News and Events
Mental Health Awareness Week - 12th to 18th May 2025
The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 is "community." It is, therefore, an excellent time to highlight several ways that connecting to the community can reap many benefits.
Our Social Prescriber uses Community SWITCH to connect you with local opportunities to help manage your health and well-being. —SWITCH stands for Supporting Wellbeing Improving the Community’s Health. Community SWITCH is a programme of self-help and signposting services identified and reviewed by social prescribers and members of our network's Patient Participation Groups.
Social isolation can have a detrimental impact on mental health and wellbeing. Social groups offer a platform to meet new people, make friends, and build meaningful relationships. They can provide a network for support, especially during difficult times.
Download and view our information pack on social groups in the community by following this link>>
Being an unpaid carer is a meaningful and important role — but it can sometimes affect your own health and wellbeing.
Many carers experience stress, exhaustion, and isolation, which can take a serious toll on their mental health. It's vital to remember: you matter too.
If you're a carer in Dorset, take a moment for yourself and explore the NHS Dorset Healthcare information booklet, created by the Carers Development Lead. It's full of support, guidance, and resources to help you look after your own wellbeing while caring for others.
Download and view a PDF copy of the printable booklet here>>
May Event - Carers’ Afternoon Tea
Calling all carers (and those you care for)! Join our Social Prescribers for a relaxed afternoon of tea, cake, connection & support. Whether you're after friendly chat or helpful advice, you’re warmly welcome.
📅 Monday 19th May (early this month due to the bank holiday!)
📍 Parley Place Care Home
👥 Open to carers & cared-for registered with any surgery in our network.
Or email cranevalleysocialprescribers@dorsetgp.nhs.uk
Scam Alert - Patient GP Registration
We’ve been alerted to a scam email targeting some patients in England, asking them to update their details to stay registered with their GP. It directs recipients to install software — this is not legitimate.
New Website dedicated to Women's Health
Introducing a new Women's Health Website to help women take control of their health.
Are you or someone you know affected by Parkinson’s?
Spring COVID 19 Vaccinations
As we move into Spring 2025, it’s the perfect time to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination.
Viruses change, and protection fades over time. The COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against COVID-19 virus, which can be a serious or life-threatening illness. People at increased risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 are invited to receive the vaccine, which the NHS usually offers in spring and early winter.
The UK’s spring 2025 COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for:
- adults aged 75 years and over (including those who will be 75 by June 2025)
- residents in a care home for older adults
- individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined by the NHS *
Your Health Matters
If you’re aged 40 to 74 and receive an invitation for an NHS Health Check from us, say yes!
Share your views on your experience contacting us by phone
Please follow this link>> to share your views. Your feedback is valuable and your responses will inform future improvements. Thank you.
The UK Health Security Agency Statement on mpox
People in our community may have seen reports in the media about the World Health Organization (WHO) identifying mpox as an international public health concern.
A statement from the UK Health Security Agency has advised that the risk to the UK population is currently considered low. Nevertheless, be assured that NHS plans are underway to prepare for any cases we might see in the UK. This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and the prevention of onward transmission.
Information and advice on mpox is available on the NHS website here>>
Know your Numbers - Check your Blood Pressure at Home with Viso
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccinations
Whooping cough vaccinations are available for pregnant women
Prescribing over the counter medicines - #HelpYourNHS
This will release thousands of hours of clinical time to enable us, as a GP Practice to focus on caring for people with more complex needs, increasing patient access.
Find out more about this by downloading and viewing the patient information leaflet here>>
Or visit the NHS Dorset website: https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/health/medicines/helpyournhs/
SystmConnect Online Consultation Services are now available
The Barcellos Family Practice is trialling a new online consultation system that enables patients to access some of our GP online services such as requesting a fit/sick note or asking about your test results.
Follow this link to find out more about SystmConnect>>
Please note that the SystmConnect service is NOT for booking appointments or ordering repeat medications, which can be done online using a SystmOnline Services Patient Access account. However, we invite you to try the online consultation services we are trialling through SystmConnect and let us know what you think.
The Barcellos Family Practice Patient Participation Group
Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) works with us to support and promote the best possible health care for all patients while ensuring that patients are at the heart of decision making.
The next PPG meeting is now scheduled to take place Wednesday the 29th of May at 12pm at Hope Church, next door to our Corbin Avenue surgery.
Find out more about our PPG and how to join on our PPG web page here>>
New phone system being implemented w/c 22nd April 2024
We’re pleased to advise that next week, the Barcellos Family Practice will install a brand new phone system at our Corbin Avenue and Glenmoor Road surgeries to improve the service we provide to our patients.
This upgrade is part of our continuing commitment to improving patient access. The new system is better equipped to handle increased call traffic efficiently, meaning that when we receive high call volumes, to save patients “being put on hold,” they can opt to receive an automated call back when their position in the queue reaches number one.
The system also increases the ability of our team to review call volumes, peak times, and demand to help us identify areas for improvement and refine our services.
Our telephone engineers will work diligently to install the new system with minimal disruption to our services.
This communication aims to inform our patients about the changeover. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this transition period.
Community SWITCH - a Path to Improved Health and Well-being
At The Barcellos Family Practice, we want to do all we can to help you with your well-being needs.
What if together, we could do more for you?
Working with our colleagues in the Crane Valley Primary Care Network we offer a groundbreaking initiative designed to enhance local people's overall health and quality of life – Community SWITCH.
We understand that a patient's health and well-being extends beyond traditional medical care. Community SWITCH goes beyond the ordinary and empowering you with additional tools and opportunities to manage your health effectively.
Making a Repeat Prescription Request? Please Only Order What You Need!
