BGP Monthly Newsletter (April 2025)

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April2025/VOL.020

• Patient Feedback M O N T H L Y

Solar Panels

Since installing solar panels at our Frimley Green site in April 2024, we have planted the equivalent of 171.7 trees and saved 2,837.86 kg of CO2 emissions.

We are part of the Green Impact Toolkit which is a measure of how practices look at being more eco-friendly, and installing solar panels has been a big part of our commitment to the environment.

You said: I’d like to know what doctors work on which days.

We did: If you head to our website, we keep an updated page that lets you know which clinicians are working on which days: www.bartlettgrouppractice.co.uk/staffavailability.

• Stress Awareness Month

• Shingles & Pneumo

Patient Feedback

We regularly collect patient feedback as it helps us to evaluate services, and understand areas where we can improve as well as where we are doing well. Providing us with feedback is not mandatory but does help us understand more about our services.

We are pleased to see that from over 6195 feedback responses, patients rate the care they receive from us on average 4.65 / 5.

That’s great feedback and we are pleased to continue to provide care for the population.

Bowel Cancer Awareness—April 2025

Bowel cancer can affect anyone, whatever your age, gender, ethnicity, or where you live. The most important thing to know is that – the earlier the disease is spotted, the more treatable it’s likely to be. There are lots of charities supporting bowel cancer including the Beating Bowel Cancer and Bowel Cancer UK charities, who have merged with the main aim of ensuring that there would be no victim of Bowel Cancer by 2050.

Bowel Cancer is the UK’s second biggest killer cancer. This shouldn’t be the case since it is treatable and curable, especially when diagnosed at an early stage. Early diagnosis for Bowel Cancer and any other type of cancer saves lives.

If you have any of the above symptoms, complete a Rapid Health to speak to your GP.

Our Reception team are still able to help you fill out a Rapid Health form if you need it. You can ring us or you can pop into the surgery at either of our sites.

We know not everyone has access to the internet, so we will do our best to help you get to the care you need.

DID YOU KNOW?

The cost to the NHS for prescribing paracetamol every year is £80 million. *Based on the approximate price of 32 tablets. On prescription the cost of 32 tablets is around three times more than for a patient to buy locally.

You can do your bit to help:

Please don’t ask for paracetamol on prescription, it can be bought affordably elsewhere. Play your part in helping your local NHS to save money.

Catching Up on Shingles & Pneumonia Vaccines: What You Need to Know

We are gradually contacting patients who are eligible for the shingles and pneumonia vaccines as part of a catch-up effort. If you qualify, you may receive a text message from our team inviting you to book your vaccination.

These vaccines are essential in protecting your long-term health:

• Shingles Vaccine – Helps prevent shingles, a painful rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, and reduces the risk of complications like long-term nerve pain.

• Pneumonia Vaccine – Protects against serious lung infections, particularly important for older adults and those with certain health conditions.

If you believe you're eligible or have questions, please do contact our reception team. Vaccination is one of the best ways to stay protected and stay well!

Bartlett Group Recommends…..

Ingredients

• 25glower-fat spread

• 2 shallots (or half ared onion),finely chopped

• 2.5cm (about 5g) fresh root ginger,peeledand grated

• 1garlicclove,crushed

• 1teaspoon reducedsalt soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons mango chutney

• zestandjuice of 2 limes

• 1teaspoon sweetchilli sauce

• 500gfirm white fish fillets (like cod,pollock or haddock),cut into chunks

• 1pepper (any colour), deseededand cut into smallchunks

• 225geasy-cook long grain white rice

• 4handfuls mixedsalad leaves

• quarter of acucumber, chopped

• 4tablespoons low-fat saladdressing

Lime Fish Skewers

Method

1. Melt the low-fat spread in a small saucepan over a medium heat, and add the shallots, ginger and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned.

2. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the soy sauce, mango chutney, lime zest, lime juice and sweet chilli sauce. Stir until well mixed.

3. Set the grill to medium-high to preheat. Thread the fish and pepper onto small skewers, then brush with the sauce.

If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in cold water for 20 minutes beforehand to stop them burning under the grill.

4. Cook under the grill, brushing with the remaining sauce and turning frequently, until golden brown on the outside and cooked through – about 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the packet instructions, and mix together the salad ingredients.

6. When the fish is cooked, serve with the rice and the mixed green salad.

This also works well served over couscous.

