The Thornton Practice

Today is World Sepsis Day.
Did you know that annually in the UK , Sepsis affects 245,000 people with 48,000 people dying of a sepsis related illness. Of the people who survive sepsis, many face life changing challenges with their physical or mental health.

Sepsis can affect anyone: It doesn't discriminate by age, gender, and while certain people are more at risk, it can affect people who are generally healthy.

For more information please go to https://www.worldsepsisday.org/

People living across Lancashire and South Cumbria are invited to a series of events to discuss health and care services with NHS leaders in the region.

Find out how you can take part: https://orlo.uk/s33gN

Don't forget our next IT drop in session is on Friday 27th September at the practice between 9.30am and 2pm! Please come along if you are struggling with setting up the NHS App and Patchs! 😀

Are you having issues downloading or using the NHS App or the Patchs app?? Come along to one of our sessions and let our I.T. expert show you how! 😁

Our IT is back up and running now , but please bear with us ! Many thanks 😊

Unfortunately we are having major IT issues this morning

We will keep you up to date but if you are needing urgent care today please bear with us as we will be running a manual service until we can get back on.

Kind regards
All the staff at Thornton Practice

Great opportunity!!

Do you want to be at the centre of improving children and young people's mental health on the Fylde Coast? Would you like to work with an enthusiastic and supportive team who are passionate about making a difference?

This role will be instrumental in bringing together organisations from across the Fylde Coast, children, young people and their parents/carers to implement improvements in mental health provision.

The post is initially offered for 12 months as we start phase 1 of our project. However for the right candidate, who demonstrates a strong work ethic, there may be an opportunity to extend the contract.

We encourage interested applicants to get in touch for an informal conversation before applying and also welcome visits to the team. Applications are via NHS Jobs website - https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/A4940-24-0007.

Torentum PCN website - https://www.torentumpcn.nhs.uk/pcn-vacancies/

What are the benefits of breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding benefits for your baby 👶

Breast milk is tailor-made for your baby and:

- contains vitamins and minerals is always available
- offers protection from certain infections helps improve your baby's long-term health.
- Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), childhood diabetes and leukaemia.

Any amount of breastfeeding is beneficial, but exclusively breastfeeding your baby for 6 months offers a lot more protection.

Benefits for you 👩‍🦰

There are benefits and advantages for you. Breastfeeding helps:

- your uterus get back down to size – after your baby is born, your uterus (womb) will gradually get smaller day by day, but breastfeeding will help speed this up
you bond with your baby – breastfeeding is a lovely way to feel close and strengthen the bond between you and your baby
- release a hormone called oxytocin that helps you feel calm and connected to your baby
- protect your health – breastfeeding lowers your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis (weak bones), diabetes and cardiovascular disease (conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels)

There are many benefits of carrying on breastfeeding after 6 months – your breast milk protects your baby from infections and there's some evidence it helps them digest solid foods.

Today is International Cat Day! 🐱

August the 8th is International Cat Day, and it’s not hard to see why our little feline friends hold such a special place in our affections.

Funny cat videos, memes and cute pictures of cats are some of the most viewed content online, which just confirms our obsession with the furry things. While research shows that watching funny cat videos online can boost a person’s energy and create positive emotions, according to the experts owning a cat can also be good for your heart. Petting a cat is said to reduce stress levels, and with people having such hectic lives, they can be an easier and less demanding choice of pet than owning a dog.

Cats have more than earned their extra treats and cuddles this International Cat Day, so go on, show your appreciation to that moggy in your life or buy that extra pack of cat food at the shops to donate to your local rescue centre as a little thanks to our four legged pals! ❤️

Why not post a photo in the comments of your own special moggy!

This week is World Breastfeeding Week 👶

This year is to really recognize breastfeeding mums, ensure they are seen and heard, and share relatable human experiences about breastfeeding and the importance of multi-level support.

This support includes:

Policies and attitudes that value women and breastfeeding
A women and breastfeeding-friendly health care system
Respect for women’s autonomy and her right to breastfeed anytime, anywhere
Solidarity and community support
There are actions we can all take that help women to breastfeed as long as they would like.

For more information please visit https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-breastfeeding-week/2024/about-the-campaign

Today is Samaritans Awareness Day (24/7), listening 24 hours a day7 days a week.

Every year in July, Samaritans branches in the UK and Ireland hold local events to raise awareness that Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who's struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night.

The Blackpool Fylde & Wyre Samaritans branch was opened on the 25th January 1979, and has been providing emotional support for people who are struggling to cope for over 40 years. Samaritans volunteers are ready to listen around the clock, every single day of the year.

Dear Patients,

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation on Friday when all our systems were affected by the global IT issue.

Our IT providers over the weekend have worked incredibly hard to get our service back up and running.

Our clinical computer system (EMIS) is now working.

Please be mindful that we will be processing not only our work for today but also the backlog from Friday.

If you are calling the surgery or coming into reception please be kind and our staff will do their best to help you as quickly as possible.

Many thanks for your ongoing support and understanding.

