LOCAL AMERSHAM GPs LAUNCH A NEW NETWORK TO IMPROVE SERVICES

LOCAL GPs LAUNCH A NEW NETWORK TO IMPROVE SERVICES

 

The new Mid Chiltern Primary Care Network (PCN) has its launch event at 7pm on Wednesday 26th February at the Misbourne School in Great Missenden.

 

The network has been set up in response to a significant Government initiative aimed at strengthening general practice and building the links between health and social care at a local community level.

 

Dr Shaheen Jinah, one of the two GPs taking the role of joint clinical directors of the network, said:

 

I am very excited about the possibilities from the five surgeries in our network working together.

GPs have been under a lot of pressure for a while now.  Our goal is to use the network to bring a wider range of services to our patients and to free up GP time so patients can have better contact with us when it is needed.  This will, though, take time.

 

The launch event has been organised by a new patients group representing the patients of the five surgeries.  Chris Purves, chair of the Mid Chiltern PCN Patients Group, said:

 

We wanted to ensure that fellow patients are aware of what the changes are.  It’s important patients know about things that will affect them.  As the NHS constitution says “The patient will be at the heart of everything the NHS does”.

This event is just a first stage in what we hope will be a regular flow of information from the network, the five surgeries and from our patients group about what is happening.

 

In January 2019 the previous Government asked all GP surgeries in England to group together to form primary care networks, each with a total of 30-50,000 patients.  Mid Chiltern PCN was formed in response to this.  It comprises the following five surgeries:

• Amersham Health Centre
• Rectory Meadow in Amersham
• The Practice Prospect House in Great Missenden
• John Hampden Surgery in Prestwood
• Hughenden Valley and Chequers Drive Surgeries

PCNs get extra money to employ new shared staff. The Government’s reasons are explained in a 1^st July 2019 news item on Bucks CCG’s website.

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Each of the five surgeries has a volunteer patient participation group.  The chairs of these groups encouraged patient involvement in the development of the new network and were pleased to be asked to suggest the network name and logo.

The chairs have formed the network-level patients group which is believed to be the first of its kind in Buckinghamshire.  The group has organised this launch event.

—

Patients have been invited to apply for a place at the launch event:  only those with confirmed invitations will be allowed entry.  Applications can be made to christine_purves@hotmail.com .

The speakers at the event will include

• Dr Clare Gabe, senior partner at Amersham Health Centre
• Dr Shaheen Jinah, a GP at Hughenden Valley and Chequers Drive Surgeries
• Chris Purves, chair of the network’s patients group.

Dr Jinah and Dr Gabe are the two clinical directors of the PCN.  The social prescriber and clinical pharmacist newly employed by the PCN will also be there.

 

► For more info about primary care networks see Healthwatch Bucks website  https://tinyurl.com/qmuvk8d .

► For more about patient participation groups see https://healthwatchcwl.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/PPG-Best-Practice-Guide-2017.pdf  or https://www.england.nhs.uk/south/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/09/ppg-introduction.pdf

► The websites for the five surgeries are:

https://www.amershamhealthcentre.co.uk/Home

http://www.rectorymeadowsurgery.co.uk/

http://www.thepracticeprospecthouse.nhs.uk/

http://www.johnhampdensurgery.co.uk/index.aspx

https://www.ourpractice.co.uk/index.aspx

 

Almshouse Accommodation Available (Two Vacancies) – Amersham

Amersham United Charities have two vacant cottages in the heart of Old Amersham.  Both comprising of single floor accommodation with one bedroom, a shower room, a kitchen and a living area. Parking is on the street and there is a secluded communal garden.

One cottage is available as a permanent occupancy and the other for a six-month period.  The charity criteria for permanent occupancy are to be a single person who must be able to live independently, be of limited financial means, no pets and have a link to the Amersham Area.

Contact

Please see https://www.amershamalmshouses.org.uk/apply-for-a-place for more details and an application or call Harriet Lemon on 01494 721 781

Charity Commission Registered No:  205033

Rotary in Amersham invite you to – An Evening with Adam Henson – Saturday 28th March

Rotary in Amersham invite you to –  ‘ An Evening with Adam Henson’ on Saturday 28th March 2020 at The King’s Church, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6LX at 7.30 pm.

Adam was born into a farming family where he gained experience with animals and farming.
Adam started in television in 2001 when he was chosen from 3,500 applicants to be a presenter and has since put his farming knowledge to good use broadcasting on a wide range of programmes for both radio and TV.

Tickets cost £20 and are available from Waterstones Bookshop Sycamore Road, Amersham or for a small fee

from www.billetto.co.uk

Proceeds will go to local charities supported by Rotary in Amersham.

Carrol Morris – Owner of Carrols Hardware Shop – Celebrates Longest “One Woman” Business in Amersham – 1st February

Carrol Morris, who owns Carrols Hardware Shop in Hill Avenue, celebrates the longest “One Woman” business in the Town on the 1^st February 2020.

She claims that she is the longest “One Woman” business in the Town, owning the store she has personally opened almost every morning, 365 days a year at around 7.30am since 1985, including Christmas Day.  She rarely takes a day off work!  She employs a small staff to help her run the store, which has only ever closed one day in the mid 90’s when thieves broke into her van and stole her bag which contained the shop keys.

The shop sells a huge range of everyday items and one can often find that one small thing you’ve been looking for.  Individual small items can be purchased rather than multi-packs as is often the case in the larger stores.  She says, “we can give the personal help and advice people are frequently looking for”.

During her time in business she has been nominated for various business awards and the most recent being in 2016 when she won the Amersham Town Council Business of the Year Award.

A visit to ‘Carols’ will be well “worthwhile” especially during the coming month of February where many extra promotional items will be on offer.

