Kings Medical Practice News www.kingmedicalpractice.co.uk

We are holding 'flu vaccination clinics on three Saturdays in October - the 6th, 13th and 20th. We recommend 'flu vaccinations to anyone who would be at more risk of the serious complications of 'flu than the general population. This means people over 65, those with a chronic lung or chest condition like asthma or COPD, people who have diabetes and people with heart disease. If you click here you can follow a link to the page on our website where you can download our 'flu information leaflet and consent form. The 'flu vaccination clinics are being held between 8.30 and 12 each Saturday morning. To make an appointment you can either ring our appointments number on 0844 815 1340 option 1 or click here to go direct to our online appointments booking. To book an appointment via the Internet you have to be registered with SystmOne Online - to do this either ask at reception or the next practice member of staff you see for a user name and password. Th

NHS Wakefield Commissioning Group has launched a new campaign to encourage patients to seek help first from their GP rather than going to A&E. It is entitled 'Your GP will see you now' and has a nice coloured leaflet. Click here to see a copy, and the campaign even has a Facebook page - click here . Our local A&E Departments are under a lot of pressure from patients attending who could have seen their GP first. The Commissioning Group has invested in extra capacity at GPs surgeries across Wakefield to make it easier for patients to see their GP rather than going to A&E. We have looked at the numbers of our patients attending A&E and there is a peak on weekdays between 5pm and 6pm. This is when the surgery is open and patients could have come to us. We have used the investment from the Commissioning Group to have extra appointments every weekday between 5.00 and 6.00 pm. So, if you are thinking of going to A&E during the daytime, when the surgery is open:

If you have ever had a consultation with me you will know that on my windowsill I have a beautiful orchid. It has been in flower since last November. But all good things come to an end and over the last month the flowers on it have started to die and there is now a new shoot spurting up offering the promise of more new flowers again. I am often asked 'is it real?' Yes it is, quickly followed by 'how do you look after it because mine always die?' So here is my easy guide to looking after orchids (well not really my guide more based on what my wife has told me to because she is the one in our house with green fingers - I am just the hired help!) Find a position they like - mine is on a north facing windowsill and it loves it Don't over water - I water mine once a week with half a cup of water Prune dead flower spikes off at the bottom of the shoot above a bud Don't throw them away when the flowers drop off, keep them and wait till you get another flower sp