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SURGERY & DISPENSARY CLOSURES

Dorchester Carers Nook - A Space for Those Who Care

Are you a carer in Dorchester? The Dorchester Carers Nook is here to support you. Created with carers, for carers, this monthly drop-in offers a warm welcome, practical advice, and the chance to connect with others who understand the challenges and rewards of caring.

What’s on offer?

• Carer Café – Meet other carers, share experiences, and enjoy a well-earned break.
• Activities for the cared-for person – Supervised sessions to give carers some breathing room (pre-booking required).
• Information & Advice – Access to local charities, health services, and community organisations.
• On-Hand Support – From Primary Care Network teams, Social Prescribers, and Long-Term Condition Coordinators.

When and where?

• Every 2nd Wednesday of the month
• 10:00am – 12:00pm
• Dorchester Connect Day Centre

September's focus: Physical Wellness. Organisations attending will be: Carer Support Dorset, Age UK, MDPCN Occupational Therapy Team, LiveWell Dorset and Community Action Network.

Booking information

No booking needed for carers – just drop in anytime between 10am and 12pm.
Pre-booking is required for cared-for activities (spaces are limited).
To reserve a place, call 01305 269073.

Who is behind the project?

Dorchester Carers Nook is a joint initiative from: Mid Dorset Primary Care Network (PCN), Age UK, Dorset Council, Dorchester Day Centre and Carer Support Dorset. Together, we’ve created a safe and welcoming space where carers can unwind, recharge, and access the support they need.

👉 For more information, please visit: https://mid-dorsetpcn.co.uk/dorchester-carers-nook 

Covid & Flu Vaccinations 2025

We will be running our annual flu vaccination clinic for our over 65yrs old eligible patients on Saturday 4^th October 2025 at the Winterborne Whitechurch Village Hall. Please save this date as we would like as many of our eligible patients to attend. We will be in touch when appointments are available to book.

Details of dates and locations for the flu vaccination clinic for our eligible patients under 64yrs old will also follow.

Autumn 2025 COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility Criteria:

• adults aged 75 years and over
• residents in care homes for older adults
• individuals who are immunosuppressed aged 6 months and over

We are unable to give vaccines outside of these cohorts. Please note, the criteria has changed from the autumn 2024 which also included adults aged 65 to 74, and all those aged 6 months and over in a clinical risk group.  Covid vaccinations can only be given after 1st October 2025 and will be dependant on delivery.

Flu Vaccination Eligibility Criteria:

From 1 September 2025:

• pregnant women
• all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2025
• primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
• secondary school aged children (from Year 7 to Year 11)
• all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years

From 1^st October 2025:

• those aged 65 years and over
• those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza chapter 19)
• those in long-stay residential care home
• carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
• close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants

Lower Limb Health Tool

Worried about your legs and feet? Download the NHS Dorset lower limb health screening tool to assess if your legs and feet are healthy and find out what to do next.

www.staywelldorset.nhs.uk/conditions/legs

Lung Cancer Screening

Lung Cancer Screening is a new service in Dorset that will be offered to those aged 55 to 74 who are current or former smokers. For those who fall into this criteria, keep an eye out for your letter.

Following an initial telephone conversation with a health professional and, if needed, a simple scan, the Targeted Lung Health Check can identify signs of lung conditions at an early stage when treatment is likely to be more successful- saving lives. 

 For more information, please visit https://www.dchft.nhs.uk/service/lung-health-check  

A Plea for Wee!

Please bring a urine sample with you if you are coming for your annual review for:

• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Heart Failure

Why do we ask for this? Your urine sample is as important as the blood tests that you have taken at your Long Term Condition Reviews. Testing your urine will show us if there is any protein leakage which would be a sign that  your kidneys are not working as well as they should. This can happen even if the kidney function test (blood test) is normal.

Your sample should be from the first wee of the day. Sample kits are available from reception if you can collect one before your appointment - this is the best option - but if not, please bring your sample in a clean screw top container.

Weight Management Medication

New Weight Management Medication – Not Yet Available from Your GP

Please note that GP practices in Mid Dorset are not yet set up to provide the new NHS weight management medication, Tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro®), which is due to become available nationally from 23 June 2025.

While around 1,000 people in Dorset are expected to meet the national eligibility criteria for this treatment, local access will not begin until autumn 2025.

What’s Happening Locally?

NHS Dorset is currently working to commission a new community-based weight management service during the summer. This service is expected to launch later in 2025 and will provide access to Tirzepatide through a dedicated referral pathway – not directly through GP practices.