Chiltern Name Change For Local Charity

Chiltern Name Change For Local Charity

 

A major local charity has started 2019 with a brand-new name.

The South Bucks Branch of the national Motor Neurone Disease Association* (mndassociation.org) will now officially be known as the Chiltern Branch. The Chiltern branch helps local people living with Motor Neurone Disease and their families with grant support and advice.

Motor Neurone Disease is an extremely debilitating, terminal condition which affects the brain and nerves. The MND Association offers accurate, professional, accessible information and practical day-to-day support to enable people with MND to live with their diagnosis and achieve the best quality of life possible.

Graham Read, Chair of the Chiltern Branch, said: “Our previous name South Bucks did not totally relate to the area we cover. We needed a name which was more synonymous with our local area. We are officially launching the new branch on January 21^st at Cedar Barn, Barn Lane, Hazlemere, HP15 7BQ at 12.30pm. We will be looking to enlist the support of local organisations/companies in our quest to improve the lives of local people living with this awful disease. We already receive significant support from Tesco at Loudwater.”

*The MND Association actively campaigns to ensure everyone has access to the best possible care, no matter where they live.

• By working in partnership with the NHS and statutory services we help improve standards of care for people with MND.
• The MND Association regularly holds events to continue to educate health and social care professionals (HSCPs) to enable them to achieve excellence in care for people living with MND.
• With a network of MND Care Centres, our branch and group volunteers and dedication to improving standards of care, people with MND can achieve the highest quality of life possible.
• The MND Association will continue to fund and promote ground-breaking research around the world to identify treatments and find the cure for the disease.
• Only through collaboration will a cure for MND be discovered. Therefore, the MND Association will promote international research collaboration and organise the world’s largest conference for MND researchers and clinicians.

 

 

For more information contact either lauradyett@hotmail.com or grahamaread@gmail.com

New book about Amersham on the Hill published

New book about Amersham on the Hill just published.

Currently available on Amazon (paperback & Kindle).

We are negotiating with local shops to make it available around town.

date: March 1st

For more information please call me on 07725 780155

Web: http://amzn.to/2FaFBlr

New book provides fascinating insight into Amersham in the 1940s

New book provides fascinating insight into Amersham in the 1940s

 
Although the independent Amersham Museum is a community-centred host of lively events for
the young and old, it also contains an interesting archive of documents and ephemera relating
to people and places in Amersham.
Some years ago during a routine audit of the document collection a handwritten journal was
discovered written by a local resident. The journal had been donated by a lady in Norfolk who
had found it in the drawer of a piece of furniture she bought at auction. The museum is very
grateful that she did not just throw it away, but thought to offer it for the collection.
The name of the journal’s writer was evident from the correspondence placed within the pages
of the journal, and it matched the name of an author of a book in the museum’s library. The
writer was Mabel Richmond Brailsford, a writer of historical biographies of religious
personalities, such as William Penn and John Wesley.
Thanks to a research volunteer transcribing the journal and a volunteer typographer designing
the book, this journal has now been published by the museum to enable everyone to learn at
first-hand about life on the homefront during World War Two. Within the journal are 40,000
words of wonderful stories of Amersham residents, descriptions of war-torn London, tales of
national personalities, the trials of providing a home for bombed-out Londoners and general
uninformed gossip. The well-educated writer splatters her entries with French, Italian, German
and Latin phrases. She writes with intelligence and wit, but still displays her prejudices,
admiration for her favourites and an undercurrent of cultural snobbery. This lucid and
entertaining account of her thoughts and descriptions of events and people give us a vivid
account of life in Amersham during World War Two.
As well as the journal, the book includes a biography of the author, researched in archives in
Manchester and Ilfracombe; a bibliography of her published work; and mini biographies of the
150 people and places contained within the journal. It is an exciting new addition to the
understanding of the deprivations and conditions endured on the homefront during world war
two.
Copies are available from the publisher, Amersham Museum, for £10 each. Proceeds will
support the museum’s development project into the neighbouring building.

http://www.amershammuseum.org

Entry is £2.50 per adult and under 16s are free.
The Museum is open March to August Thursday – Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday afternoons
2pm – 4.30pm The Museum is also open from 10-4.30pm on Saturdays.
There are guided walks of the town every Sunday at 2.30pm April to August. The walk lasts an
hour and a half and costs £2 per adult with under 16s free. Martyrs walks to the martyrs
memorial are led by guides in Tudor costume on the last Saturday of the month at 2.30pm,
April to September. The martyrs walks last two hours and a quarter and cost £2 per adult with
under 16s free.
The Museum is located at 49 High Street, Old Amersham, HP7 0DP. There is free parking on
the High Street. The nearest car park is located just off the Broadway, about 350m from the
Museum

Old Murder Mystery in Amersham – Can Anyone Help?

I have received an email asking if I can help with a possible old mystery about a murder in Amersham many years ago.  The writer tells me “I recall that a popular woman GP was murdered in the woods above Old Amersham, her name might have been Davison.  On the widely held belief that a murderer always returns to the scene of the crime, my father was allocated the night watch, which he spent up in a tree, my guess quite high.  Probably to his intense relief the murderer did not appear and I believe was never caught.”

Can anyone remember this case and what the outcome was?  A Google search has not revealed anything, but it was probably reported locally.

Mystery Amersham Craters – Anyone Know What they Are?

I have recently been sent the attached picture and map.  The picture shows 3 indentations in a field, which are in a line and look unnatural. I am wondering if anyone knows what they might be?

I don’t think they would be bomb craters from WW2, perhaps they are where clay was dug out ages ago.  They do seem to be a mystery, so if anyone knows, please let me know.

They are marked on the map, (they are across the valley from the A&W college).