batch of the blood pressure drug Lercanidipine is being recalled as the wrong dose has been printed on the packaging. See the full details at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/patients-urged-to-check-packs-of-blood-pressure-medicine-lercanidipine-after-labelling-error and in a BBC report at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy7kpwn9l4o.
Category:General Information
How to Help the Practice
Barnabas, like all GP practices, is under pressure from increased demand, constrained funding, and fixed capacity. So how can we, as patients, help the Practice? Can you free up urgently needed GP appointments? Did you know you could contact your Pharmacist in the first instance? They can give you advice on a range of conditions …
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CQC Inspection Report
Finally CQC have published the (summary of) their inspection of the Practice last January. Find the report online at https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-559846295. Not that it tells you a lot! But why does this take almost 6 months?
What’s Where near Barnabas
The latest issue of our useful guide What’s Where near Barnabas is now available online at https://barnabasvoices.org.uk/docs/Whats_Where_near_Barnabas.pdf
On Joined-up NHS Data
Open letter from NHS medical leaders to patients and the public
High Levels of Abuse of Doctors
There was an article in the Guardian this past week reporting on a survey conducted by the Medical Protection Society. The survey questioned almost 1000 doctors and found 56% of them had either directly experienced or witnessed abuse by patients (or their relatives). This included physical abuse (which is probably at least common assault) and …
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Pressures on A&E
Received this from NW London NHS re current pressures on A&E. Some of you will already be aware, but our A&Es are under particular pressure at the moment. We are seeing a significant increase in health issues related to the hot weather and the very high pollen count in the area. We have published some …
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Know Your Blood Pressure
The following received from NW London NHS… High blood pressure has no symptoms, but can lead to serious health problems such as heart attack or stroke if it’s ignored. Everyone over 40 should know their blood pressure. If it’s been more than five years since your last check, contact your GP, visit a community pharmacy …
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New Practice Website
The Practice (Barnabas Medical Centre) has a new website at https://barnabasmedicalcentre.co.uk/ which better reflects the NHS branding. As I understand it the contract for supply & maintenance of the old website (which was common across all the practices in Ealing) expired at the end of March and wasn’t being renewed centrally; a decision that was …
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Prescription Charges in Pregnancy
Mothers-to-be need to be aware of the need for a “maternity exemption certificate” in order to get free prescriptions. The NHS is catching and fining those who don’t have the certificate but still claim free prescriptions. Guardian news item at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/04/nhs-fines-mothers-for-claiming-free-prescriptions-while-pregnant.