Oxford Private Medical

Following on from my last blog regarding the HPV vaccination and how it has benefits for both boys and girls, it is interesting to see that new guidelines have been developed to help doctors and nurses who inject children.  These guidelines focus on how we can reduce distress for the child. As a parent, and a GP, I am very familiar with the stress that comes with having one of your children vaccinated.  There’s no escaping the fact that for a brief moment, the jab is going to cause a prick or a sting, and all we can do is comfort our children and distract them if possible, safe in the knowledge that we have acted in their very best interests.  It is always over very quickly and soon forgotten, but the lead up to vaccination day can be a source of anxiety.  Mums and Dads sometimes find the process too tough to handle, and we frequently see the task delegated to Grandparents or one parent in particular, no doubt after much personal deliberation! Why are the guid...

Preventing cancer. Anyone with a teenage daughter will be familiar with a relatively new vaccination provided in year 8 at school, which is designed to protect against cancer of the cervix. In the UK this is the second most common cancer to affect women under the age of 35, with around 3000 cases per year (8 cases per day) being diagnosed. Unfortunately death rates are high - around 970 women died from cervical cancer in 2011 in the UK. The jab, GARDASIL, represents a truly dramatic improvement in healthcare. Just consider what this vaccination gives us – a proven and effective vaccination against a form of cancer. We often hear about the search for a cure for cancer, and here we have one step better – true prevention. No wonder it has become a routine childhood vaccination across developed countries all over the world. But what about the boys? Clearly boys and men are not at risk of cancer of the cervix, but there are very real benefits to boys being vaccinated too. For now...

We have all no doubt noticed how coughing among children is practically the norm, especially in pre-schoolers. At any one time, research suggests that parents will report coughing in nearly a third of children. What’s more, the impact can be significant: poor sleep, reduced performance at school, parental anxiety, even a household awake all night long. The most common cause is an acute viral Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) which healthy children experience several times each year. A quarter of these will continue to have a cough 2 weeks after the infection, possibly longer. Assessment and treatment of cough  is an area under continuous review by the guiding medical bodies, most notably the British Thoracic Society. Information on the internet about cough is generally inaccurate As GPs we often view the internet as a double edged sword. It can be invaluable as a source of useful information for self-management, however misinformation is everywhere. A study was se...

We are not sure.  Below is a document written by a local GP colleague who is trying to raise awareness of the pressure that NHS GPs are under.  Reading it, I am struggling to see how the wonderful NHS GP service that we know and love is going to survive.  We are posting it to help with awareness as we fully support our NHS GP colleagues and believe that the role of GP is such a crucial one to this nation.  Here it is: £136 per year – what can you buy? - 11 months pet insurance; it costs £151 to insure one rabbit for a year with Petplan - 6 months mobile phone use; one year on a Vodafone sim-only tariff costs £264 - 5 months Sky TV family bundle  - less than 3 tanks of fuel for a Vauxhall Astra - coffee on your way to work for 3 months Or… …one year of funding per patient for the average general practice. Yes. £136. Less than the cost of pet insurance, or a mobile phone, or Sky TV, or 3 tanks of fuel. And many practices get fa...

There is much debate about whether population screening for medical conditions is really useful in the long run.  When you look at the figures for screening performed on healthy people it is amazing what a small chance you have of both picking up some sort of health problem and of prolonging and saving a life as the result of a screening test.  Huge numbers of people have to go through procedures, all with some sort of risk, to produce an incredibly small change in the overall chance of saving or prolonging life. That being said there are a few things that I believe are worthwhile in terms of preventative medicine.  Here are three simple ones that come to mind: 1.  To me, preventing pregnancy when you don't wish to have a baby is the by far the most significant intervention that you can make in the life of your patient.  I am amazed at the privilege that we, as a nation, have in being able to choose when we wish to have a baby.  And these days there are...

The clocks will be going back soon and days are getting shorter; its time to protect ourselves from the winter blues and to keep as well as we can.  Here are a few things to look out for. Cough and colds If you suffer from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) you need to take extra care of yourself at this time of year.  Make sure that you have had your seasonal flu vaccination (readily available at OPMP from 0830-1800 on weekdays). Get regular exercise, eat a balanced healthy diet and make sure you do what you can to have a good sleep pattern.  At the first sign of fever and productive cough seek professional advice. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) SAD is thought to affect up to one in 50 people in the UK with as many as one in eight suffering from the milder form "winter blues". Symptoms of depression most commonly occur between September and November.   It's thought SAD is caused by the lack of sunlight which affects mood-related c...

Stopping smoking is challenging but worthwhile.  It is the best way to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and many types of cancer.  We want to work with out to help you as you consider how you might go about quitting.   The best thing to do is to book an appointment with the practice nurse.  She has lots of experience of talking to people who are thinking about stopping smoking.  She will be able to give you advice on the best way of doing it. Just so you are aware, there are several types of drug therapy that are available to help you when you decide to stop.   Nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gum, lozenges, inhalators, mouth and nasal sprays) Champix (Vareniciline) tablets Zyban (bupropion) tablets Nicotine replacement therapy is widely available on prescription or over the counter via your pharmacist Zyban and Champix are prescription-only.  In studies Champix has been shown to work better than Zyban though if...