Do you live in the UK and are unhappy about services that you have received from the National Health Service, or NHS?
If you want to start the NHS complaints process, this article will show you how to do it, when to do it, and, of course, what to do if you are unhappy with the outcome.
If you wish to give feedback or make a complaint about the NHS service, you must fall into the following groups.
Patient- You must have received care or treatment from an NHS service. It does not matter if you received this treatment away from the area you live in; you can begin the complaints process about any service in the NHS, just be sure to include information about the hospital, an NHS GP surgery, dental surgery, or other service and why you attended.
Family Members, Carers, or Representatives- You can complain about the standard of care that a loved one or someone you care for has received. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, you will need to state how you know them, and they will have to give their consent
When you or a loved one have received NHS care that you are unhappy with, you have 12 months to start the complaints process from the date of the incident, or when you became aware of the issue. Please note that this deadline can be extended, if there is just cause as to why the complaints process was not started in the set timeframe.
To start the complaints process, you need to raise the complaint with the NHS organisation itself. This could be a GP surgery, a mental health service, and so on. Each department has their own complaints procedure, and if you aren’t sure who you need to contact, please call the Patient Advice and Liaison Service, or PALS, for help.
You can start complaints in writing, electronically, or verbally. When you make a complaint to the NHS, please state clearly what the issues are and what your desired outcome is.
Once the complaint is received, the NHS will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. According to the NHS constitution, an investigation will follow, and you should receive a written response that breaks down the findings. There is no timeframe in the NHS guidelines which states when the issue needs to be resolved, bit you should be given an idea of how long it will take.
It may be the case that you or the person you represent are unhappy with the outcome. You can escalate the complaint to the parliamentary and health service Ombudsman. The health service ombudsman is independent from the NHS and will carry out their own investigation if necessary. You can contact them via email or telephone at 0345 015 4033. Remember, it is expected that before you contact the Ombudsman, that you will have taken the steps mentioned above and will have proof.
For more information on how to raise a complaint in the NHS, please contact us.
Have you ever been advised by your GP, a nurse, or even 111 to talk to a pharmacist about a medical issue?
In the UK, pharmacists that work for the NHS ensure patient safety, as well as effective medication use, while also easing the pressure on both GP’s and A&E departments.
If you aren’t entirely sure about the role of pharmacists in your care, read on to learn more about it.
One of the main roles of a pharmacist is dispensing medication, as well as other day to day pharmacy services. These can include helping patients to choose the most suitable over-the-counter medication, assisting with health checks, answering questions about medication, and triaging the severity of illnesses.
A community pharmacy may even offer more specialised services, such as health checks for pregnant women, or for those who are over a certain age.
A pharmacist will offer advice and treatment for minor issues to reduce the pressure on other healthcare professionals, such as a local GP practice. These include common colds, headaches, migraines, skin issues, and common health complaints in children, such as headlice. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can also administer vaccines without patients having to book an appointment, and is trained to answer any questions that a patient may have about the side effects.
Many pharmacists undertake additional training at pharmacy schools to become independent prescribers of medicine. This has allowed them to prescribe medications for common ailments like high blood pressure without the need for an NHS GP or a nurse to provide input.
In some hospitals, you may even find pharmacists working alongside specialists, to help with treatment plans and medication, ensuring that it is tailored to the individuals needs. This is known as collaborative prescribing and brings the knowledge that these trained professionals have of the pharmaceutical industry into care plans to make sure that each patient is safe.
Pharmacists often work in hospitals, and are there to ensure the safety of the medication for both the inpatients and the outpatients. This role may involve interaction with patients on the wards, as well as working closely with doctors, specialists and nurses to devise the most suitable treatment plans, alongside monitoring the progress of the patients on different medications and assessing the effects.
Pharmacists in hospitals can also help with the medication plans of patients when they leave the hospital, making sure that they continue to receive the best care at home.
There are also urgent care pharmacies, that patients in the community may be referred to by an NHS service like 111. These pharmacies are equipped to provide out-of-hours care, as well as provide patients with their emergency prescriptions if needed. They can also advise patients on the best steps to take to get treatment in the cases of medical emergencies, by acting as a community triage point. This reduces the strain on hospitals and doctor’s surgeries, and also allows patients to get the best care that they can without needing to make a GP appointment.