Team Thornton x

Dear Patients,

It has been quite a day and as you are aware, your GP Practice has been blighted by the same Global IT issue that has hit industries across the world; with almost 1,400 flights are cancelled and banking, healthcare and shops affected.

We have been advised by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to plan for continued disruption across the weekend. It is unclear when our Clinical system, will be able to get services back online.

Local advice from the NHS / ICB is to plan for the early part of next week, with a continued disruption of service to continue over the weekend and return of service any sooner would be welcomed.

We have put full Business Continuity measures in place as follows:

All Practice Staff are currently using business continuity mode on the clinical system which provides very basic patient summaries whilst the outage continues.

We are undertaking safe triage of patients.

We are responding to urgent presentations where appropriate to do so providing services as best we can and we have minimised onward diversions to NHS111, Urgent Treatment Centres and Emergency Departments (who are already under increased pressure).

We are taking handwritten medical notes and are using paper prescriptions. (Which in turn will have to be manually processed by the team once systems are back up and running).

We have liaised with local pharmacies to enable handwritten prescriptions for items such as antibiotics to be dispensed.

It is not business as usual, but we are doing the best we can to provide a scaled down service that remains safe whilst this disruption continues.

Thank you for your understanding and the official NHS message below remains in force:

Statement to public: Global IT issue affecting GP practices and pharmacies in Lancashire and South Cumbria
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board is aware of a global IT issue which is affecting primary care services in the region.

It may be necessary for GP practices to rearrange appointments as they manage this issue. If you have an appointment booked, you should attend as planned unless you are advised otherwise.

Work is ongoing to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. It is anticipated that the issue will lead to an increased demand on other services such as NHS111 and urgent treatment centres.

Those who need urgent medical care should call 999 or attend A&E, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

Please use NHS 111 online for all non-emergency healthcare needs.

More information about when to call 999 and when to go to A&E is available via the national NHS website.

Further updates will be provided on the ICB website, Facebook, and X pages as soon as they are available.

Thank you for your understanding and support whilst we managed to ongoing situation we find ourselves in.

UPDATE:

Unfortunately we are still down, hopefully you will all be aware now the scale of the issue across the globe!

This is completely out of our control and the control of our local IT service.

Our team is working very hard to continue to provide a service for our patients however this is very difficult with not being able to access your medical records.

If you require acute, urgent medical attention today please call the practice and we can work out a plan to try and help you.

We will keep you up to date on here though out the day :)

Unfortunately we are having major IT issues this morning

It is a national problem and many surgeries are affected. We will keep you up to date but if you are needing urgent care today please bear with us as we will be running a manual service until we can get back on.

Kind regards
All the staff at Thornton Practice

Just sharing our amazing patient feedback that we have received over the last 7 days. Thank you so much to our lovely patients, it means a lot to all the staff at the practice who work so hard everyday! ❤️ ❤️

In recent years July the 17th has been known as World Emoji Day, chosen because the calendar emoji is depicted with the date of the 17th as it’s image.

Emoji’s have actually been used since the beginning of the internet however their popularity has increased on a massive scale with the modern day smartphone having them built into our messaging dashboards, well known emoji merchandise on sale around the world and even an emoji movie in honour of them.

In a time where we communicate verbally less and less, opting for emails, texts, even dictating messages through our devices, an emoji is a great way of expressing the sentiment behind our messages when they can quite often otherwise be lost.

Have a look through your messages and see which is your most used emoji and what this says about you. Happy World Emoji Day! 👌

😀😀😀😀😀😁😁😁😁😆😆😆😆😆😂😂😂😂😂😎😎😎😎🤓🤓🤓

🩷 We're all stocked up again on our period angels stand located in our waiting room 🩷

We would like to thank everyone for their recent donations, without these donations we wouldn't be able to support our community the way we do! 🥰🌟

Keep the donations coming! We are looking to team up with other workplaces/supermarkets/shops etc who can also be donation centres for us! If this may be of interest to you please get in touch for more details 🩷🤩

Our pets feel the heat during the summer months too - here are some handy tips for keeping our animal friends safe in the heat! ☀️

1. It's all about keeping pets cool. Never leave them in a hot car even just for a short time. Temperatures can rise really quickly in there.

2. Try to keep pets out of direct sunshine. If you need to take your dog out for exercise head out early in the day before it gets hot or leave it late as possible towards evening. Watch out for how warm the pavement is. If it's too hot for your hand, then it's too hot for their paws.

3. If you have to take your pet outside for a short period of time use pet-safe lotion on exposed parts of your pet's skin, especially the tips of their ears and nose. Keep pets in the shade wherever possible.

4. Make sure your pet has access to both shade and fresh drinking water. Put ice cubes in their water bowl or maybe make some frozen pet-friendly treats. Top up their water at a public tap when out and about and take plenty of fresh water out with you.

5. When its hot you might need to restrict the amount of activity they do or when they do it. For example avoid walking dogs in the middle of the day when it is usually hottest.

