Care & Support

Before you go

Well before travelling abroad, check with your travel agent/embassy of the country you intend to visit on any special precautions you need to take.

At least two months before departure, discuss any vaccination requirements with your doctor of the practice nurse.

Pack a small first aid kit containing: adhesive dressings, insect repellent, antiseptic cream and water purification tablets.

When abroad

Check on the quality of drinking water. If in doubt either drink only bottled water or use water purification tablets. Avoid ice in drinks as this may have been made from suspect water.

Raw vegetables, salads and fresh fruit should be carefully washed in clean water. If in doubt, stick to freshly cooked food.

Beware of the sun. Use a high factor sun screen particularly in the first few days of exposure. Children in particular should be monitored closely in this respect.

In hot climates drink plenty of non-alcoholic drinks. If you are not passing water regularly, you are not drinking enough.

On your return

If you fall ill, don’t forget to tell your doctor that you have travelled abroad.

If you have received treatment abroad, tell your doctor on your return.

When donating blood, tell the transfusion staff which countries you have visited.

Alcohol is a depressant which has the effect of dulling the brain and nervous system.

In small quantities, alcohol can actually be beneficial to health. In large quantities, on a regular basis, it can have a very serious negative effect on health. At one extreme it can kill. CIRRHOSIS of the liver for instance, is killing an increasing number of people as are drivers who are over the limit. At the other end of the scale, excess consumption of alcohol can lead to poor co-ordination, impaired vision, a weakening of the immune system, impotence and obesity.

What is a safe limit?

An accepted safe limit is 28 units a week for men and 21 units for women. A unit being approximately a glass of wine, half a pint of beer or a single measure of spirit. This recommended maximum presumes that the consumption is spread throughout the week and not consumed all at once in a ‘binge’.

A man’s liver can process only 8 units of alcohol within a 24 hour period and can take 72 hours to recover fully. It is easy to see how easy it is to damage this vital organ.

How to cut down

How about a bottle of mineral water instead of wine with your lunch? Always drink water alongside wine with a meal and try a spritzer (wine mixed with mineral water)instead of a straight glass of wine.

How to avoid a hangover

The most effective way to avoid a hangover is not to drink too much. Failing that, if you have over indulged, drinking large quantities of water before going to bed is very effective in warding off the worst effects.

North Central London CCG would like to reassure you that the NHS is open for you during the coronavirus pandemic.

The information is available in several languages, please follow the link on the next line.

Visit this page for full details about cancer (and symptoms) and cervical screening.

There are some helpful videos below.

There are lots of information and advice videos in the Health and Care Video library funded by the NHS.

The videos are reviewed regularly by NHS clinicians to ensure they are up to date and offer the best advice.

Click here to go to the NHS Health & Care Video Library

The library is also available as an app to download on both Apple and Android devices – click here to find out more

We are improving the way we work with patients with long-term conditions

Patients living with certain long-term conditions will be encouraged to attend a Yearly Health Check. Long-term conditions are those that impact over a long period of time, such as diabetes and heart diseases.

Patients will receive personalised care and support from healthcare professionals from their general practice. This will cover things that patients say matter most to their health and wellbeing, from the best treatment for their condition, to wider things like employment, housing, and mental health.

Our goal is that by planning care together with care, patients will have the confidence to manage their health, reduce their risk of being admitted to hospital, and have a better quality of life.

Who is this for?

Initially, we will cover nine long-term conditions:

• Cardiovascular disease (for example, strokes, health failure, ischaemic heart disease, and peripheral artery disease)
• Diabetes
• Hypertension (High blood pressure)
• Hyperlipidaemia (High cholesterol)
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Atrial fibrillation
• Chronic kidney disease
• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In the future, we will look to expand this to cover more long-term conditions.

What can you expect?

If you have one of the long-term conditions listed above, you will be encouraged to have at least three check-ins per year. Each stage is described below for you:

Attend your Check and Test Appointment

In your Check and Test Appointment, a health professional will carry out all the checks and tests you need to monitor and manage your long-term condition. You may be sent for a blood test and have other checks like a blood pressure check and weight check. We may discuss lifestyle factors such as smoking and exercise with you too.

