Heatherlands Medical Centre

Thank you to our PPG Members and The Lyons for providing presents and donations so that children of the local community and patients in our local nursing homes without family will receive a gift this Christmas.

To Doctor Camphor and Heatherlands Medical Centre staff 2022 for providing healthcare during Covid.

Thank you to our PPG members for organising an afternoon of carols and mince pies for our patients and practice staff.

All staff at Heatherlands have completed CPR Training. Well done everyone and thank you to Paramedic Mark for providing the training!

Christmas Food Hampers ready for delivery thanks to food donations from Ganny’s Pantry

Advice for parents and carers
Group A strep in children

There are lots of viruses that cause sore throats, coughs and colds to circulate, especially over winter. These usually get better without needing any special medical treatment or medicine.  However, children can occasionally develop a bacterial infection on top of a virus and that can make them more unwell.

One of these bacteria is called Group A Strep (GAS), it’s very common, is not new and can be treated, responding well to antibiotics.  It has been in the news over the last few days as it has been found in some children who have become very sick, very quickly. Fortunately, this is still very rare. 

Most children recover well after a mild illness.  Your child may be poorly for a few days but will usually recover well. Antibiotics may help them recover quicker, but they are not always needed.  There is more GAS around this winter than in recent years, causing a lot of children to be unwell. We think this is because there is much more mixing now and these bugs are new to many young children, so they are more likely to catch and spread them. 

Signs that suggest your child might have Strep throat are: 

• Fever within the last 24 hours 
• White spots at the back of their throat (pus on their tonsils) 

• Very large or red tonsils 
• Sore (tender) lumps under their chin 
• If they have become poorly quickly over the past couple of days 
• No cough or runny nose  

If you are concerned that your child might have these contact 111 or GP Surgery.  You can also find more information here http://www.nhs.uk

Antibiotics are not routinely recommended as a preventative treatment and should only be taken when recommended by your doctor.

If there are cases identified in a child’s class, any child showing symptoms should be assessed by their GP and will be prescribed antibiotics if needed. Children are not infectious after 24 hours on treatment and can return to school once they’re feeling well enough after this period.

Good hand and respiratory hygiene are also important for stopping the spread of many bugs. By teaching your child how to wash their hands properly with soap for 20 seconds, using a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes, and keeping away from others when feeling unwell, they will be able to reduce the risk of picking up, or spreading, infections. 

Keep unwell children off school or nursery and away from vulnerable adults and children. 

We know that when there are lots of viruses circulating, like flu. Reducing these viruses through vaccination can help protect against GAS outbreaks and is the best way to make sure they are protected from serious illnesses. 

On Wednesday 2 November 2022, Stress Awareness Day will be highlighting the ways that stress can affect people and what you can do to manage your stress before it becomes a problem. Millions around the UK experience stress and it is damaging to our health and wellbeing. Better Health – Every Mind Matters has a range of resources both printed and digital to help you share simple steps to tackle stress and improve mental wellbeing

At its heart is the free, NHS-approved Mind Plan, available on the Every Mind Matters website. By answering five short questions people get a personalised mental health action plan, providing practical tips to help them deal with stress and anxiety, boost their mood, sleep better and feel more in control. People can also join a 4-week email support programme where they can get reminders, swap in new tips and are encouraged to make looking after their mental wellbeing part of their everyday routine. For more information or to download the app, please visit the following link:-

Every Mind Matters – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The Practice will be closed between 1pm and 5:00pm on 20th October 2022 for Protected Learning. NHS 111 will be taking over care for our patients during this time. Please contact NHS 111 or in cases of emergency, please call 999.

We will re-open for Prescriptions and general enquiries at 5pm this afternoon.

Thank you

Last night we invited our PPG members to discuss the community needs within Woodchurch and how, as a surgery we can support the needs of local families.

We are looking at organising a Christmas Event, more details to follow shortly.

Thank you to the Community Hub at Woodchurch for ongoing food donations which can be collected from the practice each week.

The Practice Staff at Heatherlands Medical Centre decided to take part in this year’s step challenge organised by Fiona Hanik, Health Development Officer at Wirral Council. Our main reason for taking part was to have fun and enjoy a bit of friendly workplace competition whilst increasing our fitness and activity.  We entered 2 teams, the Pink Heather’s and the Blue Heather’s both consisting of a mix of GP’s, Nursing staff and Admin Staff. We had 2 WhatsApp Groups which allowed both teams to provide support and encouragement as well as for logging daily steps (or in my case, being told by my team to get more steps in before midnight!).

Both teams were thoroughly engaged throughout the whole competition.  Steps were being logged by staff even when they were on holiday, from as far away as New York!   

At times, Pink and Blue team were neck and neck which gave an added excitement within the surgery.  Team members would be marching or pacing round the practice in order to increase their steps, we found people randomly standing up in team meetings to get more steps in and offers to do the tea round definitely increased!

Even though we entered 2 teams into the competition, it was the practice staff overall who benefited from this challenge.  This reinforced workplace friendships and improved moral, fitness levels increased, and some members reported they lost weight.

Fiona has kindly offered to donate left over pedometers from the challenge to any patients who would like to increase their activity and improve their fitness.  To request a pedometer, please email [email protected]. 

Thank you to Fiona for arranging this event and well done to everyone who took part!  We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 

All staff at Heatherlands