Healthy eating

It’s important to try and eat a healthy diet, including a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with starchy carbohydrates like potatoes, rice and pasta, and lean protein.

The Eatwell Guide gives clear guidelines and images to show you what we should aim for in terms of balancing our food intake across a week.

It can be difficult to work out how much we should be eating as a portion. The British Dietetic Association has an easy guide to portion sizes. You don’t even need to have your scales to hand!

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/eight-tips -for-healthy-eating/ https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/theeatwell-guide/ https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/food-facts-portion-sizes.html

T O P tips

It’s almost Easter, which means there is usually a lot of sweet treats about. Here are some tips to keep you going through April:

1. Limit sweet treats it can be tempting with so much chocolate around, but try to limit your intake to recommended limits.

2. Keep exercising with warmer days ahead, try to get outside for a walk, maybe enjoy an easter egg trail!

3. Check your vaccinations are you up to date? Now is a great time to get your vaccines and check if you are outstanding anything.

Stress Awareness Month is an annual event observed every April since 1992, dedicated to increasing public awareness about the causes and cures of stress. The Stress Management Society, a non-profit organisation established in 2003, has been at the forefront of this imitative for over two decades. Our mission is to help individuals and organisation recognise and reduce stress, fostering a happier, healthier, and more resilient world.

The theme this year is Lead with love. In today’s world, where stress often thrives

1. Embrace Kindness in Everyday Actions

2. Be an Active Listener

3. Practice Self-Love

4. Participate in challenges and activities

5. Share your love

6. Support your community

in the midst of conflict, tension, and division, we believe that live is the universal force capable of shifting the narrative. By choosing love as our starting point, we embrace empathy, prioritise understanding, and create positive change in every interaction.

Whether it’s extending a gesture of kindness to someone nearby, offering support to global communities, or simply practice self-love, even the smallest acts of love can spark powerful waves of positive that ripple outward.

March Patient Feedback:

We like to collect patient feedback, not just because we have to, but because it helps inform the choices we make when it comes to service provision. It also helps us work out what is working and what maybe could be improved. Patient feedback is very much valued and we have introduced a board at each of our sites where feedback can be left.

Here’s some of the feedback we received this month!

You said

Amazing service, GP was very informative and he explained the process going forward very well.

Prefer to book appointments through reception rather than online. If very unwell it would be difficult and frustrating to have to complete an online form.

We responded:

We are pleased to hear you had a good experience with the practice and thank you for your kind feedback!

Thank you for your feedback. You can still contact our reception team who can help you to fill in the form over the phone instead of completing it yourself. We use the form to assess the timeframe for an appointment this helps us to ensure we are getting the most appropriate appointments for you.

Queue at reception every time you go in and only one receptionist working.

We are often busy behind the scenes taking calls from patients. We usually have two receptionists on our front desk at Ash Vale, and one at Frimley Green (however there are more receptionists on the phones taking calls). We try to get staff to step in as needed if we notice a queue building, and will take your feedback on board.

Maybe old people could phone in to make a doctors appointment I can’t do it online.

No, other than more appointments at Ash Vale surgery which is near to our home rather than Frimley Green.

Our reception team are able to help anyone who cannot fill in the form online themselves. If you give our reception team a ring, they can go through the form with you over the phone.

We try to spread our appointments over both sites as best we can. We have increased our access for patients by allowing them to use services across both sites, however we know patients do like to attend their closest practice.

You said We responded:

Stop asking for more patients to register when you can't get to see a doctor now.

Knowing what doctors work on which days.

We understand your concerns regarding patient registrations. As a GP practice, we have a responsibility to serve our local community, and due to the size of our catchment area, we are not permitted to stop new patient registrations within our boundary.

We also want to clarify that GP practices in England receive approximately £170 per year per registered patient. Unfortunately, this amount covers only a small portion of the overall costs associated with providing care, including staff salaries, facilities, and the increasing demand for healthcare services.

If you head to our website, we keep an updated page that lets you know which clinicians are working on which days: www.bartlettgrouppractice.co.uk/staffavailability

Can you find the words below in the Healthcare wordsearch?

• TESTS

• DOCTOR

• TEAM

• INVESTIGATION

• APPOINTMENT

• BODY

• HEALTH

• MIND

• HELP

• OPTIONS

• NURSE

• NHS

• FACETOFACE

• CONSULTATION

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