If you would like to know more about your nearest urgent care pharmacy, please contact us here.
It’s important to look after your health but busy modern lifestyles can mean that it’s not always possible to visit the doctor. Long waiting lists, travel times and queues can mean that a face to face doctors appointment is out of the question in some circumstances, but an online consultation can be just as effective.
There are many benefits to booking an online GP service and it means that you can get the medical advice and attention you need, even if you’re pressed for time. If you have a non-urgent medical issue and are wondering whether an online appointment is right for you, see below for just four benefits of online GP services.
Accessing a GP can be difficult if you don’t drive or if you live in a rural area. You may also have a condition which makes mobility difficult, or perhaps you can’t afford to take time off work to travel to the appointment. An online appointment removes all obstacles associated with travelling and allows you to see a doctor in the comfort of your own home.
You can arrange for a prescription to be sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choice when you book an online appointment. This allows you to collect the prescription at a time to suit you and there’s no need to attend an in-person appointment first.
You can book an online appointment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There’s no need to wait for the surgery’s opening times, simply log on and book an appointment at any time. You might have an issue that’s non-urgent but still requires attention and an online service means you won’t have to wait until the next opening time.
When you book an online appointment, you’ll be matched with the most appropriate clinician for your health condition. This means that patients have better access to information about their health. They can also access their online records to review up-to-date and relevant information before or after their consultation at any time of the day.
If you’re looking for online GP services, schedule an appointment with NHS GP today. We’re proud to operate four excellent GP practices across North West London, in Wembley, Alperton, Willesden and Queen’s Park. Online registration is available 24/7 and you can then access a wide range of services, including GP video consultations, prescriptions – which are sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choice – and general health advice from our doctor’s practice. Register online today orcontact us to find out more.
Diabetes isn’t an uncommon illness, but it can be serious and result in your having to change your lifestyle. There are two different kinds of diabetes, and the main difference between them is that type 1 is genetic, whereas type 2 diabetes can be down to your lifestyle and will develop over time, rather than showing up in an earlier stage of your life.
It is important to know what the symptoms of diabetes are so that you can address the problem sooner rather than later, so below are some of the key things to look out for and when you should see a doctor.
If you want to know how to tell if you have diabetes, these are common indicators that you might have developed this problem.
The need to urinate frequently, or feeling thirsty and/or hungry a lot. You might also notice that you experience extreme fatigue, weight loss, tingling sensation, or pain in your hands and feet. Cuts and bruises might also take longer to heal than they have done in the past. Some people might also experience blurred vision or find that they are getting thrush in the genital area repeatedly.
You may want to refer to a self help service to check symptoms if you are concerned.
If you are concerned that you have diabetes, the first thing to do is make an appointment with your doctor. They can arrange a blood test to check your blood sugar levels, as this can be a great indicator of whether or not you have diabetes and can be one of the first warning signs. High blood sugar can be treated with lifestyle changes, and you may need to take insulin at times too.
Your doctor can talk you through how to manage your diabetes more effectively, or look at NHS GP for more information. They may even refer you to specialist centers for disease control for further support and guidance.
If you do have a history of type 1 diabetes in your family, then you are more likely to develop this condition, too.
However, for type 2 diabetes, those at a higher risk include people who have a diet that is high in fats and sugars and are overweight. Your risk also increases the older you get, with a lot of people developing this when they are over 40. This is why it is important to monitor high levels of blood sugar and get this tested if you are concerned.
If you do have type 2 diabetes, there are some things you can do at home to help this. The first step is to look at moving to a healthier lifestyle and eating a more balanced diet with reduced sugar. Remember to be careful with carbs, too, as these can turn into sugar in your body. You might also want to think about getting more exercise to help you lose weight which can be beneficial.
If you are worried about whether or not you have developed diabetes, contact your doctor as soon as possible to take the necessary tests.
You should register in the area that you live. If you are in Halls of Residences, you can click here to register with a doctor online.
