A very good event at this evenings New Queen Street Surgery – Patients Participation Group meeting, with 15 members attending.
Let me categorically say the the PPG is NOT primarily a fund raising group, there has been some insinuation on ‘Social Media’ that this is the case.
Having been involved with the PPG since its inception, the reasoning why the Government wants PPG’s is for ‘Patients’ to be given a platform to interface and meet with their surgery partners be it doctors/nurses or senior admin staff.
The ‘generous’ donations that individuals/patients make is their decision, all donations are used for the ‘whole’ benefit of the surgery and its patients.
So tonight we were pleased to have our local Whittlesey Lions present at cheque by president Steve Palmer for £500 – as Steve said, their group raises money to help ‘Local’ organisations and groups within Whittlesey and district.
It was decided to offer the NQS an opportunity to buy a state of the art Doppler Medical Machine.
[See below – description of a Doppler]
Amongst other items discussed was the recent and forthcoming ‘Flu Clinics’
Presentation of the Water Cooler by The PPG
Questions asked about whether the ‘Telephone Doctors appointment system’ is to be permanent and some feed back at the next meeting.
Several other topics were covered, perhaps those who make comments on ‘Social Media’ instead of ‘relying on hearsay’ would like to come along to this and any other meetings….
ie Town Council, and hear what is ‘actually’ said and discussed – then be informed correctly to make comments….
Finally NQS announce that Dr Gary Howsan is to leave the surgery at the end of December. Dr Howsan has played a very big part in The NQS by leading and taking forward many issues and challenges and has been both successful and inspirational in the delivery of these under sometimes very hard times.
We’re not sure where Dr Howsan will be going, but besides being a local GP he is involved in numerous other medically aligned 
positions – one being Chair & Chief Clinical Officer.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group.
I am sure ‘Gary’ will be somewhat missed at our Surgery and we wish him every success – where ever he goes.
[Doppler]
A Doppler ultrasound is a non -invasive test that can be used to estimate the blood flow through your blood vessels by bouncing high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) off circulating red blood cells. A regular ultrasound uses sound waves to produce images, but can’t show blood flow.
A Doppler ultrasound may help diagnose many conditions, including:
- Blood clots
- Poorly functioning valves in your leg veins, which can cause blood or other fluids to pool in your legs (venous insufficiency)
- Heart valve defects and congenital heart disease
- A blocked artery (arterial occlusion)
- Decreased blood circulation into your legs (peripheral artery disease)
- Bulging arteries (aneurysms)
- Narrowing of an artery, such as in your neck (carotid artery stenosis)
A Doppler ultrasound can estimate how fast blood flows by measuring the rate of change in its pitch (frequency). During a Doppler ultrasound, a technician trained in ultrasound imaging (sonographer) presses a small hand-held device (transducer), about the size of a bar of soap, against your skin over the area of your body being examined, moving from one area to another as necessary.
WARNING : It is not advisable to buy a ‘cheap’ Doppler for home use. (RG)
