downsmail.co.uk


Newpolicy on drugs will help to cut costs


GPS inMaidstone andWest Kent are to reduceprescribingmedicines whichcanbebought easily over the counter at pharmacies and super- markets. Insome cases, thiswillbe cheaper for patients thanNHS pre- scription charges. This policy only covers short


courses of treatment – not regular, long-termprescriptions. TheGP-ledNHSWestKentClini-


cal Commissioning Group(CCG), facing increasing budget pressures, says it spends about £1.7ma year on thesemedicines. A local survey revealed that 85%


of patients receiving these prescrip- tions would buy themfroma phar- macy if their GP asked them – but 15%said itwould be a problem. The CCG has nowapproved a re-


stricted list ofmedicines and a pub- licity campaign, which will include posters and leaflets in GP practices and pharmacies. Conditions commonly treated with over-the-countermedicines in-


clude:diarrhoea, constipation, acute pain, athlete’s foot, fever, oral and vaginal thrush, head lice, insect


bites/stings, conjunctivitis, contact dermatitis, sore throat, headache, in- digestion/heartburn, cold sores, teething, nappy rash, mouth ulcers, haemorrhoids, ear wax, warts, ver- rucaes, soft tissue injury, viral upper respiratory tract infections, scabies, ring worm, mild acne and minor burns/scalds. TheCCGhas agreed some clinical


exclusions are permitted at the dis- cretion of the prescriber and these include pregnancy, breastfeeding andage.Accessibility issueswill also be considered including disabilities, houseboundpatients, care home res- idents etc. There is also a west Kent “safety


net” in Pharmacy First which offers not just expert advice but also free medication for certain illnesses to peoplewho do not normally pay for prescriptions.


Formore local news www.downsmail.co.uk


Health News News Ambulance


calls failure THElocal ambulance service, still in “special measures”, has recordeda “significantdeteriora- tion” in attending most urgent callswith an eight-minute target – from60.75%to 55.28%(July).


Improved


diagnoses SOME 60% of all cancers in the westKent areawerediagnosedat Stage 1 or 2 last year, a 4% im- provement and above the na- tional average.


Breaking


even? THEchief finance officer has in- formed the CCG it will only break even at the end of the fi- nancial year though “a contin- ued focus on cost containment and cost reduction”.


Flujabuptake


AS the NHS prepares for winter pressures all local GP practices are being encouraged to increase uptake of flu inoculations.


Get your free


shingles jab MAIDSTONE and Malling resi- dents in their 70s are being urged to take up the offer of free vacci- nations against the “painful and debilitating” condition shingles. By the end of July, just over half


of all eligible older patients in Kent and Medway had been vaccinated. But theNHSis now encouraging


downsmail.co.uk Straight Stairlifts


everyonewhois offered the vaccine to take it up. Local GP practices are offering patients the vaccination as part of the NHS shingles immunisation campaign for 2017/18, which began on September 1 2017. Dr John Rodriguez, Public Health Screening and Immunisa- tion lead for Kent and Medway, urged local people to take up the offer. He added: “As people get older


their immune system naturally weakens which is why those aged 70 and over are more likely to get shingles.


“Shingles can be very painful


and debilitating and lead to health problems long after the initial rash has disappeared. It can also be fatal for around one in 1,000 over-70s who develop it. “I would encourage all patients


Reconditioned Stairlifts


THE widow of a popular Maid- stone GP is in training for a self- funded trek through the Grand Canyon, in aid of the charity which is battling the cancer that claimed him. Kate Minett, a staff nurse, will be


travelling to America for the Trek Together Grand Canyon Challenge in October. Kate who lives in Staplehurst,


Tel No: 01622 756128 Mobile: 07905 182363 www.stairliftstoday.co.uk stairliftstoday@aol.com


whoare eligible to takeupthe offer from their GP surgery and get vac- cinated against the virus.”


49 West Park Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7AF Call us today to request your FREE, no obligation, home survey.


will hike through areas of the canyon not accessible to many tourists to raise money for Pancre- atic Cancer UK. The Benenden Hospital nurse has chosen to support the charity be- cause her husband, Dr Nigel Minett (54), a GP for more than 20 years at the Marden Medical Centre, then The Orchard Surgery in Langley, succumbed to it in January 2012, just over 10 weeks after he was di- agnosed. Dr Minett (pictured) was well-known for his church work in Maidstone. She said: “This cancer is known


as a silent killer as it usually pres- ents too late for any form of treat- ment. On October 31, 2011, my


Next day installation


husband was admitted to hospital after developing jaundice. Until that point, his only symptoms had been a few weeks of mild gastric discomfort. He was diagnosed the same day with stage four metasta- tic pancreatic cancer, which had spread to his liver. “We knew the score - survival


Brand New


Kate’s canyon trek in memory of husband


rates from pancreatic cancer have not improved much in the last 30 years. Nigel died on January 19, 2012. I had been thinking about what I could do to celebrate Nigel’s life and decided to join the Pancre- atic Cancer UK Grand Canyon Challenge Trek in October. I am self-funding the trip to ensure that all donations go directly to the charity.” This is the third big fundraiser


the family has taken part in. Kate’s daughter, Laura, took part in a su- perhero fun run dressed as Super- man in 2012, raising over £2,000, and her sister Rebecca organised a dinner dance in Tenterden which raised £10,300 in 2015. In the UK, pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of the 21 most com- mon cancers. Pancreatic CancerUK supports those affected, investing in research and lobbying for recog- nition of the disease. For details visit www.justgiv- ing.com/fundraising/Kate-Minett. For more information on Pancre- atic Cancer UK, visit www.pan- creaticcancer.org.uk/fundraise.


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