Measles, mumps and rubella are highly infectious illnesses, with potentially life-changing complications, that can easily spread between unvaccinated people. Mumps outbreaks are currently occurring across England. Children need two doses of the safe and effective MMR vaccine. Both doses are needed to ensure full and lasting protection against measles, mumps and rubella.

If your child has missed either of these two doses, please contact us for an appointment with Nurse Sarah. It’s never too late to catch up and protect those around you.

Crohn’s disease and colitis are often invisible to the outside world but they deeply impact on the lives of the 300,000 diagnosed sufferers in the UK.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is not just a stomach ache; it’s fatigue, uncertainty, flare-ups, strict diets, hospital visits, and strength that often goes unseen. It can cause a range of symptoms, such as:

• Diarrhoea
• Blood or mucous in your poo
• Stomach pain
• Feeling very tired or generally unwell

If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms over a prolonged period, it’s worth making an appointment to speak to your GP.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/crohns-disease/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuytsHjQvqc

Losing someone we love changes us and how we see the world. This Grief Awareness Week, the focus is on growing with grief.

Pain doesn’t fade, but as time passes, with support, compassion and strength, you can find that your hope returns, shaped by your memories.

If you’re struggling with grief, please reach out: https://www.thegoodgrieftrust.org/ngaw/

International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD) celebrates and promotes the rights of everyone with a disability, and this year the focus is on building an inclusive society.

Not all disabilities are visible, and everyone deserves to access society and healthcare without barriers.

We’re an accessible, disability-friendly practice.

We have all our patient services on the ground floor, to ensure physical accessibility.

We also provide support for patients who are neurodiverse, struggling with their mental health need literacy support, or would appreciate visiting us at a quieter time – if you require support, please do speak to the reception team. 

We’re here to help you.

Aged 17 to 65?

Generally fit and well?

Weigh more than 7st 12lbs (50kg) and less than 25st (158kg)?

You could help by donating blood as stocks are critically low.

Giving blood

You can give blood at thousands of donation venues across England, from permanent donor centres to pop-up community venues.

More about giving blood

Giving plasma

You can give plasma (part of your blood that can make life-saving medicines) at 3 donation venues in England:

• Birmingham
• Reading
• Twickenham

More about giving plasma

Information: 

Note that you can't donate blood and plasma at the same appointment.

If you have a baby under six months of age, it can be really difficult to know whether you need to make a medical appointment, or whether you can safely look after your baby at home. The Lullaby Trust built an app to help parents of young babies to know the difference:
https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/baby-check-app/

National Weaning Week, 12th – 16th May

Babies are usually ready to start trying their first solid foods when they reach six months of age. Giving your baby a wide variety of normal family foods can encourage habits for life, but we do need to make sure we’re careful as some foods such as salt and honey aren’t suitable for very young children.
https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/weaning/how-to-start-weaning-your-baby/

If you’re caring for someone at risk of going missing, you might want to have a look at the Herbert Protocol. Named after a war veteran called George Herbert, the Herbert Protocol helps you to establish information about someone who’s at risk before they go missing.

In the event that they later do go missing, you’re able to quickly share the information with the police force.

We’ve linked some national information below, but you’ll be able to find the information for your local police force and their forms by carrying out an internet search. The police will ask additional questions about what happened if/when the individual goes missing, but having the protocol ready helps you to think about important information beforehand when you’re not in a moment of intense stress.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-s...gether-magazine/scheme-support-missing-people

The safety initiative ‘Ask for Angela’ is being rolled out to bars, clubs and other licensed businesses across England.

People who feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened can discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’. This code-phrase will indicate to staff that they require help with their situation and a trained member of staff will then look to support and assist them. This might be through reuniting them with a friend, seeing them to a taxi, or by calling venue security and/or the police. 

Venues that support ‘Ask for Angela’ have been given Welfare And Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training. Delivered by the Met’s licensing officers and Safer Sounds partnership, it gives staff the ability to help customers who may be in a situation that makes them vulnerable or unsafe.

For more information about the scheme, visit: https://askforangela.co.uk/