September is the perfect month to get into – or back into – a healthier lifestyle. Once the summer is over, and everyone starts returning to their normal routines at work and school, it feels like the right time to think about a mini reboot.

It has been shown that September, not January, is the best time to break away from old habits and build new ones. The New Year can feel pressurised with everyone leaping into resolutions. But the nights are long, and the weather is cold and those good intentions can peter out quickly.

September is different. The weather is still mild and motivation for change is stronger, especially for those who have abandoned diets or exercise routines in the summer and are looking to reclaim some lost ground.

Without the pressure of sticking to New Year’s resolutions, you can quietly choose a goal and start to work towards it, which in turn means that you are much more likely to stick to your diet or workout as the weather turns colder.

Get free support from LiveWell Dorset’s health and wellbeing service, including: 12 weeks of free slimming group vouchers, 1-2-1 coaching, smoking quit kits and activity plans. For more details, please go to www.livewelldorset.co.uk or call the team on 0800 840 1628.

We will be running our annual flu vaccination clinic for eligible patients on Saturday 5th October 2024 at the Winterborne Whitechurch Village Hall.

Please save this date as we would like as many of our eligible patients to attend; invitations and further details will follow closer to the time.

Introduction of new NHS vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is an infectious disease of the airways and lungs. RSV infection often causes symptoms similar to a cold, including cough, sore throat, sneezing and runny or blocked nose. It can also make you become wheezy or short of breath and lead to pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions. RSV can be more severe in people with medical conditions such as heart or lung disease or a weakened immune system. RSV infection is common in young children but is most serious for small babies and for older people.

Everyone turning 75 years old on or after the 1 September 2024 will be offered a single dose of RSV vaccine. This is because older adults are more at risk of serious complications from RSV. For the first year of the programme, the vaccine will also be offered to those who are already aged 75 to 79 years on 1 September 2024 as part of a catch-up programme. Please do not contact the surgery to book an appointment, we will contact you when we are able to invite you in.

For more information, you can read the patient information leaflet for the RSV vaccine called Abrysvo here: www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/15309/pil

All women who are at least 28 weeks pregnant on 1 September 2024 will also be offered a single dose of the RSV vaccine, to protect their babies against RSV. Please speak with your midwife for more details.

20.08.2024

We are looking for another volunteer to join our Wellbeing Team and help lead our walking group. It would be once a month on a Wednesday morning. Could that be you?

For more information, please contact Kelly at the surgery either by calling 01258 880210 or by sending an email to [email protected]

To see our walking group leaflet please click here and to see the schedule for June click here.

Prescriptions for 35 minor conditions are no longer available in Dorset such as hayfever, colds and indigestion. Help your NHS and visit your pharmacy or supermarket instead. #helpyournhs

For more information visit  www.nhsdorset.nhs.uk/helpyournhs or click here to download a leaflet.

Please can we ask that from now onwards, rather than use the surgery email address for clinical or medication queries, you complete an eConsult form online as the GP’s no longer take questions via email. This would also include requests for sick notes.

To access the eConsult service please click on the ‘Consult with your doctor online’ button at the top of our surgery website www.masurgery.co.uk. You can also submit an eConsult from the NHS app.

For more details on how to use eConsult please click here https://econsult.net/nhs-patients/how-to-use-econsult

This will help with efficiency and the GP workload. We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Did you know that approximately 1.6 million medicine items are wasted unnecessarily in Dorset each year? Did you know that if healthcare were a country, it would be the 5^th biggest carbon emitter in the world? In the UK, the NHS has estimated that the manufacture, supply, and use of pharmaceuticals accounts for 25% of the NHS’s total carbon footprint. We need your help to reduce this. 

Please check what medicines you have at home before you order your repeat prescriptions. If you have enough, only request the medicines you need this time. You will still be able to order your medicine again in future, and you will be helping your community, the environment and your NHS.

Find out more at: www.nhsdorset.nhs.uk/yourmeds

You may have recently heard that the NHS has pledged to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 for the first time ever, which could save thousands of lives every year in England. To achieve this pledge, the NHS needs to ensure women come forward for cervical screening.

Cervical screening at Milton Abbas Surgery is carried out by three very friendly and experienced nurses, and we have flexible appointments available throughout the week, up to 5.40pm on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and Saturday mornings from 9 – 10am.

If you have any concerns that you would like to talk through before your screening appointment or if you have had a previous bad experience that has left you worried about attending again, please ring the surgery and ask for Marrianne, Bev or Hannah who would be very happy to call you back.

Our lovely Nurses hope to see you soon. Please don’t delay, take 5 minutes now to ring for an appointment on 01258 880210.

Watch these short videos to learn how to use your inhaler properly and better manage your respiratory symptoms: How to use your inhaler | Asthma + Lung UK (asthmaandlung.org.uk)

If you’re a patient at our practice, you can use the NHS App to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

It doesn’t replace existing services. You can still contact us in the usual ways.

But, once you have verified your identity in the app, you will have easy, 24/7 access to a growing range of health services and information. You can: 

• order repeat prescriptions
• access NHS 111 online
• find NHS services
• view your health records
• book appointments
• and much more… 

If you already use Systmonline you can continue to use it. But the NHS App will give you easy and secure access on your smartphone.

If you have any problems using the NHS App, you can select ‘help’ in the top right-hand corner of the app or visit nhs.uk/helpmeapp.

The Mid Dorset Practice Care Network, of which Milton Abbas Surgery is part of, now has a YouTube channel which has short videos on how to use the NHS app. Click here to view the videos https://bit.ly/3PTfd5C