Willow Tree Family Doctors News Blog

The RNID , now known as Action on Hearing Loss , provides a useful free online screening test for hearing loss here .  Though it is necessarily 'broad brush' it is well validated and does give a pretty useful indication of significant problems.  The results will be accompanied by useful advice and if demonstrating a deficiency you should make an appointment to see a GP and we can refer you for a full NHS hearing test locally to find out exactly what the problem is and what can be done (for instance hearing aids which nowadays can be sophisticated and discrete, even on the NHS). So if you a re you having trouble communicating with friends or family or are finding it increasingly difficult to communicate in a noisy workplace, please take this test for a better idea of the scale of your problem. And look at this website which is well supplied with good advice and helpful information.

  A Time Bank for Kingsbury? Timebanking is a system of trading units of your time – a means of exchange to allow people to help each other and to receive help. For example I may need my hedge cutting. I can ask a member of the Time Bank to do this for me. I don’t pay any money. Joe cuts my hedge- it takes him 1 hour, so he is credited with one hour of Time. I have been debited an hour of my time. I can teach computing skills so I might earn that hour back by showing my neighbour Edith how to get on line. Joe meanwhile can use his hour earned from cutting my hedge to have an hour’s help decorating his kitchen. And so on. Your time is equivalent to another person's time. Hedge cutting is simply equivalent to teaching computer skills in units of time. There is no monetary cost per hour. By receiving and giving   in this way, people come into contact with each other, make new friends and become involved in the community - ideal if you’re feeling lonely or disenfranch

A summary of the NHS changes From April 1 st , the NHS has changed fundamentally, the biggest changes since its inception, as laid out in the highly contentious Health & Social Care Bill of 2012 which created a huge storm and required many changes before it could pass through parliament. Though some changes were made it still means massive and rapid upheaval and an uncertain future for the NHS at a time when budgets are having to be significantly cut and demand is rising inexorably whilst the costs increase. A perfect storm, say some. So what exactly happened in April? Here is a good video from the Kings Fund which makes some kind of sense of it all - possibly.  The organisational structure of the NHS has changed. This is meant to make it more responsive to local needs. GPs, through local Commissioning Groups , will now be responsible for commissioning healthcare for their patients (see our blog on commissioning). It used to be the job of Primary Care T

NHS 111 is now live in this area You should use the NHS 111 service if you urgently need medical help or advice but it's not a life-threatening situation. Call 11 1 if : you need medical help fast but it's not a 999 emergency you think you need to go to A&E or need another NHS urgent care service you don't know who to call or you don't have a GP to call you need health information or reassurance about what to do next For less urgent health needs, contact your GP or local pharmacist in the usual way. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones. How does it work? The NHS 111 service is staffed by a team of fully trained advisers, supported by experienced nurses. They will ask you questions to assess your symptoms, then give you the healthcare advice you need or direct you straightaway to the local service that can help you best. That could be A&E, an out-of-hours doctor, an ur