We kindly ask that you do not contact your GP about this medication at this time, as we are currently unable to offer advice, prescriptions, or referrals.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible under the current national NHS guidelines, individuals must:

• Have a BMI of 40 kg/m² or more, or 37.5 kg/m² or more for people from minority ethnic backgrounds
  and
• Have at least four of the following long-term conditions:
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Dyslipidaemia
• Cardiovascular disease
• Obstructive sleep apnoea

This guidance comes from NHS England’s interim commissioning framework (based on NICE TA1026).

What to Expect

The upcoming local service is being designed to reflect public feedback, focusing on:

• Choice – both face-to-face and online options
• Accessibility – easy to access and inclusive support
• Equity – addressing health inequalities
• Integration – linking with behavioural and lifestyle support already in place in Dorset

Until the new service launches, existing weight management support remains available via LiveWell Dorset. We will share more information as soon as the service is ready.

For more information please visit: Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) – NHS Dorset

Only Order What You Need

Dorset's Only Order What You Need campaign is back!

Around 50,000 people in Dorset receive repeat GP prescriptions for multiple medications every month. However, it is estimated that 1.6 million items are wasted every year in Dorset alone! Last year's campaign helped save:

• 65,000 fewer prescriptions
• £450,000
• Nearly 300 tonnes GHG emissions
• Over 1000 hours of healthcare professional time

Thank you to everyone who have been mindful when ordering their prescriptions this past year.

When ordering repeat prescriptions, please can we ask that you:

• Check what medications you already have
• Only order what you need
• Speak to our Dispensary Team if you have any questions or need support
• Return unused or out of date medicines for safe disposal

Thank you for helping your community to reduce medicine waste.

DNA (Did Not Attend) Appointments

Between January 2025 and April 2025 189 patients did not attend their appointments, equalling a total of 53 hours 45 minutes of clinical time wasted.

• NURSE time wasted: 28 hours 40 minutes = Equivalent of 172 blood tests; or 57 asthma/COPD reviews; or 57 baby immunisations; or 86 cervical smear tests lost
• GP time wasted: 18 hours 40 minutes = 75 GP appointments lost
• HCA time wasted: 4 hours 5 minutes = Equivalent of 24 blood test appointments lost
• PHYSIO time wasted: 2 hours 20 minutes = 7 Physio appointments lost

Some of these appointments are up to 40 minutes long, so missing your appointment or forgetting to cancel means we waste valuable clinic time. For ONE missed Long Term Condition Review appointment, THREE people could have had blood test appointments, so it's important not to waste these slots.

If you can’t attend an appointment, please can we ask that you cancel it at least an hour before so someone else can receive the care they need. This can be done either over the phone or by replying CANCEL to your text reminder.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter - It could make a huge difference to another patient.

Surgery Facebook Page

Our surgery Facebook page (@miltonabbassurgery) is a great way to stay up to date with surgery news, closures, and helpful information to support you and your family’s health and wellbeing.

If you'd like to learn more about using it, why not book a session with one of the Digital Champions sessions run by Dorset Council? 

Digital Champions at Dorset Council are a group of friendly and patient volunteers who are good at explaining computers, without using jargon. They can help you to:

• set up and using devices including mobile phones, tablets and computers
• get online and show you how to do home shopping
• access digital NHS services like the NHS app or SystmOnline to be able to book appointments, view test results and consultation notes

Dorset Council run Digital Champion sessions in Blandford Library on Tuesdays from 10am till 12.25pm, and every other Friday 10.30am till 12noon. To book a session please call 01305 221048.

Autism Health Checks

We have recently launched Autism Health Checks at our surgery and are currently in the process of reaching out to patients. If you would be interested in knowing more, please contact the surgery either by phone or email miltonabbassurgery@nhs.net and ask for Anna (one of our Social Prescribers).

We are also trialling a new Autism Support Pathway to ensure everyone over 18yrs old receives comprehensive support during and after their assessment.

If you have any communication or adjustment needs related to autism, ADHD, or mental health that would make it easier for you to access our surgery, please let our Social Prescribers know. They’ll be happy to help you!

eConsults

Please can we ask that from now onwards, rather than use the surgery email address for clinical or medication queries, you complete an eConsult form online as the GP’s no longer take questions via email. This would also include requests for sick notes.

To access the eConsult service please click on the ‘Complete an eConsult’ button on the front page of our surgery website www.masurgery.co.uk. You can also submit an eConsult from the NHS app.

For more details on how to use eConsult please click here https://econsult.net/nhs-patients/how-to-use-econsult

This will help with efficiency and the GP workload. We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.