Did you know that approximately 1.6 million medicine items are wasted unnecessarily in Dorset every year? We are asking our patients for help to reduce this.
We want people to have the right medicine and care while reducing the amount of medicine waste. If you have enough medicine at home, there’s no need to order more every time. You will still be able to request your medicine again in the future.
The good news is that you can help make a tremendous difference by only ordering what you need.
Thank you to the many people who are already doing this.
We are an accredited Veteran Friendly Practice
Fake Lloyds Pharmacy Emails
Are you recovering from Long COVID?
Online access to GP Health Records
From November 2023 all patients in our network who are over 16 will be able to view notes and health records. This includes notes from GP surgery appointments, test results, medications, and letters we receive from hospitals. These can be viewed online via the NHS App, NHS website, SystmOnline or the Airmid app. If you do not want your record to be available online, please speak with the Reception or Patient Services team at your surgery. For more, please visit the Crane Valley PCN information web page here>>
Have you provided your consent to receive text and email communications from us?
We would like to keep be able to send you Practice communications by email and text message, but first, we need your permission. Please get in touch with us to provide your consent or follow this link to our online Communications Consent form>>
Not only is it a quick and low-cost way for the NHS to contact patients, but it also saves patients time waiting on the phone to get through to the Practice or having to visit the surgery.
The Practice may use text messages to
- Send appointment reminder messages – this reduces the chance of you missing a necessary health appointment and avoids wasted appointment times that another patient could use.
- Provide you with the opportunity to book directly into clinics such as Winter flu vaccination clinics, request COVID Booster vaccinations or NHS Health checks.
- Offer digital health management apps to support you in managing any long-term medical conditions, for example, taking blood pressure readings, living with respiratory conditions or managing diabetes.
- Ask you to complete online questionnaires as part of medical reviews, e.g. asthma or contraception reviews.
- Obtain your feedback on your experience (Friends and Family test).
- Support anyone with hearing difficulties or other sensory impairments by offering an alternative way to contact us.
Please be assured that if you cannot receive text messages or choose not to, you can continue to use other communication methods, e.g. phone calls or visits to the surgery.
Integrated Adult Pan Dorset Advocacy Service now available
SWAN (South West Advocacy Network) is a leading independent advocacy charity – providing advocacy services throughout the south west and bordering counties since 1999. SWAN now offers an Advocacy Service across the county of Dorset.
This integrated adult advocacy service includes statutory and generic advocacy elements including:
- Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy including Safeguarding Advocacy, Litigation Friend and Relevant Persons Representative
- Independent Mental Health Advocacy
- Care Act Advocacy
- General / Generic advocacy
- Continuing Healthcare Advocacy
- Advocacy for parents during care proceedings
- Carers Advocacy
For more information, please follow this link to download and view a leaflet which sets out the advocacy services that they currently offer across Pan Dorset.
The NHS at 75
Follow us on social media for the latest news
For patients who use social media, please note we have a Facebook page and an Instagram account (@barcellosfamilypractice). We often post breaking news on Facebook earlier than it is posted on this website, so please follow us so these posts appear in your news feed.
Dementia Coordinator Service
Many people living with Dementia feel that having support along their journey will maximise independent living and prevent a crisis.
The Dementia Coordinator Service, delivered by Help and Care, is committed to supporting people to live well with Dementia.
The service is available to everyone across Dorset, age 18 and over, including support for immediate carers and loved ones.
Once a diagnosis has been confirmed, the Memory Assessment Service will make a referral to a Dementia Coordinator at Dorset Healthcare. However, Help and Care will accept self-referrals and referrals from GPs and other stakeholders as long as a diagnosis of Dementia is confirmed.
Help and Care work in partnership with Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Dorset and Age UK, as an integral part of the Dementia Services Pathway for Dorset.
For more information, download and view this Help and Care leaflet or visit their website by following this link>> www.helpandcare.org.uk/services/dementia-coordinator-service
The bowel cancer screening kit can save your life.
NHS bowel cancer screening checks if you could have bowel cancer. It’s available to everyone aged 60 to 74 years. The programme is expanding to make it available to everyone aged 50 to 59 years.
Just a tiny sample detects signs of cancer before you notice anything wrong.
If you’re sent a kit, put it by the loo. Don’t put it off.
For more information including screening kit instructions in alternative formats visit nhs.uk/bowel-screening.
Help Us Help You – Screening saves lives
When Stroke Strikes, Act F.A.S.T.
Act F.A.S.T. Call 999 if you see any single one of the signs of a stroke.
There are around 100,000 strokes in England, Scotland and Wales every year,8 with around 33,000 stroke related deaths each year, as well as being a leading cause of disability.
The F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) acronym provides a memorable way of identifying the most common signs of a stroke and emphasises the importance of acting quickly by calling 999.
For more information on stroke, visit the NHS website.
Help Us, Help You: Cancer – early diagnosis
If something in your body doesn’t feel right, don’t carry the worry of cancer with you.
Tests could put your mind at rest, and whatever the result, your NHS is here for you.
When cancer is diagnosed early, treatment is more likely to be successful. However, early in the pandemic the number of people coming forward to their GP with potential cancer symptoms dropped.
Referrals for suspected cancer have been running at record high levels since March 2021, and we need to continue that trend to diagnose more cancers early.
Contact your GP practice if you experience any of the below symptoms:
– Tummy trouble, such as discomfort or diarrhoea for three weeks or more;
– Blood in your pee – even just once;
– Unexpected or unexplained bleeding;
– Unexplained pain that lasts three weeks or more;
– An unexplained lump; or
– A cough for three weeks or more
Page created: 26 April 2023