It is very important that you register with a local doctor while you are at university. Do not wait until you are ill to do this!
You may register with any doctor in the area, usually the surgery nearest to where you live. There is no charge for overseas students to register with the National Health Service (NHS).
NHS Health surcharge
The Health surcharge introduced from 6th April 2015, will apply to all new applicants from overseas and applicants in the UK who are extending their visa. The cost for each year of study will be £300 per year (depending on your duration of stay) and dependants will be charged the same amount as the main applicant. It will give you access to the NHS on the same terms as permanent UK residents. The health surcharge will be paid by non EEA nationals who come to the UK to study, work or join Family. This will not apply to Nationals from Australia or New Zealand because of reciprocal healthcare arrangements with the UK. You must apply and make payment for the surcharge before you make your visa application.
Register with a GP
It is important that you register with a GP as soon as possible when you join Middlesex if you are living away from your home GP. This means that you will be able to access healthcare quickly should you become unwell at your time at university. For anything else that you are unsure of, you can contact wellbeing@mdx.ac.uk
What is PTSD? Learn about the symptoms of PTSD and what to do if you think you or a loved one has this psychiatric disorder.
PTSD, which stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that occurs after a traumatic event or prolonged trauma over time. Historically, it became known as “shell shock”, which many soldiers experienced after combat in the world wars. However, any kind of trauma can lead to this disorder, such as:
Going through these experiences does not being you will definitely experience PTSD. A traumatic event or prolonged trauma might trigger the disorder in one person and not another, and it has not been determined exactly why. One suggestion is that those suffering from PTSD have high-stress hormone levels, though this isn’t always the case.
If you think you or a loved one might have PTSD, it’s crucial to understand the symptoms and seek medical help to process the memories and reduce symptoms over time.
Below are the most common symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder PTSD.
Flashbacks of Trauma
After experiencing a traumatic event, many people feel sad, scared, and anxious, and these symptoms tend to improve naturally over a few weeks. In people with PTSD, these symptoms last far longer and can produce one of the most common symptoms associated with post traumatic stress disorder: flashbacks.
Flashbacks make a person with PTSD experience the traumatic event over and over again in their mind. Often, the flashback is very vivid and causes high levels of panic and anxiety, and can even become debilitating in severe cases.
Frequent Nightmares
People with PTSD usually experience frequent nightmares, often of the traumatic event or events that they have been through. These nightmares cause elevated stress levels and can lead to further issues, like sleeping difficulties and insomnia.
Extreme Anxiety
Anxiety is a symptom of multiple mental health issues, including PTSD. After experiencing trauma, a person with PTSD will often feel extreme anxiety in their day-to-day life. They
Avoidance
It is common for people living with PTSD to avoid anything associated with the traumatic event they experienced, which often includes people, places or activities. It is common for sufferers to even withdraw from their friends and family. Over time, this can make their symptoms even worse as they continue to isolate themselves.
Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts involve upsetting and confusing thoughts that those with PTSD wish would disappear. Typically, these thoughts lead to feelings of guilt and upset. Without treatment, these intrusive thoughts are difficult to manage and might worsen over time in some cases.
Irritability or Anger
Many people with PTSD become irritable or angry, which can lead to reckless behaviour. This behaviour might cause them to damage their relationships. Extreme anger may also be a sign of complex PTSD, which is caused by long-term trauma rather than a single event.
PTSD in Children
Children can get PTSD just like adults. The symptoms may look different, though. If you suspect your child has PTSD, here are the signs to look out for:
Seek Help for PTSD
When experiencing symptoms like this, it’s important to see mental health specialists in order to determine the cause. Then, these mental health professionals can provide appropriate treatment to help the patient manage and improve their symptoms over time, whether through therapy or medication, or a combination of both.
If you think you or your loved one is experiencing PTSD, book an appointment with your NHS GP as soon as possible. Help is available, and nobody has to carry on suffering with their symptoms.
Student life can be rough. If you feel as though your mental health is beginning to suffer as a result, here are some tips that may be able to help.
