Avon Valley Practice

News:

Changes to Surgery Sessions from
15^th September 2008

This surgery will be offering late evening additional sessions for pre-booked routine appointments only. To book these appointments, you must telephone the surgery between 8am & 6.30pm Monday to Friday.

The new sessions will be held at the following times:

Mondays at DURRINGTON surgery from 6:30pm - 9pm

Home visits, telephone queries and urgent health problems will continue to be dealt with by the Out of Hours Service whose telephone number is 01980 626226

Important

For *Emergencies you should attend the Accident & Emergency Department of your local hospital or dial 999

*An emergency is a critical or life-threatening situation, and includes things like: chest pain or suspected heart attack, head injury, severe loss of blood, severe breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, deep wounds, suspected broken bones

Announcements

01 May - 30 Jul
HPA Swine Flu Update

The Health Protection Agency has prepared advice for the public and for healthcare professionals on swine influenza.

26 Apr - 30 Jul
NHS Swine Flu Updates

If you feel unwell ...If you have flu-like symptoms and have recently travelled to Mexico, stay at home and contact either your GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

10 Feb - 24 Jul
Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Love Women, Ovarian cancer action’s awareness and fundraising campaign for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in March 2009.

BBC Health

Self-help 'makes you feel worse'

Bridget Jones is not alone in turning to self-help mantras to boost her spirits, but a study warns they may have the opposite effect.

First swine flu death in London

A 19-year-old man has died after contracting swine flu in London, health authorities confirm.

Pharmacist pay premium rejected

Unions attack ministers' rejection of a proposal for a national recruitment and retention premium for junior pharmacists.

Solo life ups gene dementia risk

People who have a gene flaw and live alone in middle-age are at highest risk of developing dementia, a study suggests.

Patient safety 'still threatened'

Changes recommended after a fatal drug slip-up eight years ago have not been implemented, MPs say in a review of patient safety.

Mother admits aiding ME suicide

A mother of a prominent ME sufferer and campaigner admits aiding and abetting the suicide of her daughter.

Overweight to be paid to get slim

Overweight volunteers will receive shopping vouchers as they lose weight on a new scheme introduced in Essex.

Maggot infestation hunt continues

A search for the source of a maggot infestation at the Royal Children's Hospital in Aberdeen will continue at the weekend.

Warning over fake Tamiflu sales

People should not buy anti-flu drug Tamiflu over the internet without a prescription, experts warn.

Could honeybee venom ease arthritis pain?

A New Zealand company seeks EU approval to market honeybee venom to help people with arthritis ease their pain.

Yahoo Health

Mexico wins praise for swine flu response (AP)

Pan American Health Organization Director Mirta Roses Periag speaks during the 'Lessons Learned and Preparedness of Swine Flu' summit in Cancun, Mexico, Friday, July 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar)

AP - As swine flu runs rampant in the Southern Hemisphere winter, world health experts are concerned that some hard-hit countries have been reluctant to take forceful measures to protect public health.

Study: New flu inefficient in attacking people (AP)

A physician holds samples of patients suspected of being infected with swine flu at a hospital in Buenos Aires, Wednesday, July 1, 2009. Health authorities have warned that while the swine flu peak has passed in Mexico, the Southern Hemisphere is at risk as it heads deeper into its winter flu season as the nation's swine flu death toll surged to 35. (AP Photo/Ezequiel Pontoriero)

AP - With swine flu continuing to spread around the world, researchers say they have found the reason it is so far more a series of local blazes than a wide-raging wildfire. The new virus, H1N1, has a protein on its surface that is not very efficient at binding with receptors in people's respiratory tracts, researchers at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Advocates are back with real health care stories (AP)

Carpenter Greg Douglas sits with dozens of medical bills at his home in Harpswell, Maine, on Wednesday, July 1, 2009. The community held a benefit for him and put out collection cans to help with medical expenses after he was injured when his truck rolled on black ice. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)

AP - When carpenter Greg Douglas crashed his pickup truck, his toolbox hit him and smashed his ribs and collarbone. After a month in the hospital, the medical bills hit him even harder, totaling $165,000.

Federal probe finds problems with chelation study (AP)

AP - A federal investigation has found that heart attack survivors enrolled in a study of a controversial alternative medicine treatment were not told enough about potential dangers from the drug being tested, including death.

Scrub tech may have exposed thousands to hepatitis (AP)

AP - A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of Colorado patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said Thursday.

World health officials tackle swine flu challenges (AP)

AP - Swine flu is running wild in the Southern Hemisphere and is spreading rapidly through Europe, with Britain projected to reach 100,000 daily cases by the end of August. The virus is even showing signs of rebounding in Mexico.

Bedwetting, being overweight linked to sleep apnea (Reuters)

Reuters - Children who are overweight and wet the bed at night may have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), researchers report.

Uganda to outlaw female circumcision (AFP)

A woman who performs genital cutting displays a knife she uses to perform the procedure. Uganda will pass a law banning female genital mutilation, which is rampant among pastoralist tribes in the country's eastern region.(AFP/File/Kambou Sia)

AFP - Uganda will pass a law banning female genital mutilation, which is rampant among pastoralist tribes in the country's eastern region, the president said in a statement Friday.

Health Tip: Controlling Asthma (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Medication used to control asthma may be used every day, without the fear of becoming addicted, the American Academy of Family Physicians says.

Fertility drug combo promising in older women (Reuters)

Reuters - The combination of two drugs -- Femara (letrozole) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) -- could be of benefit in infertile women of advanced reproductive age undergoing intrauterine insemination, results of a study indicate.