Burwell Surgery Autumn Report
FIRSTLY we must thank all those donors and organisers of fund raising events for their generosity to the Trust. Donations and collections for the past year amounted to £1100. This enabled the Trust to buy a new wheelchair and contribute to the purchase of a state-of-the-art ECG (heart monitor) machine for the Burwell Surgery.
We understand that the defibrillator (which has saved a patient's life) at the Surgery is becoming obsolete and we hope to be able to help fund the purchase of the latest model shortly. Consequently all donations, great or small, will be most welcome.
Most of you will know that the Burwell and District Medical Trust is a charity and therefore enjoys certain tax benefits, in particular any donations from a tax payer can be increased by 28p for every £1 given. Partly for this reason the Burwell Nursing Aid Fund will be amalgamating with the Trust to enjoy charitable status and we welcome Sister Sue Evans as a Trustee.
The aim of the Trust is to promote the health and well-being of people living in the Burwell Surgery area i.e. resident within a four mile radius of the centre of Burwell. Requests for equipment etc. have come from medical and nursing staff but the Trust would welcome requests from anyone in the community. If you have any suggestions, could volunteer as a fund raiser or wish to make a donation, please contact Ruth Scovil or any Trustee. The Trustees are Patrick Ridsdill Smith (Chairman), Terry Chalmers (Treasurer), Ruth Scovil (Secretary), Sue Hancocks and Sue Evans.
...And for this month:
I would like to focus on repeat prescriptions in this newsletter. We have 7,530 patients registered at the surgery and of those 3,080 are on regular medication that can be ordered on a repeat basis. In an average week the receptionists and dispensers process approximately 2,320 prescriptions, all of which are done with great care to avoid errors.
The Burwell Surgery is one of the few remaining surgeries who still accept requests for repeat prescriptions over the telephone. We are happy to continue to provide this service as we feel it is of great convenience and value to our patients, especially those who live in the villages or are housebound. However, there is heavy demand on this service, especially on Monday mornings.
To ease this situation, before ordering your repeat prescription please would you consider using one of the other options which are available to you and only use the telephone service as a final option:-
- Post your request to us
- Pop it into the letterbox at the surgery
- Deliver it to reception
- Fax your request on 01638 743948
If you are registered to use the internet booking service, this also offers the option of requesting repeat prescriptions. If you would like more information about the internet booking service or wish to register, please ask at reception.
Whichever method you use, please remember to always use your latest, up-todate repeat prescription slip and to check that you are currently taking all the drugs listed. If there are any items on your slip that you are no longer taking please let us know. All old slips should be destroyed to avoid confusion.
If you are ordering medications early, ie because you are going on holiday, please make a note of this on the repeat slip.
If you have any problems with your medication, the receptionists or dispensers will be happy to help you.