keith.williams

Low oxygen level in the blood is a recognised complication of the COVID-19 infection and one of the main reasons for people to be admitted to hospital for oxygen therapy and requiring further treatment. Earlier detection of a dangerous drop in oxygen levels and faster intervention means that patients in the community will be identified sooner if their condition worsens and so will be treated more quickly if they need hospital care. We can detect these changes in oxygen levels by means of a simple piece of equipment called a Pulse Oximeter, which is placed on the patient’s finger and gives [...]

GP practices across Dorset will be inviting registered patients to find out their risk of Type 2 Diabetes as part of an ongoing national campaign. It is estimated that over 41,000 people in Dorset are affected by Type 2 Diabetes so practices are asking selected patients to assess their risk and get in touch if they are concerned. Those people receiving an SMS will be invited to fill in the Know Your Risk online tool to find out if they are at risk and if so find out what steps they can take to lower it. In addition, targeted social media [...]

No Show? let us know. Whilst NHS services across Dorset are working hard to get back to normal following the initial lockdown period there is still a huge demand which is likely to increase as we approach the winter months. In order to help local services, people are being asked to get in touch to rearrange as soon as they can if they are unable to make an appointment. By notifying us that you are no longer able to attend your appointment you can support us to enable other patients to get the help they need more quickly. Every year thousands [...]

Leading doctors and nurses are making a joint appeal for help to stop the spread of COVID-19, save lives, and protect each other. All local medical directors and nursing directors across Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are making the call in a new open letter. The letter is also signed by the Director for Public Health. In their joint appeal, they are asking the public to help each other by playing their part to stop the spread of the virus. They are reminding people that you can stop the spread of coronavirus this winter by limiting the number of households you [...]

“There is no Health without Mental Health” The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Mental Health Day takes place on 10 October every year with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues. Many people have found the past few months difficult for many reasons, however help is available for people should they need it. Esther Osborne from Weymouth is the Patient Participation Group (PPG) Chair for Dorchester Road Surgery and is a keen champion for mental health. She said “It’s been an incredibly challenging time for everyone and people have been affected differently, depending on their individual circumstances. One [...]

The Dorset Intelligence and Insight Service (DiiS) has been shortlisted for the 2020 Institute of Collaborative Working (ICW) Collaborative Working Awards. Working across all healthcare partners in Dorset, the DiiS provides insights and analytics to help with planning and system resilience. The data can be used to identify trends at a community level as part of Population Health Management and can help health and care professionals support individuals to improve their lives. More recently it has been used as a live resource during the COVID-19 pandemic to track cases across Dorset. The submission was based on all aspects of collaboration that [...]

Whilst GP practices across Dorset have had to change the way they work due to COVID-19 they are still seeing people face to face and are asking parents to make sure their children receive their immunisations as normal, getting protected against flu as winter approaches. Making sure your child’s vaccinations are up to date will not just protect them, but it will also help stop them passing harmful viruses to other members of the family and the wider community who could be more at risk, for example grand-parents or people with an existing health condition. During the coming months the flu [...]

We welcome you to our virtual AGM which can be accessed here. If you are unable to watch live it is now available via YouTube.