6. Keep an eye on where your pets are, especially cats, so they don't end up locked in a hot greenhouse or shed. Also make sure you know where they are or put up screens if you have windows or balcony doors open.

7. For pet fish, lizards and birds tanks and cages should be kept away from direct sunlight and any water changed regularly to stop them overheating.

8. If you don't have any pets you can still look after animals in the heat. You can help wildlife in your garden by putting out fresh clean water for drinking and in case they want to take a dip!

🐶🐱🐰🐦🐹

You may have noticed that shelves on our period product donation station are looking a little bit empty at the moment 😔 but thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we have had a huge donation!
We just have to do a bit of stock keeping first, but next week we will be back up and running. Every product donated goes towards ending period poverty and tackling the stigmas surrounding it. Whether you are donating products to us or collecting products from us, THANK YOU 😁

Now the weather is warming up, its a good idea to have a think about staying safe as the temperature rises. Here are a few tips to help!

Keep out of the heat if you can. If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter.

Cool yourself down. Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes.

Keep your living space cool. Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep.

For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hot-weather-and-health-guidance-and-advice
😎

☀️😎☀️

We have fantastic opportunities for anyone wanting to work in / /

1st-7th July is Great British Pea week 🫛

Great British Pea Week aims to increase awareness and understanding of the provenance and heritage of peas, giving British consumers a reason to celebrate the little green balls of joy during harvesting time.

With the average Brit consuming around 9,000 peas a year, the pea harvest is critical in ensuring produce makes it to supermarket shelves to sustain the demand for the full year, with the British pea industry harvesting 160,000 tonnes of frozen peas each year.

Get cooking! Peas are a versatile vegetable and can be added into a variety of different dishes, from being spread on toast, thrown into a risotto or pasta, popped in a tasty soup or casserole- the choices are endless! 🫛🫛

Follow the link for some pea recipe suggestions!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/pea-recipes

1st - 7th July is Alcohol Awareness Week

Alcohol Awareness Week is managed and hosted by Alcohol Change UK. This year's campaign takes place from 1-7 July 2024 on the theme of 'Understanding alcohol harm'.

Alcohol is a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including: mouth, throat, stomach, liver and breast cancers; high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver; and depression. For more information please follow the link below.

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/alcohol-awareness-week-1

Check how healthy your drinking is with this quick quiz
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/check-your-drinkinghttps://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/check-your-drinking

Are you a Veteran?

A veteran is anyone who has served in the Armed Forces for at least one day, whether a regular or reservist. Practices within our PCN are veteran friendly, which means we are better able to identify and support veterans and refer them, where appropriate, to dedicated NHS services.

It is important to register with a GP practice as soon as possible and let them know that you have served in the UK Armed Forces, regardless of when you left. This will ensure that you receive continuous care and support. For more more information on how to register with a GP, please visit – RBL – Registering with a civilian GP (britishlegion.org.uk)

To prove that you served in the Armed Forces you can apply for the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card which allows quicker access to any available support.

Indicating that you are a veteran in your NHS records ensures that you have access to services which are dedicated to those who served in the Armed Forces. Please inform us of your veteran status by clicking on the ‘Contact Us’ button, alternatively, please contact your GP Practice and speak to reception.

For m ore information please visit https://www.torentumpcn.nhs.uk/military-veterans/

Today is Armed Forces day

Armed Forces Day takes place on the last Saturday each June, falling this year on 29 June.

It is a chance to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving personnel to Service families, veterans and cadets.

Are you a veteran?

It is important to register with a GP practice as soon as possible and let them know that you have served in the UK Armed Forces, regardless of when you left. This will ensure that you receive continuous care and support. For more more information on how to register with a GP, please visit – RBL – Registering with a civilian GP (britishlegion.org.uk)

To prove that you served in the Armed Forces you can apply for the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card which allows quicker access to any available support. To apply for your card please visit: HM Armed Forces Veteran Card – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Indicating that you are a veteran in your NHS records ensures that you have access to services which are dedicated to those who served in the Armed Forces. For information please visit https://www.torentumpcn.nhs.uk/military-veterans/

Information from the trust regarding the junior doctor industrial actions happening over the weekend.

Please do still come forward if you require medical attention especially in emergency and life saving cases.

Its Wellbeing Week - Why not try some meditation?

Meditation can provide immediate relief from anxiety and stress and help improve focus and concentration. There are many ways we can introduce mediation to our daily routine. Spend five minutes sitting or lying in a comfortable position, shut your eyes and pay attention to the way you breathe. As you inhale, slowly count to four—hold this breath for a second—then breathe out, again counting to four. Shift perception. When we are in a bad mood, under stress, or worrying, we have more negative thoughts. If we can learn to spot these negative thoughts, we can challenge them, and come up with more balanced alternatives. Replacing negative thoughts with thoughts that are more balanced and helpful will allow us to appreciate life more.

Yoga is another fantastic way to relax and improve mental and physical health, why not contact your nearest gym/leisure centre to enquire about classes?

https://ymcayactive.org/fitness-lifestyle/ymca-classes-timetables/