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Regular exercise is a crucial part of what it takes to maintain a happy and healthy life. From strengthening your mental health to reducing the risk of major illness, exercise is, in many ways, a remedy of its own.
While exercise is a part of many people’s lives by default, i.e., walking to work or school, cycling instead of driving, or taking part in active hobbies like football and running, others might not have the same opportunities.
Since daily routines are unique and not everyone gets the chance to incorporate physical activity into their day, going out of your way to dedicate time to regular exercise is essential if you want to enjoy better health. So, if you need to give yourself a bit of a motivational boost in this area, it’s worth checking out five of the top benefits exercise has to offer you.
Studies show that if you exercise regularly, you are effectively reducing your risk of contracting many different types of chronic disease, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and various forms of cancer.
Your health is a long-term investment, and what better way to ensure you get to live a long and happy life – one that returns your investment – than to ward off illness with a little exercise?
Depression can feel like a black hole that sucks away all ambition, happiness, and sometimes, feelings of any kind at all. Naturally, it can be difficult to think about exercise when you’re suffering from depression, but it’s important to recognise that it can be a good way of battling it.
Regular physical activity may be able to boost your mood and improve your mental state over time, reducing anxiety and engaging the brain at the same time. It’s mostly down to the happy hormones your body releases when taking part in exercise, which can work wonders for mental health.
Still, it’s important to seek help if you’re feeling depressed – you aren’t alone, even though it probably feels that way a lot of the time. You could check out GP online services if you want help remotely or if you need more advice on how exercise may be able to improve your situation.
You might also be able to use exercise to reduce your risk of becoming depressed again in the future – many people cite exercise as a form of natural anti-depressant, which again, is often the result of the positive hormones flowing through the body during and after exercising.
Exercise can help you lose excess weight and maintain a healthy weight whilst improving your metabolism, reducing the risk of several diseases and increasing your energy levels throughout the day.
To get the most out of weight loss and other health benefits exercise can offer, it’s important to always include some aerobic exercise into your routine – this helps get your heart rate up and your blood properly circulating around your body.
If you feel as though you could do with keeping your energy levels up a little better throughout the day, then it’s worth noting that regular exercise can boost your endurance levels.
The more you exercise, the greater your endurance becomes over time, even if you only take on a moderate intensity. Plus, this increase in stamina and fitness usually occurs fairly quickly in the beginning when you commit to regular exercise, so you may be able to see results early on.
High blood pressure is linked to plenty of nasty diseases and mental health conditions, so it’s crucial to keep it under control – and exercise is a great way to aid you in this.
Exercise can make sure your blood vessels and heart stay fresh and healthy, allowing you to lower your blood pressure altogether.
Stress is common for students, but there are ways to feel more at ease through regular breathing exercises shown in this guide.
Meditation, mindfulness and deep breathing have long been associated with improving mental health. For students, taking care of their mental health is an absolute priority during an extremely stressful time, especially during peak exam season. How can they heighten their mental well-being in the midst of their pent-up stress? By trying out breathing exercises and mindful techniques!
Of course, inhaling and exhaling properly sounds easy, but there’s actually a lot more to it when it comes to deep breathing and mindful exercises. Knowing where to start can be tricky, but fear not, for here is a guide geared towards students looking to implement mindful breathing techniques into their life.
This exercise is a good one to start with because it allows for long, deep belly breaths and is also great for mindfulness since it lets you rest your hand on your belly to feel your breath moving in and out. In fact, this movement can be useful for grounding you while you’re practising your breathing.
To begin, place your hands on your belly, close your eyes and take a long deep breath through your nose. Hold your breath for a moment, feeling your belly full of air as you wait, and then exhale slowly through your mouth, feeling the ‘balloon’ in your belly deflate as the air leaves your lungs.
Mindfulness is all about paying attention to the here and now and the sights, sounds and sensations around you. When it comes to mindful breathing, it’s about how your breathing feels and sounds.
To try mindful breathing, set yourself up in a quiet, safe space where you won’t be interrupted. Start by closing your eyes and taking deep breaths in and out, with a long inhalation through your nose and a long exhalation out of your mouth.