If you need an interpreter, please let us know so we can arrange one for your appointment.

Receive your test results and your Care Plan

After two to four weeks, you will receive your test results (by post, text, or email, however you prefer).

We will also send a blank document called a Care Plan.

A Care Plan is an agreement between you and your healthcare professional to help manage your health and support day to day. In your Care Plan, you can record things that are important to your health and well-being. This can include anything from your life, like employment, housing, or mental health.

A Care Plan covers:

• What is important to you and the goals you have
• How to get the most out of your medication
• The care and support you need from others

A healthcare professional will review your Care Plan with you in your Discussion Appointment. You can start filling out your Care Plan before your appointment or you can fill it during your appointment.

Attend your Discussion Appointment

You will then be invited to a Discussion Appointment with a healthcare professional. This may be another team member (such as a nurse, health care assistant, pharmacist, social prescriber link worker) who is best placed to support your care and can spend more time with you. This appointment will take around 30 minutes.

You can discuss your long-term conditions, test results, treatment, and anything else that is affecting your health, from housing to employment. Together we will look at what matters most to you and agree some goals. Your Care Plan will be updated with what has been agreed.

Attend your Follow-Up Appointment

Three to six months later, you will be invited to a Follow-Up Appointment. This will last up to 15 minutes and is an opportunity to update your Care Plan with a healthcare professional, considering what is going well and where you may need more support. You may have more than one Follow-Up Appointment in a year.

Watch the short film below to see an example of a patient’s journey through the key stages of the process and help you understand what to expect from your Yearly Health Check.

With subtitles – https://youtu.be/2uNlBbuHflY

Without subtitles – https://youtu.be/FhTbMDLpMQ0

How will I be contacted if this is for me?

We will contact you via text, phone call, or letter to organise your appointments. We will contact patients over the year so please do not worry if you do not hear from us right away. If you are concerned or have questions, please contact us.

As well as our practice, there are many other local NHS services you can contact for health advice, information or treatment.

Before you do, remember that you can treat many minor ailments such as colds, coughs and indigestion by keeping a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home.

We suggest you keep the following:

• Paracetamol and aspirin (children under 16 and people with asthma should not take aspirin)
• Mild laxatives
• Anti-diarrhoeal medicines
• Rehydration mixture
• Indigestion remedy (for example, antacids)
• Travel sickness tablets
• Sunscreen – SPF15 or higher
• Sunburn treatment (for example, calamine)
• Tweezers and sharp scissors
• A thermometer
• A selection of plasters, non-absorbent cotton wool, elastic bandages and dressings

Remember:

• Keep the medicine chest in a secure, locked place out of reach of small children
• Always read the instructions and use the suggested dose
• Watch expiry dates – don’t keep or use medicines past their sell-by date
• Take all unwanted and out-of-date medicines back to the pharmacy

Why give up?

Over 100,000 people die, each year in the UK, from smoking related disease.

Every cigarette you smoke can shorten your life by an average of five and a half minutes.

Babies of smokers are, on average, 200grammes smaller than those of non-smokers.

Smokers smell.

How to give up

Stopping smoking is all about motivation.Without the real desire to give up you are unable to succeed. You must want to give up rather than feel you should give up.

Set a date a week or so in the future when you intend to stop.

Tell all your friends, relations and work colleagues that you’re giving up on that day and ask for their support and encouragement. If at all possible, find someone to give up with you.

When the big day comes, plan it carefully with plenty to keep you occupied. Avoid situations where the desire to smoke will be strongest such as whilst drinking.

Finally, carefully put the money you would have spent on cigarettes on one side, each day, to save up for some real special treat as a reward.

If you’ve tried everything and failed but are still keen to give up, seek help from your doctor.

Preventing a relapse

Whenever you feel the need for a cigarette, go back to the procedure which helped you give up in the first place.

Avoid complacency and remember that you’re a non-smoker.

Think how unpleasant smokers smells now that you’ve given up. Do you want to smell like them?