WELLBEING
Alresford Surgery News Andover Mind Update
Andover Mind are excited to announce the launch of their web chat service! The new online chat service makes accessing information faster and provides another way to get in touch without the need to call. It also makes communication easier for people who do not speak English as their first language, allowing the use of programmes like Google Translate to chat. The chat is open on weekdays between 9:30am - 16:30pm. They have a dedicated team waiting to offer advice, support and information for all their services. To access the web chat by clicking the small pop-up in the bottom left of https://www.andovermind.org.uk/ Please be aware that despite being called “Andover MIND”, they actually provide services right across Hampshire, supporting people with mental ill health as well as adult carers, who care for an adult, and people living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
Farewell from Dr. Wright Dear Patients, iring later this you that I shall be ret I am writing to inform ctor in 1989, and have spent most a do month. I qualified as as a partner at a GP, the greater part as life . of my working ch en it will be quite a wr Alresford Surgery, so dicine and cinated by science, me allenges of I have always been fas ch ic ost gn dia relished the psychology, and have nted to walk wa st mo e I’v all e ov ab General Practice, but health and ill their journeys in both to support alongside patients on le ab pe that I have been health. I very much ho er the years. Thank you all for y ov joyable. some of you in this wa so interesting and en life ng rki wo my g makin rted at ous changes since I sta There have been enorm example, how many of you for Alresford - I wonder, ck room of Preston in surgeries in the ba lkwa the r be em rem uple of years ll? - and in the last co ich we all Candover Village Ha wh s on to many frustrati to work with the Pandemic has led ate tun for en be always share. However I have rs, nurses and vital support staff, cto a dedicated team of do teful. gra y ver am I and for that With my best wishes Susie Wright
The Alresford Surgery Station Road, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9JL Appointments: 01962 732345 Dispensary: 01962 732345 Health Visitors: 01962 831088 Community Nursing Team: 01489 878629
30
Goodbye from Dr. Lowman Where have the last thirty years gone? I rem ember starting work at Alresford Su rgery in 1992, when Ge neral Practice was very different, inc luding writing in patie nt notes using fountain pen, doing nights on-call carryi ng a bag full of equipment and medic ations, and relying on paper maps and torches to find rural addresses. A fond me mory is holding weekly branch surge ries in Preston Cand over Village Hall, using the nearby phon e box to enquire abou t home visits to be done afterwards. Ho spital referrals were sim ple, and I had easy access to Consult ant colleagues, meeti ng them once a week over lunch for an educational sessio n. From antenatal to end-of-life care, and everything in between , we were involved in it all. How things have chan ged. I am now part of a large multidisciplinary team wi th greater specialisat ion, and technology has allowed me to co nsult by text, email, an d video, even working from home when necessary. There is a “template” for everything, electr onic inboxes and me ssaging systems, and various pathway s to enable hospital ref errals. Medicine is more complex and treatment possibilitie s almost endless. Education and meeti ngs are done via “Team s” sitting at my computer, and lunch is noticeable only by its absence! Yet, much has remain ed the same. Concern , anxiety and fear around ill health is a normal human ch aracteristic that can affect us all. Illness continues to pre sent in many different ways, challen ging clinicians daily as we try to make a diagnosis. Some of my patients have been from the same families for three decad es, though in recent yea rs from the third or even fourth generation! Over the years we have shared many stories together, and I have had the privilege of being there through both good and difficu lt times. It is the continuity of the se relationships that has made my role as a GP such an enjoyable one and I am grateful for this. Alongside this, I have had the privilege of working within a team who are kind, compassionate , and committed to providing the best care possible, having to respond to a continually changing NHS. As I step back from the surgery, I wish you all well in the future. Best wishes, Ann Lowman