While doing these slow, deep breaths, you should pay attention to everything you’re feeling. How does your breath sound? How does it feel when your breath fills your lungs, and how does it feel when you let it out? Are there any other sensations you experience? Take your time in evaluating and accepting your feelings and thoughts as you gently ride each breath – and don’t fight them; simply let them be.
There’s a reason that exercises like yoga and pilates focus so much on correct breathing techniques. When practising stretches and releasing muscle tension, breathing goes hand-in-hand. If you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed with your studies, you might want to relieve the tension from your whole body – and you can do this with breathing exercises.
Lay down in a comfortable place and focus on every area of your body as you settle into a state of relaxation. Next, take a deep breath, holding it in as you curl your toes up and stretch out your entire body. Afterwards, release your breath slowly as you uncurl your toes and relax your muscles.
In addition, you can do exercise while focusing on different areas of your body, making sure to breathe deeply and mindfully as you work your way through each body part that needs relief from tension.
Breathing exercises can help you feel calmer and more collected; however, they can only do so much. If your stress levels are getting out of hand and last a long time, you should see your doctor. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and you need to take care of it if you want to remain in good form.
Naturally, students are busy people and can’t always find the time to go to a GP right away, which is why GP online services can be a good first port of call for those with hectic schedules. There are also student health services available for those that need them, so use them if you feel like your mental health has declined – that’s what they’re there for.
Not getting enough sleep can hinder your physical and mental well-being over time. Luckily, it’s never too late to start healthy sleep habits to improve your health!
In a world that’s growing increasingly hectic, with heightened demand for technology implementation and most people using technology before they go to bed, sleep can often fall on the back burner. As such, many may either struggle to get quality sleep or fail to prioritise sleep in favour of late nights and early morning starts.
Responsibilities, such as work schedules, education and family commitments, can easily have you working late or starting early, and that’s not to say that work, school and family aren’t important. However, insufficient sleep will negatively affect your mind and body’s health over time.
What Are The Signs You Might Not Be Getting Enough Sleep?
A lot of the symptoms of sleep deprivation can easily be dismissed as simply feeling off or having a bad day. Nevertheless, the key indicators of poor sleep to watch out for include:
How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?
Getting the right amount of sleep will vary from person to person, especially when your age comes into play. Still, a good idea is a trial-and-error approach to see when you feel well-rested versus when you don’t. This method will help you figure out how much sleep your body is telling you that you need.
However, as a general rule, healthy sleep habits based on hours-to-age-range ratio are:
What Happens To Your Body When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep?
There are numerous repercussions to continually failing to get enough sleep, which include surface problems relating to how you feel and serious health problems down the line. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body cannot properly recover and maintain its optimum condition, leading you to start noticing serious changes in your mental and physical state.
Over time, untreated sleep deprivation can result in significant health failures, such as a heart attack or high blood pressure. Alongside these, continuous poor sleep could also put you at risk of a weakened immune system and diabetes and can negatively impact your mood, causing issues such as a low sex drive and depression.
If you find yourself suffering from any of these issues no matter how minor, taking action early on can prevent further health decline – so see your doctor or use GP online services if you can’t find the time to go in person immediately. Your GP can offer expert advice and prescriptions should they feel you’d benefit from medication.
Lack of Sleep, Physical Health and Mental Health
It’s important to note that physical and mental health should be considered when understanding a healthy sleep pattern and any problems with one. Despite your best efforts, you may still find that you still feel exhausted no matter what you do – and this isn’t a rare problem in today’s age.
Perhaps you feel like all you want to do is sleep, even though you’re getting a full night’s rest, or maybe you feel exhausted and irritable throughout the day. Signs like these could indicate you’re suffering from sleep-related issues; however, they can also point to other health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or a physical health problem.
Whatever the signs and symptoms, it’s important to speak with a healthcare professional, make an appointment with your doctor or use GP online services if you’re concerned about your energy levels and sleep pattern. Lack of sleep affects plenty of people, yet too many don’t take it seriously and forgo help – much to their detriment. Support is available and can set you on the right track to getting the quality sleep your physical and mental health need – so use it.
